Sociotechnical Enablers of Digital Transformation of South African Retail SMMEs

Digital transformation (DT) is becoming of strategic importance for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), especially in the retail sector, where a significant portion of customer engagement, operational efficiency, and market competitiveness is shaped by digital technologies. Even though there is a growing availability of smartphones, mobile payment systems, and social media platforms, many South African retail SMMEs struggle to achieve a sustained and meaningful DT. Existing studies offer limited insights into the dynamic interactions between technological, organisational, and human agency factors that enable digital uptake over time. This study investigates the sociotechnical dynamics of DT among retail SMMEs in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. The research integrates Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) with the Limits to Success Archetype (LSA) to conceptualise DT as an evolving process shaped by the interplay of technology, organisational structures (formal arrangement of roles, responsibilities, authority, and communication patterns within an organisation), and human agency. Using an exploratory qualitative research design, purposively sampled semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 retail owners, directors and managers. The interviews were transcribed, and the data were analysed thematically using the Braun and Clarke six-step thematic analysis framework on Atlas.ti 25. Findings indicate that DT in retail SMMEs is enabled by pragmatic, tool-level digital adoption, training, education, ongoing skill development, alignment with business capacity, regulatory clarity, operational realities, addressing scams, fraud, data security, a user-friendly interface, and the availability of native language digital tools, structural interventions that reduce inequality, and DT ecosystem support. The study contributes to DT scholarship by integrating sociotechnical and systems-thinking perspectives to explain the trajectories of DT in retail SMMEs. It also provides practical insights for policymakers, support institutions, and digital ecosystem actors seeking to democratise DT in emerging-market retail contexts.