Beyond adoption: How digital technologies build resilience among resource-constrained SMEs in a developing economy

Despite growing interest in digital technology adoption among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), limited research examines how adoption translates into business resilience in marginalised, resource-constrained settings in developing economies. This study addresses that gap by examining the antecedents of digital technology adoption among marginalised SMEs in Ghana and how adoption builds business resilience. Drawing on the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework and resilience theory, a quantitative cross-sectional survey was administered to 145 enterprise owners and managers in rural and peri-urban Ghana, with data analysed using PLS-SEM. Results indicate that customer pressure and entrepreneurial orientation significantly and positively influence SMEs’ behavioural intention to adopt digital technologies, whereas perceived usefulness, technological complexity, internal digital skills, and government policies do not have significant effects. Behavioural intention positively and significantly enhances business resilience. Additionally, business size and longevity moderate some adoption relationships, highlighting the influence of contextual enterprise characteristics. This study contributes to the current body of knowledge by first extending the TOE framework by incorporating business resilience as a measurable post-adoption outcome. Second, the study provides empirical evidence from a marginalised enterprise context in sub-Saharan Africa and finally, the study introduces business size and longevity as moderating variables.