Hiziroglu, Ourania AretaAydin, Ali EmreVan Isacker, KarelMilis, GeorgeSirashki, HristoTsoris, Panayiotis2025-03-202025-03-2020241613-0073https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14034/2173Joint of 16th International Baltic Conference on Digital Business and Intelligent Systems Conference Forum and Doctoral Consortium, Baltic-DB and IS-Forum-DC 2024 -- 30 June 2024 through 3 July 2024 -- Vilnius -- 199956The global outbreak of COVID-19 posed significant challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the globe, compelling them to swiftly adapt to ensure business continuity and resilience. Considering this issue, this research investigates the role of digital transformation in enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to navigate the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain business continuity. Through a qualitative study involving 50 case studies of SMEs, primarily micro-enterprises, from Bulgaria, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey, the findings reveal that digital transformation strategies such as increased ICT usage, new distribution channels, remote work implementation, and product diversification were crucial for SME resilience during the crisis. The study highlights the significance of digital transformation in crisis management and provides practical recommendations for SMEs and policymakers to enhance crisis preparedness through continuous digital transformation efforts. © 2023 Copyright for this paper by its authors.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccesscrisis managementDigital transformationSMEsConference Object369811222-s2.0-85195484661Q4