Digital Transformation of SMEs: Experimental Evidence from North-East Romania

Last registered on March 26, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Digital Transformation of SMEs: Experimental Evidence from North-East Romania
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015592
Initial registration date
March 18, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 26, 2025, 8:21 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Romania
Region
North-East

Primary Investigator

Name
Alexandra Avdeenko
Affiliation
World Bank
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Juan Espinosa Balbuena
PI Affiliation
London Business School
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PI Name
Rajesh Chandy
PI Affiliation
London Business School
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PI Name
Leonardo Iacovone
PI Affiliation
World Bank
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PI Name
Lukasz Marc
PI Affiliation
World Bank
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PI Name
Stephen Anderson
PI Affiliation
Texas A&M University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-04-09
End date
2027-07-31
Keywords
Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
digitalization, EU Cohesion Policy, RCT
JEL code(s)
O33; L26; R11; D22; H25; C93; O38
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The adoption of digital technologies offers substantial operational and organizational advantages for businesses. However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often face significant barriers to digital transformation, particularly in Romania’s North-East region, which lags behind national and EU digitalization benchmarks. A key constraint is the limited financial accessibility and awareness of digitalization benefits. This study evaluates the impact of a grant program designed to support SMEs in adopting digital technologies through financial assistance of up to EUR 100k. The program facilitates ICT hardware acquisition, software development, AI integration, website creation, and IT infrastructure enhancement. Using a randomized selection of program participants and non-selected comparison firms, we plan to establish causal effects of digitalization on business performance. Findings shall provide critical insights for policymakers, businesses, and researchers aiming to foster digital transformation, regional development, and economic growth.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Anderson, Stephen et al. 2025. "Digital Transformation of SMEs: Experimental Evidence from North-East Romania." AEA RCT Registry. March 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15592-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Following the randomization process, firms selected for treatment were invited to submit an assessment application through the electronic system MySMIS2021/SMIS2021. This submission required the inclusion of a Digital Feasibility Study (DFS). This study had to be generated by an authorized IT consultant (under the NACE Code 6202 - Consultancy in information technology) or by a certified European Digital Innovation Hub. It had to include essential details such as general firm information, the requested amount of funds, the intended purpose of the funds, and a detailed situation of the actual firm digitalization status: tools, hardware and software used at the moment of the DFS being drafted, and the proposed digitalization solutions for increasing their digital intensity. It also had to include two different price and technical specification quotes for each of the necessary items. After submission, the RDA office verified the firms’ details, assessed the feasibility studies, and prepared contracts for approved firms. Once a contract was signed, the firm could start using the funds. Firms were given 12 months from the contract’s signing date to use the funds and claim reimbursements, which could be submitted at any time during the 12-month period or at the program’s conclusion.
Intervention Start Date
2024-04-10
Intervention End Date
2027-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Main effects will be measured on business performance according to performance indicators, such as sales, profit, number of employees, and related indexes.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
In addition, we will also try to identify the mechanisms or processes through which the intervention impacts firm performance. We will focus on i) a measure of the digitalization of business functions using a general business function index; and ii) a measure of market perception, using the perception of firms expanding into new markets.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our sample consists of 1,038 firms participating in the pilot. The participant firms were randomly assigned into two experimental groups:

1. Group 1 (Treatment): 519 firms were offered the possibility to apply for the digitalization grants of up to EUR 100k (with a 10% private contribution by the firm) as long as eligibility criteria were met

2. Group 2 (Control): 519 firm will form a comparison group whereby they do not receive any intervention during the study period.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Firm-level randomization. Randomization done on a computer, using statistical programming software (Stata). Firms were pre-assessed and then, in a second round and following randomization, firms were invited to submit their formal, full applications via the national platform. Not all firms followed this invitation.
Randomization Unit
The randomization unit is an individual firm (N = 1,038 units).
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
no clusters
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,038 firms.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
519 Treatment, 519 Control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
We calculate power assuming a MDE size of 30% for each main outcome. Sales: (cv) = 1.98 —> power = 95.8% Profits: (cv) = 1.67 —> power = 99.2% Number of employees: (cv) = 1.84 —> power = 97.7% Market perception index: (cv) = 0.22 —> power = 100%
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
London Business School
IRB Approval Date
2023-06-20
IRB Approval Number
REC877-20072026
Analysis Plan

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