Challenges of the SMEs in the 21st century

Purpose: This study aims to identify the challenges, difficulties and opportunities for the SME sector in the Visegrad Group (V4) countries in the 21st century in the area of innovation and development, in particular digitalization. This research is justified by the prominent economic role of the SME sector and the key importance of adapting to the rapid pace of digitalization. Design/methodology/approach A literature review on this topic was used for the research, based on the Web of Science database. The scope of articles included in the survey was limited to peer-reviewed journal articles in English and published up to 2021. The process of selecting suitable studies for the search consisted of several steps, each of which aimed to include or exclude articles based on predefined criteria. Findings: The literature review has revealed significant gaps in the subject area. One of these is the lack of research on SMEs in the V4 countries. Another gap is the study of the relationship between SMEs and cloud computing from a computer science perspective, but other areas, not including the economic area, are less studied. Research limitations/implications: The limitations of the research include the database on which the study is based, the volume of the database and the criteria for the articles included in the study. Social implications: The study provides an overview for academics of who is working on the topic, from what aspect research has been done so far, and the links between publications. However, it may also be of interest to professionals interested in the subject area, if they want to see what areas are worth addressing, taking into account or just want to get a more comprehensive picture of the V4 SMEs in relation to digitalization. Originality/value: The importance of the study lies in the fact that it sheds light on the unanswered questions in the field and on the areas that have been little or not at all investigated by researchers. It can be used as a guideline for future studies in the field of cloud computing adoption by SMEs. Keywords: challenges, digitalization, SMEs, literature review. Category of the paper: Research paper.