Open Access

Jörg BüechlORCiD, Ralf-Christian HärtingORCiD, Mara Schröder

• Digitization is one of the main drivers of changing the way of work within enterprises because new business models evolve from recent digitization processes. Besides the ongoing information technologies in the world of business, it is important for small and medium-sized enterprises to care for their employees and to ensure employee satisfaction. This paper aims at assessing the influence of digitization on employee satisfaction in small and medium-sized companies. This paper is based on qualitative empirical research with focus on expert interviews. The transcribed expert interviews were evaluated using the Grounded Theory approach. Grounded Theory is a method that is particularly suitable for theory building and for identification of new and unknown relationships. The objective of this study is to provide recommendations for small and medium-sized enterprises regarding when they face increasing challenges as a result of volatile market environments and versatile digitization processes to ensure employee satisfaction. Our study identifies emerging factors which influence employee satisfaction.