Introduction: Opportunities and challenges of the digital single market

A book on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cannot start without mention of a few significant data: SMEs stand for 99% of European Union companies, and they employ 50–70% of the workforce (Garzoni et al., 2020; Kääriäinen et al., 2020). Based on this, SMEs are major players in the European market, and this fact per se would account for any attention to this type of business. This need is intensified by the reality that SMEs are still struggling to participate in the data-driven economy and are less sensitive to data protection issues, making them more vulnerable in supply chains (OECD, 2017). This book intends to explore how SMEs can handle digital processes and thrive in an environment that—following the 2020 Covid outbreak—is becoming more and more digital. This book’s title refers to the core of digital processes for SMEs, i.e., both the unparalleled opportunities and the heightened challenges related to the digital single market. The European Commission has defined the digital single market as “one in which the free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital is ensured and where individuals and businesses can seamlessly access and exercise online activities under conditions of fair competition and a high level of consumer and personal data protection, irrespective of their nationality or place of residence” (COM(2015) 192, 6.5.2015, p. 3).