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Digital expansion is conceived as a firm-level consequence after adoption, capturing both the breadth and depth of digital tools usage in operational and customer-facing business operations. The study investigates five readiness dimensions based on survey data of 388 small firms: capital adequacy, technological infrastructure, digital literacy, preference adaptation, and marketing investment. The results suggest that capital adequacy and digital literacy are positively and significantly related to digital expansion whereas technological infrastructure, preference adaptation and marketing investment are not statistically significant in the estimated model. Coefficient-comparison tests also imply that the important internal readiness variables are more strongly related to digital expansion than the market-oriented readiness variables.  This study contributes to the literature on digital transformation in small firms by showing that, in a resource-constrained emerging-economy environment, internal financial and capability-related conditions are more strongly associated with digital expansion than market-facing readiness. The results have substantial implications for Bangladesh suggesting that digital financial support should be coupled with digital literacy development and targeted capability-building for small companies.

The research investigates how goal contagion impacts the acceptance of digital technologies and also explores the moderating effect of COVID-19 and survival instinct within the interconnection between goal contagion and the acceptance of digital technologies. The research has undertaken partial least squares structural equation modeling to identify the direct as well as moderating effects based on a sample of 250 individuals across diverse firms in Bangladesh. The research also involved the Importance-Performance Map Analysis approach (IPMA) to explore key areas of importance and performance, thus providing a holistic understanding of key factors impacting the acceptance of digital technologies. Then, an ANN model analysis was used to determine how important the components determined by the PLS-SEM study were in terms of relative influence. The study revealed that others’ behavior and situational context have a significant impact on goal contagion. The outcome also showed that goal contagion has a significant impact on the acceptance of digital technologies; besides, survival instinct and COVID-19 have a statistically significant moderating effect between goal contagion and the acceptance of digital technologies. The IPMA findings showed that COVID-19 and goal contagion are the most important factors for the acceptance of digital technologies. The ANN findings revealed that situational context is the most contributing construct for goal contagion. The findings also demonstrated that COVID-19 and goal contagion are the most influential constructs for the acceptance of digital technologies. The findings of this research contribute significantly to the relevant knowledge by promoting a theoretical framework for comprehending the factors that influence the acceptance of digital technologies. Furthermore, this research illustrates valuable insights for companies that are planning to make strategic decisions regarding their digital technologies.