Appendix A-Thematic Matrix: Pressure-Driven Frugal Transformation: Toward an Integrative Understanding of Rural SMEs DT

Appendix A provides the detailed thematic matrix created during the systematic narrative literature review titled “Pressure-Driven Frugal Transformation: Toward an Integrative Understanding of Rural SMEs DT” which underpins the concept of Pressure-Driven Frugal Transformation. This matrix includes a detailed coding of 123 peer-reviewed articles focusing on digital transformation, innovation, and technology adoption in resource-constrained rural SMEs. Each article is systematically structured, presenting bibliographic details, contextual insights, methodological rigor, thematic emphasis, theoretical approaches, and key empirical findings. The literature is organized around four central questions: how differences in internal capabilities and minimal viable thresholds influence transformation pathways; how entrepreneurs respond through creative resourcefulness, simplification, and modular recombination; how institutional frameworks shape adoption and the establishment of routines; and how crises can trigger major shifts in adoption that may eventually become routine. This coding enabled the identification of recurring patterns, subtle contextual nuances, and critical gaps in theory. The appendix provides a foundation for the thematic synthesis and the development of the integrative model of pressure-driven frugal transformation. This model combines capabilities, adaptive strategies, institutional scaffolds, and crisis accelerators to explain digital transformation in rural SMEs.