Benefits of Digital Transformation on the Scalability of an Early Childhood Education Company – An Exploratory Case Study

Abstract

The Finnish education system has become a contemporary role model across globe, a phenomenon that has contributed towards the establishment of the Finnish brand image. Finland has recognised the strategic value of its renowned system, leading to education being turned into an exportable product. However, due to the nature of the Finnish system, Finland proves to be an extremely challenging market to sell education products in, prompting education companies to recognise internationalisation as a condition for survival. Education export has been researched to a certain degree, albeit there is currently an evident paucity in the research concerning early childhood education (ECE), indicating a need for further study of the ECE variants of education exports.

This research involves a case study on a Finnish ECE company that has developed a unique pedagogical product, focusing on the motivations for its internationalisation, the measures it has taken to successfully enter foreign markets and what steps it should take to optimise its business model to be scalable. Digital transformation can be harnessed through process automation and centralising services to create a scalable business model, optimising an SME’s growth process despite the inherent resource limitations experienced by most SMEs.