Virtual reality (VR) technologies offer a unique opportunity in “3D reconstruction” of cultural monuments and historical cities that do not longer exist or have been modified (partially or totally). Even though technological capabilities are growing fast, emphasis is mainly given on developing virtual museums and exhibitions, while archaeological places and excavations are following. The present paper presents two distinct approaches for 3D reconstruction of the historical city of Nafplio (Greece), by developing 3D models for buildings and monuments the way they used to be in the 19th century. The authors have used their professional and academic experience deriving from their participation in a European Commission co-funded project in the framework of the Partnership Agreement 2007–2013, which was implemented by the “V. Papantoniou” Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation (the project’s beneficiary) in Nafplio. The authors aim (a) to present the importance of reconstructing past cities and (b) to implement gaming technologies in cultural organizations as a means of achieve specific educational goals. Results point out the growing need for close cooperation between the cultural and academic worlds with 3D creators, and, moreover, reveal obstacles and opportunities in reconstructing historical cities and monuments.

The employment of technology and digitization is crucial for cultural organizations to establish and sustain digital repositories for their cultural heritage artifacts. This exploitation is also essential in facilitating the presentation of cultural works and exhibits to a broader audience. Consequently, in this work, we propose a custom-developed digital repository that functions as software-as-a-service (SaaS), primarily promoting the safe storage, display, and sharing of cultural materials; enhancing accessibility; and fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of cultural heritage. The proposed digital repository service is designed as a multitenant architecture, which enables organizations to expand their reach, enhance accessibility, foster collaboration, and ensure the preservation of their content. Moreover, our technology stack incorporates robust and reliable backend technologies, such as Django, to ensure data security and efficient management. Meanwhile, the frontend is powered by Angular, which guarantees a user-friendly and engaging interface for exploring and interacting with cultural materials. Specifically, this project aims to assist each cultural institution in organizing its digital cultural assets into collections and feeding other digital platforms, including educational, museum, pedagogical, and games, through appropriate interfaces. The creation of this digital repository offers a cutting-edge and effective open-access laboratory solution. It allows organizations to have a significant influence on their audiences by fostering cultural understanding and appreciation. Additionally, it facilitates the connection between different digital repositories and national/European aggregators, promoting collaboration and information sharing. By embracing this innovative solution, cultural institutions can benefit from shared resources and features, such as system updates, backup and recovery services, and data analytics tools, attributes that are currently provided by the platform.

In the last ten years, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies have been rapidly developed as a means to distribute digital content and to disseminate organizations worldwide. Cultural industry adopted these technologies and developed applications as a means of strategic development in the digital world and in order to “internationalize” their audience. Moreover, these technologies offered the opportunity to reshape the whole industry by enriching (physical and digital) visitors’ experiences. Current research provides evidence about developing VR and AR tools that can act as internationalization facilitators when it comes to cultural industry. Research was conducted during the “VARSOCUL” project funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the Greek National Scope Action entitled “RESEARCH-CREATE-INNOVATE”. The project’s main result are presented, alongside with VR and AR tools developed.

In this paper, we present the development of a virtual reality application, namely “Roots in Greek History” or RoGH, which provides the user with a unique experiential travel or transfer back in time to specific historical periods and historical places which are part of the Greek history and its cultural heritage. The tool is a multi-purpose one which is mainly addressed to tourists, teachers, or researchers. The users are facilitated in deriving historical data, challenged to connect with the past, and are invited to explore the history and the time period, archaeological ruins, and monuments of the past through virtual reality. In order to achieve this goal, the system exploits a dynamically designed and organised chronology, which can provide historical content for various places and cities in different times of their history. Users are given the freedom to choose “place” and “time” and consequently to have access to a variety of content (including 2D or 3D models, text, photos, multimedia, etc.), in an entertaining and educational procedure that creates a personalised information path and leads to empowering knowledge.

Digital transformation is crucial for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as it enhances organizational efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness by enabling process automation, cost reduction, and faster decision-making. It also allows for SMEs to leverage emerging technologies, improve customer engagement, and access new markets, thereby fostering innovation and sustainable growth. The proposed study aims to reveal the most significant aspects regarding the digital transformation in the SME business environment. Even though the concept of digital transformation has gained much research interest, SMEs still face significant obstacles, including limited financial resources, a shortage of skilled personnel, and resistance to change within organizational culture. A systematic literature review on the digital transformation of SMEs was conducted to reveal the enablers and obstacles encountered by these businesses in their pursuit of digital maturity. This review underscores the importance of human resources and digital maturity, emphasizing the need for a digitally skilled workforce and a culture of continuous learning. The results can enforce future research on this subject and could focus on the relationship between digital transformation and organizational performance, the role of digital entrepreneurship, and the long-term effects of digital transformation, providing valuable insights to help SMEs navigate the complexities of digital transformation and achieve sustainable growth.

Digital transformation has become a critical priority for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially after the pandemic crisis. Despite progress in upgrading their digital maturity, many SMEs still encounter significant challenges in designing and implementing effective digital transformation strategies. This study investigates the factors that shape SMEs’ digital transformation journeys and their digital maturity. A total of 81 academic papers were collected from three databases (ScienceDirect, EBSCO, Scopus) and analyzed using latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) after appropriate text cleaning and preprocessing. The analysis revealed nine key topics influencing SMEs: dynamic and digital capabilities, emerging tech adoption, strategic transformation intensity, digital processes implemented, extrovert opportunities, performance and capabilities, management’s transition to agile structures, digital vision and orientation, and human resources and digital maturity. These topics highlight the technological, organizational, and resource-related complexity of digital transformation for SMEs. The study contributes to existing research by offering a structured view of the digital transformation landscape in the SME ecosystem and proposes a roadmap to help firms navigate this complexity and enhance their performance and efficiency in the digital era.