The article examines digital transformation in the public sector, focusing on its implementation and impact. A key milestone in Hungary’s municipal digitalization is analyzed through a case study on the document management system of the Application Service Provider. Based on longitudinal data from over 3,000 municipalities, findings show that digital transformation delivers significant value to citizens and shortens administrative lead times. It enhances transparency, comparability, and efficiency in public administration. The study also emphasizes that adopting new technologies, standardizing processes, and centralizing IT management are critical factors in achieving these efficiency gains and modernizing public sector operations.

The complex relationship between sustainability, digitalization, entrepreneurship and internationalization has received less academic attention, although each of these topics is an important research area on its own. Thus, our research aims to understand the effect of environmental sustainability, the usage of digital systems, and the entrepreneurial perception of distances on the intention to export in the case of SMEs. The authors have developed a survey to examine three main hypotheses. Based on the answers of 315 SMEs, the article highlights that the communication of environmental sustainability, the usage of ERP systems, and the perception of cultural distance as opportunities to foster internationalisation.

The complex relationship between sustainability, digitalization, and profitability has received less academic attention, although each of these topics is an important research area on its own. The aim of the research is to understand the effect of environmental sustainability and the usage of management information systems on profitability in the case of SMEs. Based on the answers of 315 SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), the article highlights that not all management systems increase profitability. The novelty of the research is that it outlines that the usage of Document Management Systems contributes to profitability while other systems don’t, e.g., the usage of Enterprise Resource Planning systems is not significant, which suggests that its introduction and application no longer represent a competitive advantage; this system alone is not enough. There is an ecosystem of management information systems, the basis of which is document management. The research also highlights that focusing on environmental sustainability has no effect on profitability in the case of Hungarian SMEs, neither in the short term nor in the long term. Thus, it is not a competitive advantage.