ABSTRACT
PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of environmental scanning on organizational resilience through the mediation of organizational learning and innovation based on organizational information processing theory (OIPT) within Egyptian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a cross-sectional design to collect the data used to carry out mediation analysis. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample consisting of 249 Egyptian SMEs. The smart partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was adopted to test the hypotheses.FindingsEnvironmental scanning does not have a direct effect on organizational resilience. However, organizational learning and innovation fully mediate the relationship between environmental scanning and organizational resilience.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size was small, covering only Egyptian manufacturing SMEs. The results may differ in the service sector and other countries. The study was cross-sectional which is limited to tracing the long-term effects of environmental scanning, organizational learning and innovation on organizational resilience. Accordingly, a longitudinal study may be undertaken.Practical implicationsManagers in Egyptian SMEs should use signals from environmental scanning activities as input for learning and transforming business processes through innovation to develop organizational resilience.Originality/valueThis study is the first to investigate the role of environmental scanning in building organizational resilience through organizational learning and innovation based on the perspective of OIPT within Egyptian SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis.
ABSTRACT
PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of environmental scanning on organizational resilience through the mediation of organizational learning and innovation based on organizational information processing theory (OIPT) within Egyptian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a cross-sectional design to collect the data used to carry out mediation analysis. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample consisting of 249 Egyptian SMEs. The smart partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was adopted to test the hypotheses. FindingsEnvironmental scanning does not have a direct effect on organizational resilience. However, organizational learning and innovation fully mediate the relationship between environmental scanning and organizational resilience. Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size was small, covering only Egyptian manufacturing SMEs. The results may differ in the service sector and other countries. The study was cross-sectional which is limited to tracing the long-term effects of environmental scanning, organizational learning and innovation on organizational resilience. Accordingly, a longitudinal study may be undertaken. Practical implicationsManagers in Egyptian SMEs should use signals from environmental scanning activities as input for learning and transforming business processes through innovation to develop organizational resilience. Originality/valueThis study is the first to investigate the role of environmental scanning in building organizational resilience through organizational learning and innovation based on the perspective of OIPT within Egyptian SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis.
ABSTRACT
Due to increased global environment volatility and uncertainty, organizations are constantly faced with unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought large international disruptions for several firms. Organizational resilience is a potential notion for describing how firms might stay alive and thrive in such a volatile environment. Therefore, this study aimed to examine how SMEs can foster their resilience through investigating the roles of environmental scanning and process innovation while testing the moderating role of environmental uncertainty. To achieve this aim, we tested a structural model through an empirical investigation with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using a sample of 249 Egyptian SMEs. The results reveal that process innovation is a necessary condition for environmental scanning to affect organizational resilience. Furthermore, the results do not support the moderating role of environmental uncertainty the indirect relationship between environmental scanning and organizational resilience. Our findings contribute to innovation and resilience literature by proving that process innovation is a necessary mechanism to translate environmental scanning information to enhance resilience. This research is the first to highlight the role of process innovation in linking environmental scanning to organizational resilience. Our results provide insights about how Egyptian SMEs could remain resilient amidst the COVID-19 through scanning their environments to improve internal processes. We discuss related theoretical and managerial implications.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of environmental scanning on organizational resilience through organizational learning based on organizational information processing theory (OIPT) in Egyptian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this study aims to examine the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: The data for the mediation analysis was obtained using a cross-sectional design. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the authors collected data from a sample of 249 Egyptian SMEs. The authors tested the hypotheses using the smart partial least square structural equation modeling approach. Findings: Organizational learning affects organizational resilience. Environmental scanning does not have a direct effect on organizational resilience. However, organizational learning fully mediates the relationship between environmental scanning and organizational resilience. Furthermore, environmental uncertainty does not moderate the indirect relationship between environmental scanning and resilience. Research limitations/implications: The sample included only Egyptian manufacturing SMEs. The results in the service sector and in other countries may differ. This study was cross-sectional, which was limited in its ability to trace the long-term effects of environmental scanning and organizational learning on organizational resilience. Practical implications: Egyptian SMEs’ managers should experience organizational learning as a pathway for environmental scanning to build organizational resilience. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the role of environmental scanning in building organizational resilience through organizational learning and the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in this relationship. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.