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Purpose: Although the important role of cross-border e-commerce platforms in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has continuously attracted scholarly attention, existing research overlooks the perspective of value chain processes, which have become more crucial when facing a dual shock from resurgent protectionist policies and the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper deconstructs strategic flexibility from the perspective of value chain processes and further explores the mechanism of cross-border e-commerce platform empowerment on SME export performance. Methodology/approach: A total of 425 SMEs participating in cross-border e-commerce platforms were used as the research sample for this empirical study, subsequently analyzing the multiple mediating effects. Findings: The results show that strategic flexibility plays a partial mediating role between the empowerment of e-commerce platforms and SMEs' export performance. Specifically, market flexibility shows a relatively weak significance unlike delivery flexibility, which shows the strongest significance. Originality/Value: Following the overall perspective of the platform ecosystem, this study expands and integrates traditional empowerment theory and value chain theory into one analytical framework. It investigates the mechanism through which e-commerce platform empowerment influences a firm's export performance. Practical implications: Managerial suggestions for collaborative innovation of cross-border e-commerce platforms and SMEs in China are proposed. SMEs should actively integrate into platforms according to their business characteristics, fully exploit the platform resources, and focus on improving their responsiveness to export markets. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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PurposeGuided by resource-based theory, this investigation examines the extent to which knowledge sharing as part of interfirm collaboration serves as a performance-enhancing strategy;that is, in the context of assisting ethnic minority-owned urban restaurants to survive during a major market disruption. Specifically, the study features owner-managers' perceptions concerning the evolving environmental circumstances associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.Design/methodology/approachData collection took place among owner-managers of urban restaurants in a Canadian city during the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. This featured semi-structured interviews with restaurants' owner-managers originating from various ethnic origins together with secondary data where possible. Data analysis followed an adapted Gioia approach.FindingsExamples of interfirm collaboration include restaurants' owner-managers leveraging social capital and sharing knowledge about the effects of legislation and health guidelines on operating procedures, together with good and bad practices where firms have pivoted their business models via take-outs, patio dining and in-room dining. Irrespective of the strength of network ties (within and across ethnic communities), owner-managers were motivated to share information to facilitate their survival. Nevertheless, this study raises questions over the extent that certain decision-makers exhibit strategic flexibility responding to environmental conditions together with their respective ability to engage/retain customers plus service-oriented employees. In addition, a question is whether some owner-managers will continue to collaborate with their competitors after COVID-19 ends, and if so, with whom and the magnitude of activities. In particular, "trust” via psychological contracts and "complementary strategies” among partners across coethnic and different ethnic origins are key considerations.Originality/valueA body of knowledge exists addressing the notions of both interfirm collaboration and market disruptions in the broader cross-disciplinary literature. However, the interfirm collaborative practices of small firms with ethnic minority ownership that are otherwise rivals remain under-researched. More specifically, interfirm collaboration as a survival strategy for owner-managers during the market disruption arising from a crisis situation features as an original contribution.
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PurposeThis study investigates to what extent strategic flexibility of international strategic alliances (ISAs) affects export performance of emerging market small and medium-sized enterprises (ESMEs) via international marketing capability in crises. It also examines whether these ESMEs' adoption of digital technology strengthens the impact of strategic flexibility of ISAs on international marketing capability.Design/methodology/approachBased on the international alliance and dynamic capability perspectives on strategic flexibility, the authors develop a conceptual model and empirically examine the mediation and moderation effects between strategic flexibility of ISAs, international marketing capability, export performance and adoption of digital technology. The authors collected survey data from 129 ESMEs located in Pakistan between May 2021 and August 2021 and tested the conceptual model with hierarchical-moderated regression analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that strategic flexibility of ISAs positively impacts on export performance of ESMEs in crises. Moreover, the authors found that international marketing significantly mediates the relationship between strategic flexibility of ISAs and export performance of ESMEs. Also, the adoption of digital technologies significantly moderates the relationship between strategic flexibility of ISAs positively and international marketing capability.Originality/valueThe authors take strategic flexibility of ISAs in the context of the emerging market and how ESMEs enhance export performance in a time of crisis, which extends the prior ESMEs' international marketing strategy and crisis management literature. In particular, the authors show that strategic flexibility of ISAs is a vital dynamic capability to enhance export performance of ESMEs via international marketing capability and adoption of digital technologies.
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Purpose>The rising uncertainties in the macroeconomic environment exacerbate the challenges firms face in the export market. This study aims to explore which strategy is suitable for export enterprises to develop sustainably under COVID-19.Design/methodology/approach>Based on the sample data of China's A-stock listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2020, this study applies a survival analysis method to explore the impact of strategic flexibility on export firm survival. Furthermore, this study uses the difference-in-difference model to test the relationship between strategic flexibility and firms' profits in the context of the pandemic.Findings>The results show that strategic flexibility can increase firms' survival time, improving dynamic production and innovation capabilities, which is favorable for their sustainable development. Meanwhile, after the spread of COVID-19, firms with strategic flexibility have higher profits than those without. This influence mechanism mainly involves exploring new markets that can improve the company revenue and the coordination capabilities of the supply chain;this reduces corporate costs.Originality/value>This study expands relevant research on the factors affecting the survival of export enterprises and supplements research on the economic consequences of firms' strategic flexibility;this also enriches the dynamic capability theory. Additionally, it provides important implications for firms to enhance strategic flexibility and recommends government implementation of policies that encourage the domestic sales of commodities originally produced for exports under COVID-19.
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Purpose Agile organisations do not arise from a single characteristic but comprise a combination of various aspects. Thus, this study aims to examine the combined effects on organisational agility regarding firms' utilisation of digital technology to create value during the COVID-19 pandemic, how firms perceive uncertainty related to their own organisational response and the degree to which they have an entrepreneurial mindset. Design/methodology/approach Using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, this study investigates 355 established firms and start-ups in Norway. Findings This study finds digitalisation is required for agility to develop, but that it needs to be combined with having an entrepreneurial mindset or being a start-up and lower levels of perceived uncertainty. Hence, entrepreneurial mindset and low uncertainty are important factors for digitalisation, and in turn, for agility to be developed. Originality/value Agility is recognised as being pivotal for firms' competitiveness and innovation and argued to be significant in overcoming sudden economic shocks. However, lacking empirical scrutiny are investigations into the relationship between digitalisation and agility, and how digitalisation might act as a driver for building agility, which the authors tackle herein.
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Business survival remains the point of discussion among the policymakers, researchers, and regulators around the world since the emergence of COVID pandemic. The present study intends to evaluate the role of strategic skills and competencies in SMEs survival during the COVID-19. SMEs operating in manufacturing sector have been selected for data collection by using survey based questionnaire. Structural equation modeling technique has been used to evaluate the association among the independent and dependent latent constructs using the SmartPLS software. The findings of present study show that market orientation, entrepreneurial thinking, strategic flexibility significantly contribute towards the survival of SMEs. Strategic flexibility significantly and positively mediates the relationship between market orientation, entrepreneurial thinking and survival of SMEs. The supply chain integration moderates the relationship between strategic flexibility, entrepreneurial thinking and survival of SMEs. The findings of current study outline the implications for the owners/managers of SMEs and regulatory authorities in understanding the significance of market orientation, entrepreneurial thinking, strategic flexibility, and supply chain integration towards the survival of SMEs © 2022. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Science.All Rights Reserved.
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Purpose This paper aims at exploring the factors that are important for the digital development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis compared to large-sized enterprises. Design/methodology/approach Using data from a survey in Greek firms during the pandemic, econometric models are estimated to identify factors that are related to the expansion of digital marketing and e-commerce practices of SMEs and large-sized enterprises based on the technology-organization-environment framework. Findings The results suggest that while further investments in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure are important for the digital development of SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis, it is the innovative activities that advance the digitalization of large-sized enterprises. Also, SMEs, which implement flexible human resource (HR) practices (such as remote work) and face delays in the supply chain due to the pandemic, appear to have increased probability of expanding their digital marketing and e-commerce. On the contrary, HR practices do not seem to matter for large firms, while new regulations appear to discourage their digital development during the COVID-19 crisis. Originality/value This is the first study which empirically explores the digital reactions of SMEs compared to those of large-sized enterprises in a pandemic crisis context. It advances the limited knowledge on the potentially different responses of SMEs and large-sized enterprises to major external shocks with respect to their digital marketing and e-commerce expansion.
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Design:>This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.Purpose:>This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Findings:>In order to boost financial performance, but also survive turbulent global markets and crises, firms should invest in talent development as a priority.Originality:>The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.798115.].
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With the external environment becoming increasingly complex and changeable, how we can effectively enhance the innovation of companies in sustainability has become the focus of research. For startups, due to their lack of resources and poor independent innovation capabilities, they need to search for external knowledge from outside to meet their own needs. Therefore, obtaining external knowledge sources and adopting appropriate methods for knowledge search is the key to affecting innovation in sustainability. Moreover, enterprise capability is also an important factor restricting sustainable innovation. In this paper, we construct an integrated framework of resources and capabilities based on theoretical learning and practice between 2018 and 2021, containing technical knowledge, market knowledge, a formal search, an informal search, organizational learning, and strategic flexibility. Taking 450 new ventures in China as the research sample, we adopt the fsQCA method and derive the path driving the sustainable innovation of new ventures. The results show that resources and enterprise capabilities combine to influence sustainable innovation, and there are two configuration paths driving the sustainable innovation of new ventures. In the first pathway, a technical knowledge search, a market knowledge search, organizational learning and strategic flexibility are the core conditions;in the second pathway, a formal search, an informal search, organizational learning, and strategic flexibility are the core conditions.
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It is important that strategic management ensure programs flexibility and continuous assessment to deal with the changes in strategies when dealing with other crises (Taymouri, Eslami, Fadaei, Delfan, & Ghasemi, 2014). Empirical findings are still lacking, specifically in the strategic flexibility-crisis management relationship (Yawson, 2020). The primary aim of this study is to examine crisis management among the commercial banks, during the COVID-19 pandemic and to conduct an empirical examination of the relationship between strategic flexibility and crisis management. The study data was gathered using a questionnaire survey, which was distributed to 242 Jordanian commercial bank branches managers. Out of the total (242) distributed questionnaire copies, 163 were returned and considered valid for analysis. Accordingly, data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 22 and the findings indicated that strategic flexibility significantly affected crisis management dimensions, namely prior to the crisis stage/crisis plans and during the crisis stage/crisis response. The statistical results supported statistically significant differences between each pair in light of experience level and education level of managers, in a manner that differences favored the highest experience category of over 10 years and the highest category of education of Ph.D. On the basis of the results, it is recommended that Jordanian commercial banks focus on strategic flexibility when planning their strategies in order to mitigate influences on crisis management. © 2022 The Authors.
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This study explores how firms sought to effectively match their internal competence with external resources from the supply chain network to improve operational resilience (OR) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon matching theory, this study provides an internal-external matching perspective based on flexibility-stability features of OR to explain the operational mechanisms underlying the different matchings between internal flexibility (i.e., product diversity)/stability (i.e., operational efficiency) and external flexibility (i.e., structural holes)/stability (i.e., network centrality). We find that more heterogeneous matchings between internal (external) flexibility and external (internal) stability have a complementary effect that enhances OR, whereas more homogeneous matchings between internal flexibility (or stability) and external flexibility (or stability) have a substitutive effect that reduces OR. This study provides valuable contributions to research focusing on the supply chain, organizational resilience, and operations management.
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Purpose The rising uncertainties in the macroeconomic environment exacerbate the challenges firms face in the export market. This study aims to explore which strategy is suitable for export enterprises to develop sustainably under COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach Based on the sample data of China's A-stock listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2020, this study applies a survival analysis method to explore the impact of strategic flexibility on export firm survival. Furthermore, this study uses the difference-in-difference model to test the relationship between strategic flexibility and firms' profits in the context of the pandemic. Findings The results show that strategic flexibility can increase firms' survival time, improving dynamic production and innovation capabilities, which is favorable for their sustainable development. Meanwhile, after the spread of COVID-19, firms with strategic flexibility have higher profits than those without. This influence mechanism mainly involves exploring new markets that can improve the company revenue and the coordination capabilities of the supply chain;this reduces corporate costs. Originality/value This study expands relevant research on the factors affecting the survival of export enterprises and supplements research on the economic consequences of firms' strategic flexibility;this also enriches the dynamic capability theory. Additionally, it provides important implications for firms to enhance strategic flexibility and recommends government implementation of policies that encourage the domestic sales of commodities originally produced for exports under COVID-19.
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This study draws on the dynamic capabilities view and the firm's big data capability (BDC) in the new economic environment. It constructs an adjusted intermediary model to study the mechanism of BDC, strategic flexibility, and environmental dynamic affecting financial performance. We find that strategic flexibility plays an intermediary role in the "Converse-U" relationship between BDC and financial performance. Environmental dynamics adjust the relationship between BDC and financial performance positively and smooth the "Converse-U" relationship. The findings suggest building and managing BDC, combining BDC with the management process, and achieving continuous financial performance improvement in a dynamic environment. The paper also puts forward the nonlinear hypothesis, discusses the "Converse-U" relationship between BDC and enterprise financial performance in the Chinese context of digital economy explosion and growth, and considers the intermediary mechanism of strategic flexibility and the regulatory effect of environmental dynamics.