Integrating Learning and Strategy to Enhance SME Performance in Indonesia

WHAT DRIVES ENTREPRENEURIAL RESILIENCE IN BATIK SMES?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those operating in cultural industries, often face significant challenges due to market uncertainty, technological change, and increasing competition. These conditions highlight the importance of entrepreneurial resilience in ensuring business sustainability. This study aims to examine the factors that drive entrepreneurial resilience among batik SMEs by analyzing the roles of innovation, cultural identity, and market adaptability. The study employs a quantitative research approach using survey data collected from batik SME owners in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that innovation, cultural identity, and market adaptability all have positive and significant effects on entrepreneurial resilience, with market adaptability showing the strongest influence. These findings suggest that strategic capabilities embedded in SMEs serve as important intangible resources that strengthen business resilience. The study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by extending the Resource-Based View in the context of cultural-based SMEs.

Unlocking international SME success: the crucial role of dynamic managerial capabilities in driving international entrepreneurial orientation

The study aims to examine the relationship between international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) and international performance (IP) of internationalized small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Slovak Republic. Given the scarcity of empirical research on the managerial dimensions influencing this relationship, the study also aims to investigate the moderating effect of dynamic managerial capabilities (DMCs) as a higher-order variable and its components in the IEO-IP nexus. The theoretical framework is grounded in the resource-based view and capability-based view, which posit that firm-specific resources and capabilities are critical sources of competitive advantage. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey administered to 145 internationalized SMEs in the service and industrial sectors. The analysis used a robust statistical method, structural equation modelling through partial least squares, which is suitable for modeling complex relationships and managing smaller sample sizes. The results reveal that IEO is directly associated with the IP of SMEs. Moreover, DMCs, as a multidimensional construct, exert a statistically significant moderating effect on the IEO-IP relationship. Regarding the specific components of DMCs, social capital and managerial cognition significantly reinforce the connection between IEO and international performance, while human capital does not exhibit a significant effect. The study’s theoretical contribution lies in validating the role of DMCs as a complex construct in augmenting international performance in conjunction with IEO. It also identifies the differential effects of the three DMCs components in the IEO-IP framework, offering nuanced insights into their moderating roles. The research underscores the importance of strategic business orientation and DMCs for SMEs operating in the global market. Finally, managerial implications and directions for future research are proposed.

Green entrepreneurial orientation in Indonesia's creative industries: A new adaptive strategic management model for sustainability

The Impact of Strategy Flexibility on Business Model Innovation, Competitive Advantage, and Company Performance: A Study on the Sustainable Growth of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Iran

This study examines the role of strategic flexibility (SF) in supporting sustainable growth among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in an emerging economy context. Specifically, it investigates the relationships between SF, business model innovation (BMI), competitive advantage (CA), and firm performance (FP) in Iranian SMEs. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), the study empirically examines a capability–innovation–performance model and contributes by extending existing theoretical relationships to the context of SMEs in an emerging economy. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), data were collected through 391 validated questionnaires from SMEs across different sectors in Iran. The findings reveal that SF has a direct and significant effect on both BMI and CA, while BMI positively influences CA and FP. However, CA does not show a significant direct effect on FP, suggesting that competitive positioning alone may be insufficient to generate performance outcomes in uncertain and resource-constrained environments. The results indicate that adaptive and innovation-oriented capabilities play a central role in enhancing long-term organizational resilience and sustainable performance among SMEs operating under institutional and market volatility.

Critical Factors Influencing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises' Business Efficiency

This study investigates the critical factors influencing the business efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam and proposes institutional and policy implications to enhance their sustainable competitiveness. A mixed-methods design was employed. First, qualitative interviews with 30 experts were conducted to refine the conceptual framework and measurement scales. Second, a quantitative survey was administered to 700 SME managers in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai Province, yielding 645 valid responses for analysis. The data were processed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the relationships among Policy and Law, Finance, Technology, Human Resources, Creative Innovation, Enterprise Size, and Business Efficiency. The findings indicate that Finance, Technology, Human Resources, Creative Innovation, and Enterprise Size all have significant positive effects on business efficiency, while Policy and Law strongly influence these firm-level capabilities. Enterprise Size also plays a moderating role in the relationships between Finance, Technology, and business efficiency. The study’s novelty lies in integrating Institutional Theory and the Resource-Based View into a unified framework and empirically demonstrating how institutional conditions shape internal capabilities and SME performance in a transition economy. These results provide practical implications for improving legal support, financial access, innovation, digital transformation, and human capital development.

Exploring transformational entrepreneurship in an emerging economy: the role of entrepreneurial ecosystem and small business skills

This research aims to investigate the role of entrepreneurial skills (ES) and ecosystem (EE) in supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to achieve transformational entrepreneurship (TE) in an emerging economy. It is apparent that many SMEs are not entrepreneurial and growth oriented due to various factors even though they contribute to economic development. Thus, if more of them were entrepreneurial and growth orientated, this would be beneficial for developing economies. Using a 3-model hierarchical regression analysis, the study examined 576 valid responses from Nigerian SMEs. Harman's single-factor test was conducted to assess common method bias (CMB), and the results indicated it was not a concern. ES were assessed using six constructs: business ethics, management, strategy, financial management, marketing and opportunity identification. The EE was evaluated based on access to funding, markets and resources, as well as the policy/regulatory environment. Gender and business age were included as control variables. A shortage of essential ES and inadequate EE to effectively support TE outcomes. The study introduces a validated framework demonstrating how ES and EE contribute to TE outcomes. These insights offer policymakers and practitioners a valuable guide, highlighting the critical need to strengthen both ES and EE to support TE outcomes. This research advances and empirically tests a theoretical framework demonstrating the correlation between ES and EE in achieving TE outcomes among small businesses. It offers valuable implications for other Global South economies with similar developmental contexts. It helps address the existing gap by proposing a more holistic approach to SME support for achieving TE.