A new angle on SMEs' competitiveness. How do agility capabilities affect a firm's competitive position?

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to explain how agility capabilities (competence, flexibility, responsiveness and speed) influence the chance of improving a small and medium-sized enterprise's (SME's) competitive position, measured by market share and profit.Design/methodology/approachCombining organisational agility with competitiveness, the authors analysed how an SME's activities in the field of agility capabilities – competence, flexibility, responsiveness and speed – influence the chance of improving their competitive position. Data were collected from 1,286 SMEs from Poland using the computer-assisted personal interviews method (CAPI). To analyse the data, the authors used logistic regression and odds ratios.FindingsThe study provides empirical evidence of the relationship between agility capabilities and an SME's competitive position. First, the results suggest that all the studied agility capabilities positively impact SMEs' competitive position. Second, the study shows that seeking to increase market share requires particular attention to flexibility, the impact of which is slightly higher than that of the other variables. Third, the findings suggest that the drive to increase profitability requires an appreciation of responsiveness and competence.Originality/valueThe literature contains much discussion about the relationship between agility capabilities and a company's competitive position. However, these studies refer to large companies, whilst the question of the relationship between agility capabilities and competitive position amongst SMEs remains mainly unanswered, which given SMEs' contribution to the creation of economic growth, seems difficult to understand. Although small companies are by nature highly flexible, due to the size of the companies' operations and flattened and decentralised structure, companies' competitive potential is limited as a result of the limited resources that can be devoted to developing procedures for change.