Sustainable Competitive Position Research Articles

Adaptive strategic analysis models in a volatile market: case studies of today’s organizations

Adaptive models of strategic analysis are crucial in unstable market conditions for modern organizations. These models assist organizations in identifying and responding to the changing business environment, ensuring their sustainable development and competitive market position. The use of adaptive management allows companies to make flexible and informed decisions considering the impact of digitalization on business relationships. Factors such as leadership, culture, structure, and business strategy play an essential role in supporting organizational changes and adaptation. This paper discusses the fundamentals of adaptive management, including models of strategic analysis and strategic management. It covers the theoretical foundations of adaptive management, organizational structures with an adaptive management type, adaptive analysis models, and provides examples of companies that employ various tools. Additionally, a model of adaptive organizational management is developed, enabling companies to evolve in uncertain conditions. This model includes three subsystems: diagnostic of premises, selection of the optimal option, and implementation of the strategic scenario. The article concludes that adaptive strategic management is quite relevant in the context of variability and high environmental uncertainty; however, the strategy should not remain static.

Проблеми вибору та реалізації стратегії конкурентоспроможності у контексті забезпечення розвитку ТОВ «УА.КОНСАЛТИНГ» на європейських ринках

The article examines and studies the essence of competitiveness and the choice of an effective com-petitive strategy in various literary sources, scientific studies, and current regulations. According to the literature, all authors emphasize that for an enterprise to operate effectively in a competitive industry, it is necessary to have its own competitiveness strategy, which is formed as an action plan for obtaining a sus-tainable competitive position. Moreover, there are many types of competitive strategies, from which an enterprise can choose the most optimal one according to its capabilities and resources. In today's highly competitive global business environment, achieving and maintaining competitive-ness is a top priority for businesses seeking to enter new markets. This article provides an overview of the specifics of selecting and implementing effective competitive strategies in the context of ensuring the de-velopment of an enterprise in European markets. The authors also analyze the company's activities in various areas. First, was analyzed the general management system of the enterprise, its organizational structure, and characterized each management function used at the enterprise. Based on analysis of the company's activities, the problems of choosing and implementing competitiveness strategies were investigated, and the two most important ones that need to be addressed were identified. Using a full analysis, the article not only identifies these challenges, but also proposes strategic ideas and plans to overcome them. It delves into the development of systematic approaches to solving existing problems related to the choice and implementation of the strategy. Strategies may include market segmen-tation, product adaptation, market entry, etc., each of which is tailored to the unique characteristics of European markets. In addition, the authors discuss in detail the methods and techniques for the effective implementation of the selected strategies. They explore issues such as resource sharing and strategic coordination, which are crucial for the successful implementation of competitiveness strategies. It is vital to ensure that the chosen strategies are aligned with the company's core competencies and long-term goals, which will allow the company to create a sustainable competitive advantage in European markets.

Examining the role of artificial intelligence in determining sustainable competitive advantage: Evidence from the pharmaceutical sector of Karachi Pakistan

As in today's era firms are looking to sustain while facing multiple challenges. Ultimately talented employees are the backbone of any firm that provides a sustainable competitive position at a global level. The major aspect is to make appropriate strategies to stay effective and efficient. Firms are focused on their strategies of recruitment and selection, training, and leadership capabilities to build up. A sample is collected from top-level management of the pharmaceutical sector sample data is of 320 Professionals from the different pharmaceutical sector of Karachi Pakistan. For Data collection Survey method is adopted with a close-ended Questionnaire. The study reveals the impact of artificial intelligence on competitive advantage. This research finds out certain strategies to be aligned with the mediation of Artificial intelligence to gain sustainable competitive advantage and serial mediation of the talent management process among the pharmaceutical sector of Karachi Pakistan. Talent management and Artificial Intelligence serial mediation aligned with HR practices to gain competitive advantage. As the study indicates that recruitment and selection are positively aligned with Artificial intelligence and serial mediation of talent management, further aspects of talent development and talent retention are directly linked with a competitive advantage as suitable components. This research merely focused on the pharmaceutical sector of Karachi Pakistan and the results generalized on the professionals of this particular sector, while new aspects of HR practices could be linked up with Artificial intelligence that will help to boost and find better insight into other industries.

Innovation and Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Aspirant Markets: An Institutional Environment Approach

The recent years have witnessed an increasing number of manufacturers in developed markets pursuing service-led innovation to secure their sustainable growth and competitive positions. This study compares the manufacturing firm performance outcomes of two types of innovation activities in the value chain (i.e., service innovation and product innovativeness) contingent on institutional environment but in an aspirant market – China. To do so we conducted two studies: A secondary data study (Study 1) used a longitudinal panel dataset of 1,167 manufacturing firms and a robustness study (Study 2) used primary survey data from 171 manufacturing firms. Both studies offer consistent empirical results that in the dysfunctional competition environment, and in contrast to product innovativeness, service innovation is less effective for manufacturing performance but works more effectively for performance in the complicated institutional environment when government support and dysfunctional competition co-exist. The research contributes to the fields of aspirant markets and innovation by developing our understanding of the firm’s strategic responses pertaining to innovation in the context of a complicated institutional environment, the latter informed by structuration theory. The paper offers a fine-grained view to manufacturing innovation and provides the practical implications for managers and clear guidance to firms and governments in the aspirant markets in regards to innovation practice, strategy, and policy.

ROLE OF MARKETING LOGISTICS IN ORGANIZATION OF A COM- PETITIVE SALES SYSTEM OF THE ENTERPRISE

In modern conditions of tougher competition, sales are an important link in the development of communication between the enterprise and consumers. The article reveals the essence and elements of the product sales system. The relevance and tasks of its organization are indicated. The necessity of integration of marketing and logistics, the need for joint application of their methods and approaches in the process of organizing the sales system of an enterprise has been substantiated.
 The main attention is paid to the disclosure of the essence of marketing logistics as a tool for ensuring sustainable competitive positions of the distribution system, its functions, place and role in the formation of a competitive sales system of the enterprise are determined. It was revealed that its organization fits into the corporate strategy, and this allows making economically sound decisions regarding the modification or preservation of the existing existing distribution channel and the choice of the optimal distribution channel based on the principles of marketing logistics.
 The synergistic economic effect of marketing logistics in the field of organizing the sales system is manifested in the implementation of its functions: analytical and forecasting, transport and storage, information and communication, service and distribution and coordination. Increasing the role, using the strategic potential of marketing logistics is a condition for the implementation and development of the integral competitive potential of an enterprise and the competitive advantages of its sales system.

Development of Ecosystems of Innovative Entrepreneurship in the Global Dimension

Each country seeks rapid economic development and welfare of the population in need of improving its innovation sector, which is a prerequisite for success and sustainable competitive position in the global market.The development of innovative entrepreneurship is a topical issue in every country. Its development depends on the successfully formed ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurship. The article considers the models of innovation, which are the basis for the creation of a country’s economy of innovative type, namely: the model of the triple spiral of innovation, the model of the quadruple spiral of innovation, the model of the fivefold spiral of innovation. The value of the article is the consideration of the successful construction of models of innovation systems in the world, which gives an opportunity to form a model of the ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurship for Ukraine.

ТЕОРЕТИКО-МЕТОДОЛОГІЧНІ ПІДХОДИ МАРКЕТИНГУ ДО АНАЛІЗУ РИНКУ ТЕЛЕКОМУНІКАЦІЙНИХ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ

The study of consumer needs to improve and expand telecommunications competitive services in a strategic perspective has necessitated this study. The authors propose and substantiate the organizational and economic mechanism for ensuring stable competitive positions of the telecommunications company in the field of communications and developed recommendations for maintaining these positions in the future, in the dynamic development of competition in the telecommunications market. The aim of the study was to determine the role of marketing in ensuring the innovative development of telecommunications enterprises and to develop business strategies for their long-term development and competitiveness in the telecommunications market. To achieve this goal, a number of tasks of theoretical, analytical, recommendatory significance have been formed and fulfilled: to study the problems of regulation of the telecommunication technologies market in Ukraine; to study the methodology of analysis of the telecommunications market in the conditions of competition development; develop recommendations for JSC Ukrtelecom on the application of business strategies for long-term development and competitiveness in the telecommunications market. The object of the study was the telecommunications market in the face of competition. The subject of the research is the peculiarities of Ukrtelecom JSC's activity in the services market. Methods of analysis and synthesis were used to determine the features of the methodology of telecommunications market analysis, methods of statistical analysis - to assess the overall position of the company in the services market and identify opportunities for its further development and sustainable competitive positions in the domestic telecommunications market, evaluation method to analyze the competitiveness in the telecommunications market, deduction and induction and the method of comparison were used in the study of the competitive environment of the enterprise and indicators of financial and economic activity. To conduct a strategic analysis of the company's competitiveness, SWOT methods were used - analysis and the matrix "industry attractiveness - competitiveness", or the General Electric (GE) / McKinsey matrix - which was used to develop a strategy for the development of companies.

ФІНАНСУВАННЯ НАУКИ І ДОСЛІДЖЕНЬ ЗА КОРДОНОМ: ДОСВІД ДЛЯ УКРАЇНИ

The article analyses the problems of promoting innovation in different countries under conditions of information society. It is the innovation process, which involves intelligence, experience, knowledge, and values, that allows many countries to benefit from these advantages and achieve high rankings in global competition. As innovation becomes a powerful driver of economic growth and international competitiveness, national governments pay special attention to the challenges of scientific and technological development by focusing financial, intellectual and research resources on these targets. To ensure the innovative development, different countries of the world mobilize domestic resources – financial, human, intellectual, and creative capital, business potential, and attract external factors – international scientific and technical cooperation, international alliances, multinational corporations, global value chains and others. The conditions of global competition produce changes in the set of factors that support innovative growth and competitiveness of nations in the world markets. Proper funding of research and development becomes one of the most important factors among them. These problems are especially relevant for Ukraine, as the innovative development model might drive the country to a new technological level, support sustainable economic growth and competitive position in the global innovation market, as well as create new jobs in new science-intensive industries, which boost employment and prosperity.

Strategic Management of the Innovative Activity of the Enterprise

Effective innovative activity of enterprises with the dynamic economic development is possible under the conditions of timely implementation of innovative projects that satisfy and meet the requirements of the external and internal environment and contribute to building up their own potential with the orientation of the enterprise activity on the long-term prospect of development. This contributes to higher importance and role of strategic management of innovation activity of domestic enterprises. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to provide methodological and practical recommendations for the development and implementation of the strategic management system of innovative activity of the enterprise. in order to achieve this goal, the stages of the strategic management process have been specified, which are grouped into three stages: preparation for strategic management; ensuring the strategic management process; control over strategy implementation. The relationships between the stages have been described, as well as the components, the features of the activities and the sequence of actions for each of the stages. The researches were carried out using the following methods: analysis; modeling; empirical research; systematic approach; generalization. The effectiveness of the proposed recommendations for the formation and use of strategic management of innovation activities has been confirmed by the activity results of the enterprises (Horodok Mechanical Plant PJSC, Ozon LLC, Zakhar Berkut Ski Resort), which provided a sustainable long-term competitive position in the market at the expense of the timely and correct identification of emerging strategic problems at the early stages of innovation activity.

Integrated strategic model for managing regional projects in the field of ecology

The article is devoted to review of authors’ model of project management while executing the strategy of sustainable regional development. The article analyses the essence of social partnership as a collaborative instrument between government, business and society, which influences on economic progress nowadays. It is concluded that improvement of relations between actors of cooperation depends on institutional framework formation as well as on effective methods of management. In this paper there is defined such a condition of economic development as technological progress, which results in resources accumulation in developed regions but intensifies the problem of regional socio-economic inequality. There is proposed and proved the model of cooperation between society and government during implementation the strategy of regional development taking into account the digitalization. Thus resistance of the strategy depends on dimension of project agreement. In this context it becomes important to include into the strategy such a factor as trust. It should be noted that in the article there are defined organization opportunities, which have to be applied during strategic planning of the project to secure sustainable competitive position of the region and business entities. There are also described the reasons for resisting of project management adoption.

Інноваційне управління формуванням стратегічних орієнтирів конкурентних переваг

The article examines the essence of forming competitive advantages of enterprise due to innovative development and management of innovation potential. The factors that influence the level of competitiveness of enterprise are determined. Ensuring competitiveness involves the systematization of all factors that impact it and their further analysis in the context of a separate enterprise. The priority is the allocation of direct action factors that form competitive advantages and, accordingly, the competitiveness of the enterprise. The main principles of innovative enterprise management should be: constant forecasting of the situation in the market of capital, goods and services, planning of actions and anticipation of crisis circumstances; avoidance of technological lagging and, as a result, its prevention; systematic implementation of innovations in all, including the interrelated, spheres of activity of enterprise; continuous investment in human capital, innovations; gaining competitive advantages. It is determined that competitive advantages are the result of interaction of enterprise resources, without which enterprise cannot form its competitiveness. In the system of competitive advantages, it is important to allocate those that are the basis of the advantages of the enterprise as a whole. Ensuring sustainable competitive positions of enterprise should be implemented within the framework of the mechanism of management of its competitiveness, which is a system of instruments, methods, levers and incentives used to form and maintain competitive advantages. The instruments of such management are means to influence the economic activity of enterprise, namely: financial, economic, organizational and technological components. The author suggests the main directions of increasing the competitiveness of enterprises on the basis of innovative management and development. Novel technologies have been identified, the implementation of which will increase the competitiveness of enterprise. The main directions of strengthening the position of enterprises in the market should be cost management, ensuring the innovative and balanced development, substantiation and introduction of the latest technologies.

SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENESS AS A NEW ECONOMIC CATEGORY – DEFINITION AND MEASUREMENT ASSESSMENT

The main purpose of the paper is to assess the level of EU countries’ ability to compete in a sustainable manner and to compare these results with achievements in the area of sustainable competitive position. In the paper, the definition of the new economic category – sustainable competitiveness and its main components: sustainable competitive capacity and sustainable competitive position, as well as these new terms’ measurement proposal were presented. The study is also an attempt to the exploration of relationship existing between those categories. For this purpose, the selected statistical methods were applied. The taxonomic measure of development as well as the correlation coefficients, were used to measure the multilevel relationship between those considered areas. Until now, those categories were presented only in the context of examining the countries’ ability to compete sustainably. However, the aspects of sustainable competitive position have been completely ignored. That’s why it should be emphasized that this kind of investigation is a novelty in the area of sustainable competitiveness. The research results confirmed the existence of relationship between the various areas that consist to the holistic concept of sustainable competitiveness. These relationships are not always strong though and this is the crucial fact for further research in this area.

Unpacking the importance of intangible skills in new product development and sustainable business performance; strategies for marketing managers.

Firms need sufficient resources (tangible and intangible) and capabilities to build unique products due to customers’ demands and choices, market competition and globalization. Despite sufficient resources, many firms cannot build new products according to the customers’ preferences and market trends due to lack of marketing capabilities, lack of skilled marketing staff and lack of experienced managers. However, studies have not yet examined what types of intangible skills of marketing managers are prominent for building new products. This study examines the importance of the intangible skills; intellectual captial, financial literacy and business experience in new product development that results in sustainable competitive performance. We used a mixed-method approach; questionnaire (283) and interviews (16) for data collection and then applied structural equation modelling for testing the hypotheses. The results revealed that all the three intangible skills; intellectual captial, financial literacy and business experience significant influence new product development and sustainable competitive performance. However, considering the relative importance, financial literacy and intellectual capital are the most significant predictors of sustainable competitive performance and new product development respectively. Moreover, new product development fully mediates the path between intellectual capital and sustainable competitive performance while it partially mediates the link between financial literacy, business experience and sustainable competitive performance. Considering the importance of tangible resources, our study scrutinized that financial resources have a significant influence on new product development and sustainable competitive performance while technological resources do not play a significant role. This research recommends firms to emphasize on the improvement of intangible skills of the managers in order to build new products that result in sustainable competitive position. This study also recommends marketing managers to improve their financial skills and experience by participating in various seminars and workshops that can spur their new idea generation and new product development capabilities.

USING BENCHMARKING TO FACILITATE EFFECTIVE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

The article seeks to explore the need for benchmarking as a management tool to facilitate effective doing business and its further development in the context of increased dynamism of the market environment in Ukraine while ensuring sustainable competitive market positions and entry of domestic products and companies into world markets, which in turn, fosters continuous product improvement, promotes business development and assumes a range of strategic actions to enhance competitiveness in the future. It is argued that to achieve long-term business success, stakeholders should obtain reliable information on their major competitors to gain business development efficiency and select an optimal management framework. From this perspective, benchmarking is viewed as a good method to gain a competitive edge. Within the scope of the study, benchmarking is a process of multifaceted comparison and evaluation of a particular company against others, the ones that have achieved better success, or have become leaders in the same industry or in other sectors. Today, benchmarking has evolved into an integral element in a management paradigm of effective business development and part of its strategic management practice to enhance the activity outcomes of any enterprise wishing to outperform their competitors and to be resistant to changes in external and internal environment. In modern realia of small and medium-sized business development, it is rather challenging to maintain their competitive positions in the market which makes businesses consistently search for new effective methods to increase their profitability, competitiveness, as well as work out better management policies and more efficient development scenarios. Undoubtedly, top managers, businessmen, business owners and other stakeholders are keen to have information on the methodology and tools of running and managing their businesses and forecast the performance outcomes. Nowadays, it is critical that benchmarking analysis is congruent with the overall business strategy aimed at effective company development and management, which ultimately will help to pin down and use the key success factors. Benchmarking technology is a promising tool to boost business opportunities as well as to track the latest trends and innovations in the production of goods and services raising the product quality subject to international standards requirements. Thus, driving the focus towards better business management and its effective development, the study suggests the following action plan to be implemented: to evaluate the internal potential; to forecast future development in the selected business areas; to provide a comparative assessment against the reference benchmarks; to substantiate target values of the desired business performance parameters taking into account the available potential and the key competitors’ achievements; to structure business goals according to the functional elements in business operational areas; to elaborate a range of measures to ensure gaining a leading position including the design of new innovative approaches and the current business process improvement plan.

Food Security in Russia: Evolution of Priorities and Estimation Methods

In the face of increasing threats to the national interests of Russia, the main strategic priority of its food security is the acquisition by the country of full food independence and sustainable competitive positions on the world food market. At the same time, the problem of a reliable estimation of the state of food security becomes important. The effective Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation includes detailed, but unclear and contradictory system of indicators that reflects the country’s priorities in food security only partially. The integrated assessment of food security executed for the period from 2010 to 2018 in accordance with the norms of the effective Doctrine revealed generally positive trends and the achievement of target safety criteria for a number of food products. However, the calculations on the indicators of the new Doctrine draft aimed at country’s self-sufficiency with basic food products and implementing its export potential showed that the criteria of independence for some kind of food are not met, and the export potential is absent, which predetermines the need to change food safety priorities and currently used methods of estimating its condition. The results obtained in the work can be applied in further research of the issues of assessing food safety and developing measures aimed at improving the efficiency of the national economic policy in food security.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ОЦІНКИ КОНКУРЕНТОСПРОМОЖНОСТІ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ УКРАЇНИ В УМОВАХ ГЛОБАЛІЗАЦІЇ

The article is devoted to substantiation of scientific and organizational approaches to the formation of the bases and elements of assessing the competitiveness of the national economy of Ukraine in the context of further globalization of economic processes. The object of study is the regulatory and methodological support for assessing the competitiveness of the national economy. The purpose of the work is the justification of modern mechanisms as effective means of regulating competitiveness in the formation of a long-term economic and social development strategy. The research method is a theoretical and logical justification of competitive processes at the macro level. The processes of the active introduction of Ukraine into world economic relations put forward the most important task - ensuring a long-term competitive position in international markets. The article summarizes the experience in the context of the role and place of the legislative base and effective factors in the system of assessing the competitiveness of national economies of different countries. It is proposed to amend the current legislation of Ukraine on competitiveness, taking into account new approaches in the definitions of such concepts as “competition» and “competitiveness» with a further emphasis on an essential understanding of these categories when determining the sequence of influence of various groups of factors and mechanisms on prioritizing national processes and tasks in the Strategy of economic and social development of Ukraine in the context of ensuring a long-term sustainable competitive position national economy in the context of further globalization. The results of the study can be implemented in the system of scientific foundations for the formation of the competition policy of Ukraine. Predicted areas for possible further research are the search for effective mechanisms for the formation of a competitive strategy for the national economy of Ukraine. KEYWORDS: COMPETITIVENESS, NATIONAL ECONOMY, GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS INDEX, FACTORS OF NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS.

Driving Forces of Employees’ Entrepreneurial Intentions - Leadership Style and Organizational Structure

Research Question: The purpose of this paper is to explore how leadership style and organizational structure characteristics influence employees’ intentions to start their own entrepreneurial ventures, ideas or projects, within an organizational setting. Motivation: The main goal is to learn how to prevent innovativeness declining in a traditional organization and make internal environment friendly for entrepreneurial initiatives and for employees with propensity to develop new ideas, aiming to create sustainable competitive position. Idea: The paper explores how identified leadership variables, initiative, pioneer, proactive behaviour and ability to communicate vision affect employees’ entrepreneurial intentions. We also analyze the organizational structure impact, testing organic design, level of centralization and formalization. For measuring employees’ entrepreneurial intentions, we use a previously validated scale and measurements, innovation, risk propensity and autonomy. Data: The data are collected using a questionnaire on a random sample of 208 respondents employed in nineteen Serbian companies. Tools: A quantitative study methodology was designed and implemented, appropriate statistical methods performed, including correlation and linear regression analyses. Findings: We have found evidence that appropriate leadership style has a positive influence on employees' entrepreneurial intentions. More specifically, there is a positive correlation between the leader’s initiative, pioneer and proactive behaviour, and the employees’ intentions to start innovative entrepreneurial ventures. The employees’ willingness to act autonomously is affected by leader’s initiative and proactive attitude, but also by ability to clearly communicate the vision. The study also reveals that organic organizational structure, decentralization and low formalization have a positive influence on employees' entrepreneurial intentions. Contribution: The study contributes to a significant degree by filling gaps in knowledge base, revealing new perspectives about relevance of both leadership style and organizational structure for encouraging organizational entrepreneurship. The analysis also provides a more fine-grained perspective about characteristics of organizational design and improves understanding of the employees’ actions depending on authority delegation, procedures and overall flexibility of organizational structure. Practical implications represent guidelines for practitioners as to how to set up structure and adjust leadership style in order to foster entrepreneurship among employees.

STATE REGULATION AND FINANCING OF THE UKRAINIAN VINOGRAUNDATION MARKET IN THE CONDITIONS OF EURO INTEGRATION

In the context of the globalization of the wine market and the European integration of Ukraine into the World Trade Organization, the International Organization of Vine and Wine, the study of modern mechanisms of state regulation and financing of the wine and wine industry and ways to diversify relevant activities to ensure its sustainable development and competitive position of domestic grape products on the world market. The paper conducted a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the regulatory support of Ukraine’s viticulture, the features of the organizational and legal status of the subjects of grape production and their state support in order to identify ways of economic and legal development and finance the viticulture and winemaking industry and increase investment attractiveness. It was determined that one of the important conditions for the further development of viticulture is the improvement of production and economic relations. Through the production of grape products by business entities of various forms of ownership on the basis of their integration and cooperation, it becomes possible to make rational use of the limited economic resources of viticulture, increase efficiency and productivity, ensure production stability and expand the boundaries of financing. Also, in conditions of economic instability and investment unattractiveness of the viticulture industry, given its specificity, stable and effective financial government support plays a very important role, which should be evenly aimed at creating new plantings and ensuring the stability of the production and sale of grape products.

Technological capability, relational capability and firms’ performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the mediating role of learning capability on the relationship between technological capability, relational capability and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance in developing economy of Africa. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey design was employed to collect the data from owner/manager of manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. Partial least square structural equation model was used in the evaluation of both the measurement and structural models to determine the reliability and validity of the measurement and test the hypotheses, respectively. Findings The statistical result indicates a positive relationship between technological capability, learning capability and SMEs performance. Equally, relational capability significantly and positively relates to SMEs learning capability. However, relational capability negatively relates to SMEs performance, while technological capability also negatively relates to learning capability. Furthermore, learning capability mediates the negative relationship of relational capability and SMEs performance to significant positive relationship, while it does not mediate the relationship of technological capability and performance. Research limitations/implications The analysis of this study is restricted to only resource-based view and dynamic capability theory. Data of the study were collected once a time on a self-reported technique. The study contributed significantly to the body literature on technological and relational capabilities and performance. It also demonstrated the need for SMEs manager to recognize and appreciate the roles of these strategic capabilities in achieving sustainable competitive position. Practical implications Through relational capability SMEs develops efficient collaborative relationship to acquire new techniques, knowledge. This is specifically, essential for SMEs firms from less developing and emerging economies as they are lagging behind at the global competitive platform, and that the possession of specific advantage locally may not be adequately enough to help penetrate the global markets. Similarly, technological capability enable firms to identify acquire and apply new external knowledge to develop operational competencies which may lead to the attainment of superior performance. Social implications Government policies and programs designed to support technological development and innovation must be adjusted to consider the peculiar nature of SMEs firms in terms of technology and innovativeness that enhances competitive position and performance. Originality/value This study empirically examined the relationship of technological and relational capabilities and the SMEs learning capability and performance.

Sustainable social responsibility toward multiple stakeholders as a trump card for small and medium‐sized enterprise performance (evidence from China)

AbstractSustainable social responsibility (SSR) toward multiple stakeholders is proclaimed as an obligation of firms rather than a voluntary deed. Keeping in view the stipulation of sustainability, this paper examines the influence of SSR on sustainable competitive position (SCP) and firm performance (FP) in the context of 307 Chinese small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises. The results indicate a significant influence of aggregated and segregated SSR on SCP and FP. With the exception of SSR toward owners, the dimensions of SSR toward employees, the environment, the community, suppliers, and customers exhibit a significant positive influence on SCP and FP. Simultaneously, the results show that SCP has a mediating role in the relationship between SSR and FP. The findings of the study inculcate the managers to stretch substantial consideration to the interests of multiple stakeholders rather than owners only. Based on the evaluation, theoretical and practical implications are presented for managers, owners, and local governments.