IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v211y2026ics0148296326002298.html

Enhancing agility and international performance through learning processes and digitalization capabilities in Nigerian SMEs

Author

Listed:
  • Theodosiou, Marios
  • Katsikea, Evangelia
  • Alarape, Oluyomi
  • Rethore, Christophe
  • Makri, Katerina

Abstract

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging economies face significant challenges that complicate their internationalization. To thrive in a dynamic global environment, SMEs must develop organizational agility. Drawing on the knowledge-based view and the dynamic capabilities framework, this study both investigates the role of learning orientation in generating foreign market knowledge and its influence on digitalization capabilities (sensing), market-capitalizing agility (seizing), and operational-adjustment agility (reconfiguring), and explores how organizational agility enhances international performance. Data were collected from 209 international SMEs in Nigeria. The findings highlight the positive effects of learning orientation, foreign market knowledge, and market-capitalizing agility on international performance. While digitalization capabilities strengthen both market-capitalizing and operational-adjustment agility, foreign market knowledge does not directly foster digitalization capabilities. Furthermore, operational-adjustment agility alone does not significantly affect international performance; however, its interaction with market-capitalizing agility demonstrates a synergistic effect that enhances performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Theodosiou, Marios & Katsikea, Evangelia & Alarape, Oluyomi & Rethore, Christophe & Makri, Katerina, 2026. "Enhancing agility and international performance through learning processes and digitalization capabilities in Nigerian SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:211:y:2026:i:c:s0148296326002298
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116194
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296326002298
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116194?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:211:y:2026:i:c:s0148296326002298. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.