SMEs’ strategic orientation through Miles and Snow typology: a synthesis of literature and future directions

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to present a systematic analysis of consequents and antecedents of strategy and performance. To acheive this, this systematic review article analyzes and synthesizes mainstream research on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) where Miles and Snow typology was used for strategic orientation of the SMEs. The specific focus of the research is to develop a conceptual framework showing consequents and antecedents of the strategic orientation. Design/methodology/approach - This study uses systematic literature review (SLR) method to identify, summarize and synthesize literature on Miles and Snow typology. Preferred reporting method for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to ensure adherence to systematic approach. The key words search consists of the words: “Miles and Snow”, “Miles and Snow” and “miles-snow” from Web of Science and Scopus databases for sample articles. Findings - The trend of research on SMEs using Miles and Snow typology is on the rise with a shift from developed countries to the developing ones. Support for strategy-performance relationship hypotheses is overwhelming but the traditional view is in decline while new antecedent and consequent variables are being added. Mediator and moderating variables are also identified. Originality/value - The SLR where a synthesis approach was applied for finding antecedents and consequent variables of strategy-performance relationship along with a presentation of conceptual framework makes this research unique. Additionally, the article presents the trends of research over the time based on timeframe, regions, methodological approaches and hypotheses support.