Building Resilient Organizations: The Role of Technological Capability, Innovation Leadership, and Sustainability

Uncertainties, ranging from environmental threats and health epidemics to political instability, financial crises, and technological advancements, can significantly alter business environments. When such changes occur, service organizations face various difficulties that hinder their sustainable organizational performance. Consequently, the study empirically examines the influences of technological capability (i.e., digitalization, big data analytics, and a data-driven culture) on service firms’ sustainable organizational performance (SOP), and in turn, the impact of SOP on organizational resilience (OR) via the moderation of innovation leadership. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of the dynamic capability view (DCV) and flexible systems management (FSM), the proposed hypotheses were tested via survey data collected from 297 senior-level professionals in service organizations. The results of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), necessary condition analysis (NCA), and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) revealed that technological capability significantly influences sustainable organizational performance, which in turn contributes to organizational resilience, particularly when innovation leadership is present. Thus, technological capability, as the foundation of a flexible system, enables rapid resource reconfiguration, real-time data-driven decision-making, and scalable operations. In doing so, it directly enhances sustainable organizational performance and indirectly supports organizational resilience, which is reinforced by innovation leadership. These insights advocate that service firms leverage technological capability and innovation-driven leadership to ensure sustainability and resilience in complex and uncertain environments while maintaining operational and managerial flexibility.