Improvising digital transformation under exogenous shock: Implications for SME international performance

This study examines how managerial improvisation shapes SMEs’ international performance through digital transformation, specifically through digital international networking and digital operations, under a major exogenous shock, the COVID-19 crisis. We develop a conceptual framework that integrates three streams of literature: managerial improvisation grounded in dynamic capabilities theory, the network perspective of internationalization, and digitalization research. Using survey data from Canadian SMEs, we show that managerial improvisation enables the effective deployment of digital international networking and digital operations. These digital transformation mechanisms, in turn, enhance SMEs’ international performance during the crisis. Our findings highlight the pivotal role of managerial improvisation in mobilizing and reconfiguring digital technologies to sustain cross-border relationships while ensuring operational continuity under severe disruption. By positioning managerial improvisation as a dynamic capability that transforms digital affordances into international performance, this study offers a process-oriented perspective on how SMEs navigate turbulent environments.