Journal of Open Innovation:
Technology, Market, and Complexity
Article
Investigating the Research Trends on Strategic Ambidexterity,
Agility, and Open Innovation in SMEs: Perceptions from
Bibliometric Analysis
Konstantina Ragazou 1, *, Ioannis Passas 1 , Alexandros Garefalakis 1,2
1
2
*
Citation: Ragazou, K.; Passas, I.;
Garefalakis, A.; Dimou, I.
Investigating the Research Trends on
Strategic Ambidexterity, Agility, and
Open Innovation in SMEs:
Perceptions from Bibliometric
Analysis. J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark.
and Irini Dimou 1
Department of Business Administration and Tourism, Hellenic Mediterranean University,
GR71410 Heraklion, Greece; ipassas@hmu.gr (I.P.); agarefalakis@hmu.gr (A.G.); irdimou@hmu.gr (I.D.)
Department of Business Administration, Neapolis University Pafos, 8042 Paphos, Cyprus
Correspondence: koragazo@uth.gr
Abstract: The unprecedented conditions of restrictive measures that were suddenly imposed in 2020
due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic affected business activity globally. To deal with
the consequences that were caused by the pandemic, most SMEs had to adopt strategies which will
enhance their development and footprint in the business arena. With this study, we aim to propose a
theoretical approach, via bibliometric analysis, of a new business model innovation that will be based
on the triple-win formula of strategic agility, ambidexterity, and open innovation. Open innovation
can help SMEs develop their ambidexterity and agility capacity and become more efficient, which
can contribute to gaining competitive advantage. To approach this issue, a bibliometric analysis was
conducted based on 606 articles that were published in the timespan of 2008–2021. The bibliometric
analysis used various indicators such as the scientific production in the studied field, h-Index,
co-occurrence collaboration, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), keyword analysis, and
thematic mapping. Biblioshiny and VOSviewer were used to process the data, and contributed to the
visualization of the results. Of the 476 sources that were analyzed, most of the articles were published
by Journal of Business Research; British scholars are those with the highest number of citations on the
topic. This research provides insights related to the state of the art of the study area under analysis
and highlights the gaps, which contributed to the building of a new business model innovation that
will integrate not only ambidexterity and strategic agility, but open innovation, too. The new business
model can help SMEs quickly adapt in the new business environment created by the past successive
series of crises, such as the most recent financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complex. 2022, 8, 118. https://
doi.org/10.3390/joitmc8030118
Keywords: ambidexterity; agility; SMEs; accounting outcomes; strategy; competitive advantage;
open innovation; business model innovation
Received: 26 May 2022
Accepted: 1 July 2022
Published: 11 July 2022
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
1. Introduction
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can be characterized as the driving force
of both the national and international economy; they contribute significantly to the creation
of new job positions, the production of added value, and the enhancement of GDP. SMEs
also play an important role in boosting employment, competitiveness, and innovation,
while ensuring social stability. However, their survival is a major challenge in today’s
competitive world. Continuous modernization in production and management processes,
innovative services and products, access to relevant information and financing, adoption of
previous technologies, data utilization, and networking and collaborations are required.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected SMEs in different ways. SMEs were faced with
significant challenges and sudden constraints, operating in a peculiar “lockdown” regime as
well as in an environment of rapid demand restraint, combined with a situation of disrupted
international supply chains [1]. In addition, SMEs have experienced decreases in sales, and
their wider operation in terms of their production capacity and liquidity adequacy were
published maps and institutional affiliations.
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J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex. 2022, 8, 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc8030118
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J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex. 2022, 8, 118
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affected in various ways. At the same time, SMEs have been the recipients of extended
stimuli, because of which they are looking for ways to adapt and transform their activities
to maintain their business continuity by securing jobs and to actively contribute to the fight
against the crisis.
However, SMEs were found weakened in tackling the above multidimensional challenges. In this light, the development of a hybrid set of strategies can be an important
springboard for SMEs to improve their productivity and enhance their efficiency [2]. Ambidexterity is widely used in the literature of business management and is a key strategy
through which businesses can seek to explore and exploit activities simultaneously. This
type of hybrid strategy refers to the organizational potential of both exploiting existing
skills and exploring new opportunities [1–3]. The concept of ambidexterity has a metaphorical meaning and is used to characterize organisms/businesses that can exploit and explore
at the same time. In short, this definition implies the achievement of conflicting goals:
efficiency versus flexibility, stability versus adaptation, and short-term profits versus longterm growth [4,5]. Among the types of ambidexterity, organizational ambivalence is the
most widely used and concerns an important research model in the theory of organizational
innovation. The term organizational ambidexterity was first used by Duncan (1976), but
March (1991) was the one who gave the impetus for the development of the concept, as it
was the determining factor in intense research activity [6,7].
However, in addition to ambidexterity, agile methods can contribute to the creation
of a hybrid company. Agile management strategies have become popular in recent years
since they offer the ability to execute tasks more easily and in a more anthropocentric way.
Moreover, this type of strategy represents a rising set of project development methodologies
based on the principles of adaptability and flexibility [8,9]. Agile strategies attempt to
both improve and address the problem areas of the so-called traditional strategies and are
based on a completely different approach, which usually has the following characteristics:
(i) requires cooperation with the client who is essentially involved in the implementation
of the entire project and (ii) has the ability to adapt, i.e., to make changes at any stage of
project creation [10].
In addition, more open innovation means more agility and ambidexterity for a company. Open innovation expresses not only the need of SMEs to explore their environment,
but their need to adopt new ideas. The next important step for SMEs is to manage these
ideas properly, with the main goal to turn these ideas into successful products or services
that are marketed and help increase the revenue and profitability of the companies. This
business capacity is significantly linked to both business agility and ambidexterity.
The scope of this paper is threefold. We sought to (i) to examine the relationship
between ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation; (ii) to investigate the role of ambidexterity, agile practices, and open innovation in the development of a hybrid set of strategies
for SMEs; and (iii) to highlight the key trends and characteristics of this new hybrid strategic
model [11,12]. There are few studies that analyze this issue, and they often refer to large
companies. Only a smattering of studies discuss the relationship between ambidexterity,
agility, and open innovation in SMEs in the post-pandemic period. To approach the above
issues, Bibliometrix analysis with R package was applied. Consequently, in this paper,
we provide a bibliometric approach to the development of a hybrid model of strategies
for SMEs by integrating ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation strategies [11,13].
Moreover, the bibliometric analysis highlights the state of the art of this research field and
indicates the key trends and other relevant indicators by examining articles published on
the Scopus database. Lastly, the content analysis with R package and the use of Biblioshiny
and VOSviewer software led to the identification of gaps and opportunities for SMEs
through the adoption of a hybrid strategic model with ambidexterity and agility [14,15].
The paper is structured as follows. Section 2 defines the concepts of ambidexterity,
agility, and open innovation strategies and the importance of the integration of these
practices in the business strategy of SMEs as an ideal way to mitigate the effects of a crisis
and adjust promptly to the new needs of the market. Section 3 describes the methodology
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that was applied. Section 4 presents the results which were visualized by Biblioshiny and
VOSviewer software, both based on R package. Section 5 discusses the findings and future
research proposals for the field, and Section 6 concludes the paper.
2. Literature Review
An ambidextrous organization or business is one that is distinguished by its ability (j)
to align and be effective in managing current business requirements and (ii) to adapt
to changes in its environment (internal and external). Organizational ambidexterity
is widely recognized as an important research model in the theory of organizational
innovation [16,17]. The basic idea of ambidexterity is that businesses, independently of
their size or activity, are called upon to face often conflicting and interrelated demands in
their daily operations. Those that manage to achieve the coexistence of these two factors
are then considered as successful. Organizational ambidexterity is an emerging issue in
the field of management and emphasizes that companies that can coordinate and integrate
conflicting activities and can achieve their goals and business continuity. The term organizational ambidexterity was first used by Duncan (1976), who can be considered as the
“father” of the study of this knowledge field [6].
To achieve business ambidexterity is to balance exploration and exploitation. This will
allow companies to be creative and adaptable, while continuing to rely on traditional and
proven methods [18]. Based on that, March suggested that exploration includes search,
risk-taking, differentiation, flexibility, experimentation, play, discovery, and innovation,
while exploitation includes selection, production, improvement, efficiency, implementation,
and execution [7,10]. Exploration and exploitation are necessary but conflicting activities
that organizations must undertake to survive and prosper in the long run [19]. While
previous research has questioned the ability of organizations to address exploration and
exploitation simultaneously and effectively, considered as incompatible activities, March’s
argument that successful businesses are ambivalent has contributed to shifting research
from compromise to a paradoxical way of thinking [20]. Specifically, March (1991) argued
that businesses should be aligned in both exploitation and exploration. Companies that
focus only on the dimension of exploration run the risk of wasting resources on ideas that
may not be useful or manage to grow. On the other hand, companies that focus only on
the dimension of exploitation may understand the current situation and improve their
performance in the short term but may not achieve optimal levels of success, as they may
not be able to respond to changes in the environment [16,21].
In today’s economic environment, a company’s success depends to a large extent on
its ability to evolve and adopt organizational models that allow for faster assimilation
of developments and innovation. In this context, new, more flexible, and effective management approaches have emerged in recent years, such as agile and open innovation
strategies [9,22]. Agile strategies can be characterized as a new alternative set of strategies
that make a difference in leadership by leaving behind stereotypes of the past in relation to
hierarchy, while focusing on individual initiative and responsibility, but also on the most
effective networking between the various businesses’ functions and departments. Agile
management strategies offer teams the freedom to make decisions that in the past should
have been approved by the “hierarchy”. Agile methods also encourage people to collaborate, participate, cultivate new skills, and grow in an environment of flexibility. In addition,
the new management model pushes companies to think and act not only differently, but
also faster [23]. It allows them to use their time more efficiently and effectively, improving
not only their internal functions, but also their collaborations with all stakeholders. It
essentially contributes to the transition of companies from simple relationship management
to “co-creation” and the search for innovative solutions, which add value to their customers
and society [9].
However, in the 21st century, businesses are under tremendous pressure due to the
continuously changing environment. In a world of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity), businesses are in the process of developing new dynamic strategies
J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex. 2022, 8, 118
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to transform and enhance their level of innovation. This transitional period requires a
redefinition of the leadership and the cooperation model. Businesses, in combination with
human resources, must have more willingness to change, flexibility, and a strong capacity
for self-organization and self-management. Therefore, concepts such as ambidexterity and
agility are important for achieving the above objectives. the role of open innovation is
also crucial. Open innovation is an emerging strategy adopted by businesses, based on
the assumption that "valuable ideas can enter or leave the company and can be marketed
within or outside it." Through an open innovation model, businesses can become more
extroverted and collaborative. A more simplistic view of open innovation can be that it is a
distributed process of innovation based on managing the flow of knowledge throughout
an organization, using monetary and non-monetary mechanisms, in line with the business
model of the organization [24,25]. This term highlights that open innovation is not only
in the core of the business but also includes co-creating with customers or suppliers as
well as innovative user communities. For SMEs, open innovation is a way to overcome the
challenges they face daily and to expand their technical skills by gaining knowledge from
their external environment. Most SMEs face a lack of resources for the implementation
of their business activities. This is the reason that the development of partnerships with
external organizations helps SMEs to manage the level of innovation with less bureaucracy,
increased willingness to take risks, and an improved ability to react and adapt immediately
to new needs imposed by the market [11].
Usually, scholars focus only on one of the above approaches. Few investigate the
relationship between open innovation, agility, and ambidexterity. The combination of
these concepts can lead businesses on the path of digital transformation and the development of a culture that will allow them to respond directly to any business challenge. In
essence, the combination further enhances open communication and cooperation between
businesses and stakeholders. Open innovation offers a variety of tools and services in an
agile work environment. The new proposed hybrid model of ambidexterity, agility, and
open innovation needs a multi-skilled manager who can deal with diverse problems under
different circumstances effectively, successfully, and rapidly in the internal environment
as much as the external environment. In the current external environment, CEOs around
the world are increasingly concerned about how unstable, unpredictable, and dangerous
the world has become. In addition, they realize that political reality and business are
closely linked. Therefore, a company must look beyond the market in which it operates
and consider the political and social reality, as these can play a key role in its success [16].
In the internal environment, executives face different challenges every day, such as the
combination of different resources and especially different people, different characters,
and different moods. The goal of the leaders is to unite workers and create teams with
different personalities. So, with all this complexity inside and outside a business, can one
really imagine a one-party, assertive, right-wing leader facing a multifaceted situation? The
answer is no. That is why the issue of a multi-skilled manager, ambidextrous and agile, is
indeed more relevant than ever [26].
3. Materials and Methods
Bibliometric analysis is a popular research method and has been approved by many
scholars globally [12,27,28]. Its admiration is based on a series of characteristics such as
the development, usage, and availability of a wide range of bibliometric software such as
VOSviewer and Biblioshiny and scientific resources such as Scopus and Web of Science.
Moreover, bibliometric analysis gives academics and researchers the opportunity to handle
large volumes of data and to generate significant research impacts [29]. The aim of this
method is to provide a categorization of the published documents in a research field, based
on a series of criteria to analyze and classify the publications.
In this paper, the analyzed data were retrieved from the Scopus database in April 2022.
Scopus was created in 2004 by Elsevier and is an interdisciplinary source of reports. It is
one of the largest “peer reviewed” databases in the world, covering more than 24,000 active
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titles of academic journals in multiple fields of high research interest, such as life, social, and
health sciences. In addition, Scopus includes more than 230,000 book titles and more than
10,000,000 conference papers [30,31]. Compared to other academic research databases (such
as Google Scholar or Web of Science), Scopus is the one with the fewest “inconsistencies”
in terms of verification and quality of their content. Google Scholar and Web of Science
offer accurate information, but they contain duplicate or, in some cases, triplicate citations.
As a result, the total number of reports includes the same items and therefore produces
inaccurate data. In addition, Scopus provides its users with online tools for bibliometric
analysis of their publications, calculating a variety of bibliometric indicators such as the
h-index and statistical analysis tools such as frequency charts of publications as a function
of time, etc.
Our search in the Scopus database for the terms “ambidexterity”, “agility”, and “SMEs”
gave a return of 1946 results. A purification of the terms through selected criteria resulted in
606 results with the final formula: [(“ambidexterity” OR “ambidextrous” OR “strategic ambidexterity”) AND (“agile” OR “agility” OR “agile management”) AND “open innovation”
AND (“small enterprises” OR “medium enterprises”) AND “competitive advantage”].
As for the usage of the Boolean operators, they were applied to separate the findings.
Moreover, to increase the clarity and quality of the findings, we considered only original
papers for analysis, whereas other forms of publications such as book chapters, conference proceedings, and white papers were excluded. Regarding the language used, this
search was based on English since it is one of the fastest growing languages in the modern
word and the one that dominates globally. The selected papers that were included in the
analysis were restricted within the timespan 2008–2021. The data from the bibliometric
search were extracted in an Excel file, which integrated the following information: (i) the
title of the paper, (ii) the date of publication, (iii) principal details of the author (name/s
and affiliation/s), (iv) the title of the article, (v) authors’ keywords, (vi) the abstract, and
(vii) the citation count. To analyze and visualize the data, the Biblioshiny package in RStudio and VOSviewer software were used. Both tools provide diagrams and maps such as
thematic maps, country collaboration maps, and network visualization, which illustrates
the research situation, and the dynamics of the new hybrid management model of SMEs,
which is based on the concepts of ambidexterity and agility. Moreover, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was integrated in the methodology. MCA contributes to the
drawing of the conceptual framework of the studied field, helping us to identify clusters of
documents and highlight the research gaps.
Figure 1 presents the methodological process of this study.
Figure 1. Methodological flow. Source: Own elaboration.
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4. Results
4.1. Evolution of the Number of Articles
In the current study, a total of 476 published original articles within the timespan
2008–2021 were analyzed. Figure 2 presents the annual scientific production for the research
field of ambidexterity and agility in SMEs. The sharp increase in 2021 can be characterized
as the peak year of publications in the research field.
Figure 2. Annual scientific production of publications in ambidexterity and agility in SMEs. Source:
Scopus/Biblioshiny.
‐
This growth is due to the new conditions in the management field created by the
pandemic. In particular, the imposition of protection measures against the transmission of
COVID-19 and the new business environment created due to these measures highlighted
the need for SMEs to adopt a hybrid management model. This new model will allow SMEs
to align and be effective in managing current business requirements, while also permit them
to adapt directly to the changes in their environment. Moreover, this new business model
can be characterized as an important research model in the theory of open innovation.
Essentially, it allows businesses to be creative and adaptable to the new circumstances, by
combining traditional and new methods of ambidexterity and agility, respectively. The
combination of the two methods will push SMEs to take risks, differentiate themselves
from competitors, and make them more flexible, innovative, and collaborative, while at the
same time contribute to the improvement of their efficiency.
The journals with the most published articles in the field of strategic ambidexterity and
agility within the timespan 2008–2021 are presented in Table 1. Journal of Business Research
was the journal with the highest number of published articles on strategic ambidexterity
and agility (27 articles) during that period. Both Sustainability and Technological Forecasting
and Social Change ranked second with 21 articles each. Journal of Social Management published
13 articles, while Benchmarking published nine articles. Overall, the journals covered plenty
of research areas, with implications for businesses and management, such as strategy and
management, business and management, and international management. Furthermore,
many papers appeared in more than one research areas, which reveals the need for SMEs to
integrate the new hybrid model, based on ambidexterity and agility, in different processes
such as the development of their strategy or decision making. In addition, all these
most-cited and relevant journals in the studied field are indexed by Scopus and Scimago,
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as well as by the ABS list. As for the h-index, the average is close to 93, which indicates that
the published research articles in the studied field receive more than 93 citations each. This
is a satisfactory metric which highlights the importance, significance, and broad impact of
research on strategic ambidexterity and agility for SMEs.
Table 1. Most relevant publications in the field of ambidexterity and agility.
Sources
Number of
Publications
h-Index
Ranking
by ABS
Ranking by
Scimago
27
195
3 ***
Q1
21
85
Q1
21
117
Q1
13
9
113
61
2 **
1*
Q1
Q2
9
63
1*
Q2
8
185
3 ***
Q1
7
98
2 **
Q1
6
81
2 **
Q1
Decision Sciences
6
114
2 **
Q1
Management of Technology
and Innovation
6
61
2 **
Q1
Strategy and Management
5
44
2 **
Q2
Management of Technology
and Innovation
5
107
3 ***
Q1
Strategy and Management
5
61
1*
Q2
Subject Area
Journal of Business Research
Sustainability (Switzerland)
Technological Forecasting and
Social Change
Journal of Knowledge Management
Benchmarking
European Journal of
Innovation Management
International Journal of
Production Economics
Management Decision
Business Process Management Journal
International Journal of
Information Management
Journal of Enterprise
Information Management
International Journal of
Innovation Management
International Journal of
Management Reviews
International Journal of Productivity
and Performance Management
Journal of Business and
Industrial Marketing
Journal of Strategic
Information Systems
Production Planning and Control
Supply Chain Management
Academy of Strategic
Management Journal
European Management Journal
Business, Management
and Accounting
Management, Monitoring,
Policy and Law
Management of Technology
and Innovation
Strategy and Management
Strategy and Management
Management of Technology
and Innovation
Business, Management
and Accounting
Management Science and
Operations Research
Business, Management
and Accounting
Business and
International Management
Business and
International Management
Strategy and Management
Strategy and Management
5
67
2 **
Q1
5
88
4 ****
Q1
5
5
76
115
3 ***
3 ***
Q1
Q1
Strategy and Management
4
17
Strategy and Management
4
102
Q3
2 **
Q1
Source: Scopus/Biblioshiny. Asterisks indicate the ranking of the journal according to the ABS list.
4.2. Geographical Collaboration Analysis
Table 2 presents the scientific production of research papers per country in the field
of strategic ambidexterity, agility, and the integration of open innovation in SMEs. The
common characteristic among the countries is the low level of citations. The more a paper
is cited, the more ground is covered. However, the goal of this paper is to highlight the new
hybrid business model that has emerged in recent years to help SMEs to survive and be
flexible, ambidextrous, agile, and innovative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, since
the new hybrid business model is a relatively new subject in the management research
field, citation levels are low.
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Table 2. Scientific production of the main countries related to the smart and precision farming.
Country
Total Citations
Average Article Citations per Year
United Kingdom
Italy
Spain
China
Germany
The Netherlands
USA
India
Sweden
Cyprus
Australia
Portugal
France
Indonesia
Pakistan
Ireland
Korea
Austria
Iran
Malaysia
513
484
355
300
273
271
268
244
236
193
128
120
113
112
94
77
72
69
65
47
15.09
14.67
25.36
6.67
11.38
54.20
20.62
7.39
47.20
27.57
9.85
24.00
22.60
6.22
10.44
25.67
12.00
13.80
6.50
6.71
Source: Scopus/Biblioshiny.
The United Kingdom (U.K.) holds the first position globally with a total of 513 citations.
The U.K. can be characterized as a magnet for many businesses worldwide, with London being the world’s most international and connected financial hub, providing unrivaled access
to global markets. As the U.K.’s financial hub, it has gained an international perspective
and is open to talent, investment, and collaboration from around the world [32]. Moreover,
the U.K. is becoming particularly attractive to workers from all over the world, who create
a mix of financial and professional service experts. Due to the intense activity of the U.K. in
the business arena, some of the most well-known business research centers globally are located there, such as the Centre for Business Research of the University of Cambridge [32,33].
This situation allows British researchers who study business management and strategy to
be one step ahead in identifying new trends in those subject areas. Agile strategies as a tool
for businesses to mitigate the effects of a crisis have been introduced in the research area by
British experts in the field prior to the manifestation of the pandemic. Concretely, Rigby,
Sutherland, and Takeuchi (2016) in their paper “Embracing Agile” published by Harvard
Business Review discuss the importance of agile practices in businesses, presenting the
benefits of these practices in a wide range of industries [34]. It is noteworthy that the paper
highlights the weakness of executives in understanding the dynamics of agile practices
and their contribution to their organizations. Thus, this paper was structured to highlight
the following issues: (i) how agile practices really work, (ii) understanding when agile
methods are appropriate in a business, (iii) allowing teams that have mastered the process
to customize their practices, (iv) practicing agility at the top, and (v) mitigating corporate
barriers to agile behaviors.
The average article citations per year of Dutch research in the field of ambidexterity
and agile in businesses (54.2 citations per year) is also worth noting. The Netherlands
is the eighth-most competitive economy globally and the sixth-largest in Europe. More
than 11% of the working population in the country are entrepreneurs. This percentage
is very high and positions the country in third place, followed by Australia and Canada.
The heart of the Dutch economy beats in Rotterdam. Europe’s largest port is transformed
into an area with a high-quality business climate. It no longer serves only trade and
transport, but its facilities, due to its strategic location, attract plenty of new and innovative
companies—especially in the field of sustainable energy—and a great number of research
institutes [35]. This has led local municipalities and university institutions and even
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multinational companies to welcome youthful and innovative entrepreneurship, with the
central ambition to create companies that will have a leading role in the future. Innovation
in entrepreneurship can be the ideal solution for a successful recovery during a crisis period.
Thus, Dutch experts in the business research area assert that, during a crisis, businesses
should improve and adapt their business models to be more competitive by pursuing
innovation. Agility and ambidexterity can be described as the right path for businesses to
follow to achieve flexibility, sustainability, and entrepreneurial mentality. Dutch startups,
which have a positive effect on the Dutch economy, appear to be among the most agile and
ambidextrous businesses, as they are able to make decisions quickly and their processes
can be reproduced for each new team without having to restart from scratch [36].
Figure 3 presents the geographical collaboration of the authors in the field of strategic
ambidexterity and agility. The visualization of the findings in regard to the scientific
collaboration in the studied field was actualized using the Biblioshiny software. The
aim of analyzing collaboration among academics is to illustrate the social structure of
the research community in the field of ambidexterity and agility. In the figure, the blue
color intensity on the map represents the number of publications, while the red lines
illustrate the degree of collaboration among academics. The United States presents an
intense collaboration with European countries and especially with The Netherlands, the
United Kingdom, and Scandinavian countries. In addition, there is frequent cooperation
between European countries and Asian countries. It is worth noting that the collaboration
is more intense between Europe and China, which proves that the concepts of strategic
agility and ambidexterity are not only rife in the Western community. The proposed hybrid
business model of ambidexterity and agility can suit the Chinese business environment,
as the Chinese, from their early childhood, are taught in how to make rapid decisions. By
taking this aspect into consideration, the new hybrid business model can work well under
specific circumstances, such as in situations where managers want their human resources
to work in an agile and ambidextrous environment and employees also want to adopt and
use the proposed agile and ambidextrous methods [37].
Figure 3. International research collaborations map on strategic ambidexterity and agility. Source:
Scopus/Biblioshiny.
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4.3. Keyword Analysis
The aim of the keyword analysis is to highlight the direction and the key trends of
the new hybrid business model based on ambidexterity and agility. Figure 4 presents the
network visualization based on the co-occurrence of authors’ keywords. To visualize the
co-occurrence of authors’ keywords, the VOSviewer tool was used [27,38]. In Figure 4, the
size of each circle highlights the occurrence of the keywords. The bigger the size of the circle,
the greater the frequency of authors’ keywords. The similar color of the circles indicates
the cluster of the keywords, and the lines between the circles show the link between
the keywords [15]. A total of 35 keywords were selected and divided into five clusters,
and each cluster is represented by a different color. The yellow cluster highlights open
innovation and its relationship with organizational agility and dynamic capabilities. Open
innovation is a set of processes, while dynamic capabilities framework is a systematic theory
of strategic management that includes not only processes but also corporate governance,
management decision making, and sources of competitive advantage. The green cluster
represents the strong link between innovation and absorptive capacity. Absorptive capacity
is the ability of a company to recognize, assimilate, transform, and use the knowledge that
comes from the external environment. In other words, absorptive capacity is the tool that a
company uses to learn how to integrate this knowledge in a more scientific way. As for
the blue cluster, this illustrates the dynamic presence of dynamic capabilities in businesses’
strategies. Moreover, the red cluster represents the concept of ambidexterity and shows
how it relates to the strategies of SMEs to gain competitive advantage. Moreover, the purple
cluster highlights the new business model innovation, which is based on the triple-win
formula of ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation. This cluster indicates that this
new business model can be ideal to be adopted by SMEs, helping them adapt to the new
needs that emerge in the market. Particularly, the new business model will contribute to
the prompt identification of new desires of consumers by companies, and this can help
them to react quickly by creating products and services that will satisfy consumers. In sum,
the visualization of the co-occurrence of authors’ keywords presents with clarity the new
business model that emerges, based on strategic ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation,
which can contribute to SMEs’ competitive advantage enforcement and sustainability in a
turbulent period.
Figure 4. Network visualization—co-occurrence of author keywords. Source: Scopus/VOSviewer.
‐
‐
‐
‐
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Although the concepts of strategic ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation constitute the new business model for mitigating the effects of a crisis and gaining competitive
advantage, digital transformation has also emerged as a crucial aspect. Figure 5, which
is the thematic map of authors’ keywords, describes the above. This figure illustrates
the research themes which are obtained from the conceptual structure of the documents
included in the Bibliometrix analysis. The clusters in the graph indicate the themes of
the research, while the size of the clusters highlights the proportion to the number of
keywords. The quadrant in the upper-right position indicates the motor themes, which can
be characterized by both high density and centrality, while the quadrant in the bottom-right
position highlights the basic themes that are defined from high centrality but low density.
The quadrant in the upper-right position shows the niche themes of the studied field, and
the themes in the bottom-left quadrant are characterized as the emerging themes, with low
centrality and density [30,39,40]. Digital transformation and digitalization are dominated
in the quadrant of the emerging themes of the thematic map. In a turbulent environment,
businesses need to enhance their competitive advantage. By integrating digitalization, they
can achieve this goal and adapt to the new conditions easily [41]. This means that the
more agile a company is, the more it can accomplish its aims. Digital agility is another
type of strategic/business agility and refers to the ability of a business to quickly adopt
new processes that will increase its value. For SMEs, digital transformation combined with
agility can help companies set new goals and make decisions in a timely manner and at a
lower cost.
Figure 5. Thematic map of authors’ keywords. Source: Scopus/Biblioshiny.
Niche themes highlight the concept of circular economy and link it with the new business model innovation based on strategic ambidexterity and agility. This can be achieved
‐
‐
through eco-innovation.
Eco-innovation
refers to all forms of innovation—both technologi‐
‐
cal and non-technological—that occur in business activities and benefit
the ‐environment by
‐
using resources rationally [42]. In simple terms, the concept of eco-innovation
is inextrica‐
bly linked to the way businesses use their natural resources for their production process,
‐
and this form of business‐ encourages
the shift ‐in product manufacturing from solutions
‐ material and
taken at the end-of-pipe process to closed-loop approaches that minimize
‐
energy leaks through product and method switching, thus offering competitive
advantage.
‐
Both ambidexterity and agility have a dynamic view in the context of eco-innovation,
‐
since they facilitate businesses in building a sustainable environment by decreasing their
environmental footprint [43]. Thus, businesses can increase their competitiveness
and gain
‐
competitive advantage. The above analysis indicates a dynamic and novel business model
that can guide businesses, especially SMEs, to transform their strategy, to be unscathed in a
future crisis.
Figure 6, which is called a Sankey diagram, confirms the need of SMEs to transform
‐
their business model. Each node in Figure 7 represents a set of different topics, which is
indicated by the keyword with the highest frequency. The size of the node is proportional
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to the number of keywords for the corresponding topic. The flow between the nodes
illustrates the evolutionary direction of the thematic complexes. The width of the edge
is proportional to the index of inclusion between two connected threads. Therefore, the
number of links between topics increases over time. Some topics have steadily evolved
and developed, while others gain importance and appear only in the last subperiod [44].
Figure 7 indicates that there are many themes that are involved in the research on the
need for a new business model innovation for SMEs. Moreover, the research focus was
not static but changed dynamically over time. As time passed, “market orientation”,
“innovation”, and “ambidexterity” remained popular research topics. However, the study
focus changed from “innovation” to “open innovation” and emerging issues, including
“knowledge management”, “digital transformation”, “innovation capacity”, and “dynamic
capabilities” of the business model. Furthermore, it can be deduced that the above research
topics have potential to continue to develop in the future.
‐
‐
Figure 6. Thematic evolution. Source: Scopus/Biblioshiny.
‐
Figure .7. New business model innovation for SMEs. Source: Own elaboration.
‐
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In sum, the findings of the analysis indicate the need for the development of a new
business model for SMEs that will be based on the triple-win formula of strategic ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation. Figure 7 describes the synthesis of the proposed
business model.
5. Discussion
Business models describe the way a company creates and delivers value. In a broad
sense, value is not used just as an economic quantity, but also as a social or other type
of value. Based on the literature, business models can be characterized as the blueprint
of the way a company “operates”, describing the entirety of how the company selects
its customers; identifies and differentiates its products and services; identifies the objects
that it deals with; shapes its resources; and promotes its image to stakeholders to become
more attractive and improve profit. Essentially, the essence of a business model is to help
businesses be better organized to meet the needs of their customers and at the same time
profit from the products or services they offer.
However, the unprecedented conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made
it imperative for businesses to adapt immediately to the new environment in order to
emerge unscathed from the crisis. Emphasis was given to the adoption of appropriate
measures and the search for innovative solutions for ensuring the business continuity and
the simultaneous safety of employees. During the pandemic, many companies embarked
on practices such as remote work, e-training, and the use of collaboration tools such as agile
management tools. Such practices promise the development of a new business model that
will help companies adjust to the new circumstances. Our bibliometric analysis indicated
the triple-win formula of strategic ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation, as an ideal
way for businesses, especially for SMEs, to react to the conditions set by the pandemic.
Although scholars have noticed the importance of ambidexterity in SMEs as a main
component of gaining competitive advantage, there is limited research with respect to
the combination of strategic agility, ambidexterity, and open innovation to mitigate the
negative effects of a crisis. Along these lines, our bibliometric analysis underlines the crucial
role of the above strategic concepts in the development and adoption of a new business
model innovation by SMEs. Factorial analysis based on the MCA method (Figure 8) reveals
that agility, in combination with ambidexterity, fulfils the new business model innovation
for SMEs in times of crisis, as proposed in this research work. Agility is an important
requirement in businesses that are faced with new challenges and pressures [45]. Therefore,
continuous developments and the behavior of competitors push businesses, especially
SMEs, towards a philosophy of readiness and strategic agility. A prerequisite for a successful culture of agility is the recognition and defense of the core competencies of the business,
as these capabilities and individual strengths of an organization should not be altered
during an agile transformation. In addition, being an agile business does not mean being
spasmodic or following chaotic survival efforts, but integrating the principles of strategic
agility into all procedures throughout the various hierarchical levels of the company [9,34].
In addition, an open innovation system emerged as the answer of SMEs to the negative
effects of the pandemic. Open innovation is a process that combines knowledge from different perspectives, such as participants from different disciplines, with different experiences
and responsibilities. An important benefit for businesses through the implementation of
open innovation systems is the change in culture within the organization. Open innovation
actions with the right preparation create the conditions for the transition of SMEs towards
a more flexible, adaptable, and up-to-date direction. Initially, executives of SMEs may
express resistance to the absorption of the concepts of open innovation, such as lean startup
and design thinking. However, as some success stories are created in the market because of
the adoption of these practices, executives will begin to be more familiar with this and start
participating more actively in the actions of open innovation.
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Figure 8. Factorial analysis based on MCA method. Source: Scopus/Biblioshiny.
Along with the triple-win formula of strategic ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation, digital transformation emerges as another important factor that can be included
and synthesized in the theoretical part of the proposed business model innovation. Digitalization includes all the changes SMEs adopt to take advantage of internet, digital media,
and emerging technologies to ensure business continuity. Among the main digital transformation strategies that have been adopted recently are those of teleworking, as well
as the integration of emerging technologies in various business functions and processes,
such as information or communication processing, work organization, decision making,
human resource management, accounting and other administrative functions, organization
of processes or external relations, and production of goods and services [46]. Based on
the above analysis, a new business model innovation is proposed by the authors, which
could enhance SMEs’ competitive advantage and create value for them in the future [2].
The proposed new business model stands out with agility and ambidexterity and provides
SMEs the ability to adapt and redefine their position in the market. Changing the way that
a business operates is not an easy process and should only be pursued when necessary.
However, it is now the time for SMEs to implement this new business model, which allows
for changes with the least possible collateral loss, helping them to speed up processes and
organize their transition to a more sustainable and resilient future.
As described in the above sections, the goal of this research work was to propose the
theoretical component of a new business model innovation, which consists of an exterior
and interior part. The next step of this research is the empirical application of the proposed
business model in a focus group of executives of European SMEs. We decided to use focus
group research because it is a technique that collects data through the group’s interaction
on a subject identified by the researcher or similar focus groups and it is a qualitative
technique that allows “the explicit use of the interaction to data and ideas that would be
less accessible without the interaction that takes place within the group” [47,48]. In other
words, the researcher, by shaping a group of people and motivating a topic of discussion
about the collective attitudes and perceptions of the participants, observes the birth and
dynamic transmission of ideas which in turn will yield new and meaningful answers and
information. Questionnaires will be structured and distributed online to the executives
of SMEs. Hence, a future direction for our research is to apply the proposed business
model innovation and extract the appropriate results. Some of the limitations that can
emerge include the lack of control over the honesty of the answers and the subjectivity of
the respondents in understanding the questions.
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Moreover, the proposed business model innovation can lead to another transformation
of SMEs—one of green transformation [49,50]. The results illustrated by the thematic
map indicate that eco-innovation and circular economy are in the niche themes of this
topic and are strongly connected to the new business model innovation, as well. More
specifically, the new business model replaces the old business practices and contributes
to radical eco-innovation, which is more effective for SMEs. As a result, our proposal for
future research could include further studies on the relationship between eco-innovation
and new business model innovation based on strategic agility, ambidexterity, and digital
transformation. The output of this future research can be the development of a new type of
business model that will combine all the above characteristics. Lastly, future research can
focus on the investigation of the impact of the new proposed business model innovation
on the accounting outcomes. Similarly, scholars have not yet studied the effect of strategic
ambidexterity and agility on the financial performance of SMEs.
6. Conclusions
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the driving force of the global economy and contribute significantly to (i) the creation of new jobs, (ii) value-added production,
and (iii) GDP [3,4,51]. SMEs play an important role in boosting employment, competitiveness, and innovation, while ensuring social stability. However, their survival is not an issue
that can be managed easily, given today’s competitive business arena, especially nowadays,
as humanity is facing an unusual, multifaceted crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic and the
subsequent economic impact have led to an unprecedented recession for society and the
business world, which is now sailing in “uncharted waters”. Thus, new business models
should be developed and adopted by SMEs, which will allow them to be more flexible
and sustainable.
The aim of this research work was to present the theoretical part of a new proposed
business model innovation. Our proposed business model innovation combines strategic
agility, ambidexterity, open innovation, and digital transformation and can be an ideal
solution for SMEs to secure their business continuity in an uncertain environment. In
the past decade, small and medium-sized enterprises have been exposed to the negative
effects of both global financial crises and the pandemic [52]. However, the effects of each
crisis have highlighted the many weaknesses and chronic problems of SMEs. Even though
several SMEs have managed to survive, they continue to have problems in their operation.
Protection and support measures from the government are cannot ensure the survival and
prospects of SMEs. Rather, substantial interventions from the companies themselves, new
perceptions and attitudes, and, above all, mechanisms that will protect their future are
needed. In this context, SMEs need a new business model [51,52]. The proposed business
model innovation is a tool that not only protects and shields the business, but enables them
to generate value in a new business environment.
Moreover, noteworthy is the strong connection of the parts of the proposed business
model with the concepts of circular economy and eco-innovation, which constitutes one of
the most important findings of the current analysis and invites future research proposals.
This connection illustrates that the pandemic is not the only issue that SMEs need to
address [42,43]. Environmental challenges such as pollution, climate change, and the
unsustainable use of water and natural resources pose additional threats to SMEs. Therefore,
the development of a business model that will integrate the dimension of circular economy
will be of particular importance to businesses to adapt to new needs and circumstances.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization K.R., A.G., I.D. and I.P.; data curation K.R. and A.G.;
software K.R. and A.G.; formal analysis K.R.; investigation K.R., A.G. and I.D., writing—original
draft K.R., A.G., I.D. and I.P.; validation, K.R., A.G., I.D. and I.P.; supervision A.G. and I.D.; project
administration K.R., A.G., I.D. and I.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of
the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex. 2022, 8, 118
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Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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