Effect of Competent Human Capital, Strategic Flexibility and Turbulent Environment on Sustainable Performance of SMEs in Manufacturing Industries in Palestine

Abstract

The contribution of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to economic prosperity and expansion is widely acknowledged worldwide. However, the empirical evidence in the literature on enhancing sustainable performance in manufacturing industries, specifically SMEs in developing countries living under constant unstable economic and political environments such as Palestine, is still insufficient. Referring to the theory of Triple Bottom Line (TBL), Contingency Theory (CT), Natural Resource Based View (NRBV) and the relevant literature on sustainable performance in business firms, this study aims to explore the effect of competent human capital (CHC), strategic flexibility (SF) and turbulent environment (TE) on the sustainable performance (SP) of SMEs industries in the context of Palestine. Based on 380 random samples in manufacturing SME industries in the country, 245 useful questionnaires were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling for analysis by the Smart PLS 4.0 software. The findings indicate that several enablers could improve the performance of SMEs in Palestinian industries in terms of sustainability. One of these aspects is adopting a supportive governmental policy to strengthen the sustainability concept in the industrial sector and encouraging industries to move toward circularity and greening their operations. Nevertheless, SMEs need to implement proper managerial tools at the firm’s level that enhance sustainable performance, including investment in competent human capital, developing flexible strategies and proper analysis of the surrounding turbulent environment, since all of these will positively impact and improve the sustainable performance of those SMEs. The contribution of this study to the literature develops current knowledge of sustainable performance in SMEs in manufacturing industries, specifically in countries that suffer from political and economic turbulence, by providing a conceptual framework focusing on managerial and business aspects that contributes to achieving desired sustainable performance. Consequently, the study’s findings also show how CHC, SF and TE are essential managerial tools for organizations and SMEs operating in an extremely competitive and turbulent market.

Resilience evaluation of low-carbon supply chain based on improved matter-element extension model

“…Therefore, the coping strategies obtained based on the evaluation results of supply chain resilience can only play a more obvious role in the short term. (3) The conclusions of this study are somewhat homogeneous and lack comparative studies for other industries.…”

“…There-fore it is necessary to create a low-carbon supply chain system to promote the development of low-carbon enterprises [ 2 ]. However, in recent years, as the risk of global uncertainty increases, unexpected events such as trade protectionism and geopolitical conflicts occur frequently [ 3 ]. Enterprises face a range of problems in today’s market environment, such as reduced demand, insufficient supply of raw materials, production constraints, backlogs of finished products, and logistical disruptions [ 4 ].…”

استكشاف العلاقة بين التمكين النفسي والأداء المستدام في شركات السياحة المصرية

“…The study found a positive association between competence and sustainable performance, indicating that employees who feel competent are more likely to engage in sustainable practices. In line with this, Schröder et al, (2022); Dwikat et al, (2023) emphasized the role of management investing in developing employees' competences to make them more qualified for employing sustainable practices.…”

A pathway towards high-quality development of the manufacturing industry: Does scientific and technological talent matter?

“…Shamsuzzoha et al (2020) [ 14 ] examine the role of top managers’ human capital and other exogenous determinants of the efficiency of manufacturing firms in Bangladesh by using heteroscedastic single-step stochastic frontier analysis. Dwikat et al (2023) [ 15 ] studied the impact of competent human capital on manufacturing development. They found that the increase in the level of innovative human capital inhibits, to some extent, the positive effect of external knowledge sourcing on high-quality innovation in manufacturing.…”