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Organisational resilience and digital maturity both explain how some organisations are better able to cope with unexpected disruptions. However, research exploring the relationship between these two concepts, and their role in addressing exogenous shocks, remains sparse. This study first aimed to compare digitally mature SME retailers’ organisational resilience with that of digitally less mature SME retailers and then investigate further how their digital maturity impacted their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authors adopt an explanatory two-phase mixed-method research design, with online surveys from 79 SME retailers in South Africa, followed by interviews.

Digitally mature SMEs exhibited higher levels of organisational resilience, specifically with respect to situational awareness, management of keystone vulnerabilities and adaptive capacity. The authors also demonstrate that digital leadership is a greater driver of organisational resilience than digital capabilities.

The authors suggest ways for SME retailers to develop their digital maturity, particularly their digital leadership, to increase their organisational resilience.

This paper makes a case for SME retailers to focus on building their digital maturity to better cope with and learn from unexpected events. In particular, digital maturity is positively associated with SME retailers’ innovation and creativity and their devolved and responsive decision-making.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which customers evaluate inferior product presentations on a local shopping platform based on the retailer (small and medium-sized enterprise [SME] vs retail chain).

The authors conducted a between-subject online study (N = 728) with a 2 (SME vs retail chain) x 2 (high vs low-quality product presentation) between-subject experimental design. The authors conducted several analyses of variance to analyze the hypotheses and analyses of covariance for a mediating effect.

This study's results show that customers tend to overlook inaccuracies from a retail chain more often than they overlook inaccuracies from SME retailers. The authors show that the perceived competence of the retailer mediates the impact of the retailer's quality on customer purchasing intentions, not only for the presented product but also for the retailer itself.

Based on this study's results, the authors give implications for retailer cross-channel strategies and hint at the importance of emphasizing the retail size.

This paper provides important contributions to the literature on resource-advantage theory by explaining that consumers perceive quality differences within product presentations on online shopping platforms differently with regard to retail chains vs SME retailers. Moreover, the information processing theory helps to provide a theoretical foundation concerning differences in online store quality (via engineered low- vs high-quality product presentations in this study).

The purpose is to explore how the configurations resulting from the interplay of last mile logistics practices and firm characteristics are associated with firm performance in an omni-channel context.

Drawing on configuration theory (CT), the authors use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze data on 72 Swedish omni-channel retailers.

Four configurations are identified—store-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's), online-oriented SME's, large store-oriented retailers and large online-oriented retailers. The results show that while offering a wide range of delivery options is necessary to achieve high performance, it is not sufficient, and that returns and fulfilment should be simultaneously considered. For instance, large high-performers leverage their stores and warehouses for fulfilment and returns in an integrated way irrespective of sales channel-mix. However, SME's appear to focus on fulfilment simplicity with less-costly delivery alternatives, where store-oriented SME's leverage stores and the online-oriented counterparts leverage warehouses. Consequently, the authors develop a configurational taxonomy and discuss a set of recipes which provide insights for researchers and practitioners.

The study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pathways to success, and potential pitfalls, in the last mile logistics context.

This study applies a novel methodology in the field, namely fsQCA, to explore the paths to competitive advantage. It covers a wide range of stages in the LM including back-end fulfilment, delivery and returns. It also provides insight into the logistics practices of both SME's and large omni-channel retailers.

The retail sector in a lot of countries consists of many small and medium sized specialty retailers who face a high degree of dynamics and competition. Consequently, these companies also have to constantly evolve and develop resilient strategies that promise their future success. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the resource and capability bundle for operating as and transforming to a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) omni-channel specialty retailer. Therefore, the authors followed the notions of the Resource-Based-View (RBV) and of the Dynamic-Capabilities-View (DCV).

To answer the authors’ formulated research questions, they applied an exploratory research method by conducting 12 semi-structured and guideline-based expert interviews from two countries.

The findings reveal a specific bundle of transformation resources and capabilities and important drivers for the implementation of an omni-channel strategy. Thereby, the human resources factor and the market as well as customer understanding play a decisive role. In addition, the authors have identified country-specific differences in the technological, logistical, product-specific and financial areas.

The results reflect the importance of qualified and well-trained staff for SME retailers to implement omni-channel strategies in alignment with a high level of service quality. Especially in the Covid 19 era, flexible structures and quick adaptability are essential to remain competitive. Nevertheless, everything should always be in line with the company's own philosophy.

The paper provides new insights into important resources and capabilities retailers need to focus on when implementing an omni-channel strategy. The paper concentrates in particular on the groups of SMEs and niche markets as well as examines country-specific differences in a developed and a developing country.

This study aims to examine theoretical insights from market orientation and resource-based view for enhancing grocery retailers ' distribution capabilities. The distribution capability of a firm can influence both effective and efficient handling of external stocks and internal distribution of products in response to changing market demands. Although firms rely on distribution capability to manage their supply chain to ensure the right products are in the right place at the right time, few studies examine the underlying factors that support distribution capabilities for a firm’s upstream and downstream supply chain activities especially in uncertain environments.

In the context of retail firms, a review of the literature shows that distribution capability can be conceptualized as an interfirm phenomenon based on theoretical insights from the resource-based view, market orientation and network structure.

Data from a sample of 247 small- and medium-sized grocery retailers operating in three major Chinese cities highlight a salient and positive relationship between a retailer’s distribution capabilities and its performance in uncertain environments.

However, a retailer’s strong interfirm relations in a distribution network are negatively associated with retailer performance. Similarly, the influence of interfirm market orientation on retailer performance cannot be established in the supply chain. The study suggests that SME grocery retailers would benefit from understanding their numerous supply chain relationships and managing them (rather than relying on centrally ingrained relationships), and developing behavioral norms of interfirm market orientation among different supply chain partners.

The overall aim of this research was to undertake an exploratory investigation to gain insights into attitudes and perceptions of supplier development and local sourcing programmes in the UK grocery retail sector.

Since this research is exploratory in nature, a qualitative approach to data collection was undertaken using semi‐structured in‐depth interviews.

Retailers do seem to be undertaking supplier development as defined in the literature but the data collected highlights some of the difficulties experienced by all suppliers in supporting grocery retailer category management and branding strategies. From this, local sourcing also implies the involvement of the micro‐enterprise producer. This has the potential for greater levels of power and trust imbalance.

The main research limitation was the small sample size. However, the research was exploratory and the sample was essentially convenience based. This resulted in over‐representation by the larger SME producer. The findings can be enhanced with further qualitative research focusing on the micro‐enterprise supplier.

The paper offers an insight into the debate on SME supplier development and local sourcing by providing empirical evidence of the current shape and scope of the various initiatives in the UK grocery sector.

This paper seeks to identify the skills gaps associated with retail employees in SME and multiple retail companies, and to investigate the potential training and business implications that arise from these skills gaps, from the point of view of retail employers.

Research was conducted within one geographical region and across five counties within the UK. Telephone and face‐to‐face interviews and focus group workshops were conducted, resulting in responses from 52 retailers.

The key issues and areas of concern to emerge were: the industry image and impact on recruitment and retention; employee and management skills gaps; and barriers to training.

The findings highlight the need for UK retail industry to raise the image of the sector, to identify the skills sets for specific roles, and to clarify the retail qualifications and training required delivering these.

Succeeds in identifying the skills gaps associated with retail employees in SME and multiple retail companies and in investigating the potential training and business implications arising from these skills gaps.

The introduction, implementation and enforcement of new laws governing the conduct of business can result in substantial additional costs to retailers. Focusing on small to medium sized (SME) retailers in rural areas and market towns, the study reported here aims to provide an understanding of perceptions of potentially disproportionate implementation costs and the resulting consequences.

A three‐stage design was used. An exploratory focus group with representatives of the Rural Shop Alliance was followed by seven semi‐structured depth‐interviews with SME retail representatives. Thematic analysis of the qualitative findings formed the basis for a survey of SME retailers in five market towns.

Findings show SME retailers' perceptions of the differential burden related to the impact of new legislation, with the key factors of direct cost, time costs and information costs. Consequently, business growth and the formalisation of staffing arrangements, in particular, can be obstructed. Generally, good relationships with Trading Standards and Environmental Health Officers are often driven by a need for reactive compliance rather than offering a proactive information and support mechanism.

Findings clarify the nature of the differential burden of legislation to retail SMEs. The need for an “outcomes‐for‐business” driven proactive stance by local delivery agencies is highlighted. Ongoing support visits, telephone help lines and leaflets and the press rather than the internet are identified as key information sources.

Both qualitative and quantitative evidence is brought together in the assessment of an area of concern to retail SMEs.

In innovation networks, SMEs' capability to innovate is both enhanced and restricted by more powerful or better positioned partners. The purpose of this article is to ask how managers of processing SME suppliers in Italian and Swiss food innovation networks experience their relationships with innovation network partners and how they configure modes of interaction with them.

A series of problem centered interviews with managers of six Swiss and five Italian food sector SMEs was conducted.

Findings describe how SME managers in the two regions perceive the nature of interaction as well as benefits and disadvantages resulting from asymmetric relationships within networked innovation process. Differences in the perception frame and their impact on behavior in innovation networks are analyzed.

The data are only valid for the food sector in the two regional markets. Furthermore, this paper only displays the perspective of managers of first and second processing food SME suppliers. Additional data should be gathered on the perspective of other network partners as well as on real‐time communication between them.

The findings suggest that active cooperation with especially customers in innovation networks supports innovation opportunities of processing food SME suppliers.

Scholars so far have comprehensively deduced potential advantages and problems resulting from asymmetries in power and positioning of partners for knowledge sharing in innovation networks but have not yet investigated its specifics. Particularly, empirical work on the perspective of managers from processing SME suppliers on innovation related cooperation with their partners in the value chain on networked innovation is yet almost scant.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the interrelationships in internal and external supply chain integration (SCI) across multiple tiers of manufacturing-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a developing country, Malawi.

Utilizing the resource-based view, resource-dependence and network theory perspectives, and drawing on a multiple embedded case-study approach, the research investigated the internal and external linkages within three-tier supplier, manufacturer and retailer SCs and described varying perspectives of SCI across supply chain positions.

Firms with strategic intra-firm resources were less committed to external integration, deploying their resources as a source of power to dominate and exploit their dependent partners. The SCI across multiple tiers was impaired by dependence but enhanced by interdependence strategies of firms. Although lack of trust, promotion of non-overlapping self-interests, corruption in sourcing processes and resource constraints negatively affected SCI, firm commitment to external integration promoted greater commitment among firms, thus having a positive effect on SCI.

Further analysis of SCI of SME triads and a more systematic longitudinal analysis across other market segments should be explored to generalize the conclusions of this study.

The external influences on dyadic relationships go beyond the interactions of heterogeneous firms in the network to encompass interpersonal interactions across the network, where individuals may potentially prioritize personal connections and sabotage the interests of their firms.

The research explored the internal and external dimensions of SCI in multi-tier SCs of SMEs, and provided for the first time new evidence to show that firm commitment to engaging with partners complements the mechanisms of SCI within a developing country context. It highlights the need to develop trust, eliminate corruption, promote greater commitment of SC partners and encourage greater investment in firms’ resource capabilities to enhance SCI among SMEs.