Commercial Surveys

Commercial Surveys

Achieving Strategic Agility in Small Online Retailers: The Impact of Stakeholder Pressure via Relational Capabilities and the Moderating Role of Managerial Digital Literacy

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Milad Hooshmand Chaijani
Assistant Professor, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
10.22034/bs.2025.2069770.3155
Abstract
The turbulent environment of online businesses has made strategic agility a critical imperative for survival and success. To explain the formation process of this capability in small online businesses, this study examines how stakeholder pressure (as an external driver) leads to strategic agility through internal and external relational capabilities, with the moderating role of managerial digital literacy. Using a quantitative approach and survey data collected from 235 small online businesses in Iran, this study employs a moderated mediation model using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that stakeholder pressure has no direct, significant impact on strategic agility. Instead, the relationship is fully mediated by two variables: internal team cohesion and external partnership quality. This finding introduces a "dual relational pathway" as the primary mechanism for transforming environmental pressure into a strategic capability. Furthermore, the findings confirm that managerial digital literacy, as a key cognitive capability, positively strengthens the relationship between stakeholder pressure and these relational capabilities. By integrating stakeholder, dynamic capabilities, and micro-foundations theories, this research challenges the traditional understanding of a direct organizational response to the environment and highlights the critical importance of simultaneous investment in teams, partners, and managers' digital capabilities to achieve agility in the digital economy.
Keywords
Strategic Agility/ Stakeholder Pressure/ Internal Team Cohesion/ External Partnership Quality/ Managerial Digital Literacy/ Online Businesses

Subjects

 
Adner, R. (2017). Ecosystem as structure: An actionable construct for strategy. Journal of management, 43(1), 39-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316678451.
Ancona, D. G., & Caldwell, D. F. (1992). Bridging the boundary: External activity and performance in organizational teams. Administrative science quarterly, 634-665. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393475.
Arbussa, A., Bikfalvi, A., & Marquès, P. (2017). Strategic agility-driven business model renewal: the case of an SME. Management Decision, 55(2), 271-293. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-05-2016-0355.
Bouguerra, A., Hughes, M., Rodgers, P., Stokes, P., & Tatoglu, E. (2024). Confronting the grand challenge of environmental sustainability within supply chains: How can organizational strategic agility drive environmental innovation?. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 41(2), 323-346. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12692.
Carson, J. B., Tesluk, P. E., & Marrone, J. A. (2007). Shared leadership in teams: An investigation of antecedent conditions and performance. Academy of management Journal, 50(5), 1217-1234. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.20159921.
Cropanzano, R., & Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of management, 31(6), 874-900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602.
Daspit, J., Justice Tillman, C., Boyd, N. G., & Mckee, V. (2013). Cross‐functional team effectiveness: An examination of internal team environment, shared leadership, and cohesion influences. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 19(1/2), 34-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527591311312088.
Destrian, O. (2025). The influence of manager’s digital literacy on SMEs’ digital transformation in Indonesia: A micro-foundational context. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. 13(4), 218-231. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2024.3467925.
Doz, Y. L., & Kosonen, M. (2010). Embedding strategic agility: A leadership agenda for accelerating business model renewal. Long range planning, 43(2-3), 370-382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2009.07.006.
Dyer, J. H., & Singh, H. (1998). The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage. Academy of management review, 23(4), 660-679. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.1255632.
Eisenhardt, K. M., & Martin, J. A. (2017). Dynamic capabilities: what are they?. The SMS Blackwell handbook of organizational capabilities, 341-363. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405164054.ch21.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G* Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior research methods, 39(2), 175-191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146.
Felin, T., Foss, N. J., & Ployhart, R. E. (2015). The microfoundations movement in strategy and organization theory. Academy of Management Annals, 9(1), 575-632. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2015.1007651.
Freeman, R. E. (2010). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge university press.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.2307/3151312.
Grossman, R., Nolan, K., Rosch, Z., Mazer, D., & Salas, E. (2022). The team cohesion-performance relationship: A meta-analysis exploring measurement approaches and the changing team landscape. Organizational Psychology Review, 12(2), 181-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/20413866211041157.
Hair, J. F. (2014). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). sage.
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European business review, 31(1), 2-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203.
Helfat, C. E., & Peteraf, M. A. (2015). Managerial cognitive capabilities and the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Strategic management journal, 36(6), 831-850. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2247.
Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines. Industrial management & data systems, 116(1), 2-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-09-2015-0382.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115-135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8.
Hosseinzadeh, A., Honarmand, H. & Mehdipour picha, S. (2024). The impact of digitization capabilities on open innovation in small manufacturing businesses. Commercial Surveys, 22(125), 111-129. https://doi.org/10.22034/bs.2023.2000164.2775 [In Persian].
Jiang, F., Liu, L. X., & Li, J. (2025). Headquarters-subsidiary exchanges and relationship quality: Moderating roles of subsidiary establishment mode and managers’ identity with the subsidiary. Journal of Business Research, 200, 115622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115622.
Kassinis, G., & Vafeas, N. (2006). Stakeholder pressures and environmental performance. Academy of management journal, 49(1), 145-159. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2006.20785799.
Kock, N. (2015). Common method bias in PLS-SEM: A full collinearity assessment approach. International Journal of e-Collaboration (ijec), 11(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijec.2015100101.
Kyriakopoulos, N., Kim, E., Hultink, E. J., & Santema, S. (2025). The impact of design thinking and artificial intelligence capabilities on performance: The role of new product development decision-making agility. Journal of Business Research, 200, 115633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115633.
Meixell, M. J., & Luoma, P. (2015). Stakeholder pressure in sustainable supply chain management: A systematic review. International journal of physical distribution & logistics management, 45(1/2), 69-89. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-05-2013-0155.
Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., & Wood, D. J. (1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of management review, 22(4), 853-886. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1997.9711022105.
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of marketing, 58(3), 20-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299405800302.
Mullen, B., & Copper, C. (1994). The relation between group cohesiveness and performance: An integration. Psychological bulletin, 115(2), 210. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0033-2909.115.2.210.
Nikou, S., De Reuver, M., & Mahboob Kanafi, M. (2022). Workplace literacy skills—how information and digital literacy affect adoption of digital technology. Journal of Documentation, 78(7), 371-391. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-12-2021-0241.
Obal, M., Kannan‐Narasimhan, R., & Ko, G. (2016). Whom should we talk to? Investigating the varying roles of internal and external relationship quality on radical and incremental innovation performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 33, 136-147. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12340.
Roh, T., Xiao, S., Park, B. I., & Ghauri, P. N. (2025). Stakeholder pressure, democracy levels, and multinational enterprise corporate social responsibility: Stakeholder and institutional theories. Journal of Business Research, 200, 115619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115619.
Sarkis, J., Gonzalez-Torre, P., & Adenso-Diaz, B. (2010). Stakeholder pressure and the adoption of environmental practices: The mediating effect of training. Journal of operations Management, 28(2), 163-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2009.10.001.
Scuotto, V., Nicotra, M., Del Giudice, M., Krueger, N., & Gregori, G. L. (2021). A microfoundational perspective on SMEs’ growth in the digital transformation era. Journal of Business Research, 129, 382-392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.045.
Sharma, S. (2000). Managerial interpretations and organizational context as predictors of corporate choice of environmental strategy. Academy of Management journal, 43(4), 681-697. https://doi.org/10.5465/1556361.
Tallon, P. P., Queiroz, M., & Coltman, T. (2022). Digital-enabled strategic agility: the next frontier. European Journal of Information Systems, 31(6), 641-652. https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2022.2102713.
Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic management journal, 18(7), 509-533. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7%3C509::AID-SMJ882%3E3.0.CO;2-Z.
Teece, D., Peteraf, M., & Leih, S. (2016). Dynamic capabilities and organizational agility: Risk, uncertainty, and strategy in the innovation economy. California management review, 58(4), 13-35. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2016.58.4.13.
Tsilionis, K., & Wautelet, Y. (2022). A model-driven framework to support strategic agility: Value-added perspective. Information and Software Technology, 141, 106734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2021.106734.
Van der Voet, J., & Steijn, B. (2021). Team innovation through collaboration: How visionary leadership spurs innovation via team cohesion. Public Management Review, 23(9), 1275-1294. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2020.1743344.
Zahoor, N., Zopiatis, A., Adomako, S., & Lamprinakos, G. (2023). The micro-foundations of digitally transforming SMEs: How digital literacy and technology interact with managerial attributes. Journal of Business Research, 159, 113755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113755.
Zare, Z., Dehghan Khavari, S. and Mirjalili, S. H. (2023). The Impact of Business Analysis on the Economic Performance of Companies with the Mediating Role of Information Quality, Innovation and Agility: Evidence from Tile and Ceramic Factories in Yazd Province of Iran. Commercial Surveys, 21(122), 49-70. https://doi.org/10.22034/bs.2023.1983244.2697 [In Persian].
 
 
Commercial Surveys
Volume 23, Issue 132 - Serial Number 132
July and August 2026
Pages 21-40

  • Receive Date 23 August 2025
  • Revise Date 24 October 2025
  • Accept Date 02 November 2025