Entrepreneurial enablers of agile digital transformation in Iranian SMEs: a hybraid Delphi–BWM approach
Maryam Bayat, Alireza Hassanzadeh, Ali Shayan, Bakhtiar OstadiPurpose
Agile digital transformation (ADT) is essential for small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) competitiveness, particularly in emerging economies facing institutional fragility. In Iran, sanctions, limited access to advanced technologies and market volatility intensify these challenges. Addressing the limited empirical evidence from highly constrained emerging economies, this study aims to identify and prioritize entrepreneurial enablers that shape opportunity-driven transformation in Iranian SMEs, adopting a capability-oriented interpretation of entrepreneurial orientation (EO).
Design/methodology/approach
An integrated three-stage research design was used. A systematic literature review identified candidate ADT enablers, which were refined through iterative rounds of a hybrid Delphi method based on expert consensus. The best–worst method (BWM) was subsequently applied to prioritize the validated enablers through structured pairwise comparisons, producing a context-sensitive hierarchy interpreted through EO dimensions.
Findings
Nine enablers were validated across strategic, human, organizational and technological domains. Transformational digital leadership, agile digital strategy and dynamic resource management ranked highest, indicating that ADT in Iran is initially driven by internal entrepreneurial capabilities that compensate for institutional and technological gaps. Workforce adaptability, innovative culture and digital infrastructure function as reinforcing capabilities, while outward-oriented enablers, such as data-driven business models and digital ecosystems, tend to emerge at later stages, reflecting a sequential transformation logic shaped by contextual constraints.
Research limitations/implications
Despite offering structured insights into the entrepreneurial enablers of ADT in SMEs, this study has several limitations. Its cross-sectional design constrains the examination of temporal dynamics and limits causal inference regarding long-term transformation outcomes. The empirical focus on Iranian SMEs may also restrict generalizability, as institutional and economic conditions vary across emerging economies. Although the Delphi–BWM approach enables systematic expert-based prioritization, reliance on subjective judgments and a relatively small expert panel may reduce perspective diversity. Moreover, the analysis remains at an aggregated level, leaving microlevel organizational mechanisms and ecosystem interactions insufficiently explored.
Practical implications
The findings provide evidence-based insights for SME managers and policymakers, highlighting the importance of opportunity-oriented leadership, agile strategic action and flexible resource orchestration as early priorities before extensive technology-centric investments.
Social implications
Strengthening leadership, strategic agility and resource orchestration in SMEs may generate broader societal benefits by supporting job creation, enhancing local economic resilience and improving supply-chain continuity. Digital transformation in SMEs can also foster digital inclusion by enabling fairer market participation, reducing dependence on informal practices and strengthening transparency and institutional trust. These effects are particularly salient for underserved groups, including rural entrepreneurs, women-led enterprises and youth digital freelancers. Furthermore, the findings highlight the societal value of EO-oriented education and training initiatives that emphasize opportunity recognition, experimentation, adaptability and digital literacy, thereby helping to reduce skill gaps and support inclusive, sustainable national digital transformation agendas.
Originality/value
This study offers one of the few empirically grounded prioritizations of ADT enablers in a highly constrained emerging–economy SME context. Using a theory-informed Delphi–BWM approach, it explains how entrepreneurial capabilities substitute for missing institutional supports and shape the sequencing of digital transformation pathways.