Investigating the research trends on strategic ambidexterity, agility, and open innovation in SMEs : perceptions from bibliometric analysis

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.