Strategic Agility and Organizational Performance in Post-Pandemic SMEs: Evidence from Fujian

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global business operations, posing unprecedented challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In response, strategic agility the ability of organizations to sense environmental changes, make rapid strategic decisions, and reconfigure resources has emerged as a critical capability for sustaining performance. This study investigates the effect of strategic agility on organizational performance among SMEs in Fujian Province, China, in the post-pandemic context. Using a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 312 SME managers and analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that all three dimensions of strategic agility strategic sensitivity, leadership unity, and resource fluidity positively and significantly influence organizational performance. Among these, leadership unity demonstrated the strongest effect. The results underscore the importance of developing agile managerial capabilities to enhance competitiveness, resilience, and operational effectiveness in dynamic environments. This study contributes to the literature on dynamic capabilities and SME management, providing actionable insights for managers and policymakers seeking to foster post-pandemic recovery and sustainable growth.

Received: 2026-03-26 | Revised: 2026-05-09 | Accepted: 2026-05-17 | Published: 2026-05-18

Declarations

Ethics and Guidelines: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and ethically approved by the Institutional Review Board of European University of Bangladesh (Approval Number: 4398-2024-346) on [Date: 14-04-2024]. The ethical approval specifically covers the research procedures and data collection activities conducted for this study.

Consent to participate: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. Consent was obtained using a standardized written form, signed by each participant before participation in the survey.

Consent to publish: The authors have provided consent to publish.

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Data availability statement: Data will be made available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Clinical Trial Number: Not Applicable.

Declaration of using generative AI: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used ChatGPT in order to correct the grammatical errors. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the published article.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, J.I., S.I.T., and K.A.K.; methodology, J.I., S.I.T., and K.A.K.; writing—original draft preparation, J.I., S.I.T., and K.A.K.; writing—review and editing, J.I., S.I.T., and K.A.K.. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.