Digital capabilities for SMEs’ innovation in collaborative networks: A literature review

Nowadays, SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) rely on innovation within collaborative networks (CNs) to counter the issue of increased global competition. Literature on the management field suggests that a firm’s ability to identify, assimilate, transform and apply knowledge, i.e. absorptive capacity (ACAP), is a synergetic approach enabling the SME to manage its external resources within these CNs. Also, consistent studies agree that the digital antecedent of ACAP is a catalyst to reach higher innovation performance. Nevertheless, this concept remains global and not yet stabilized in literature. Thus, the aim of this paper is to explore the concept of digital capabilities (DC) as performance differentiator for SMEs in CNs and provide a typology according to their intensity of utilization to generate innovation. Future perspectives of this work are then discussed.