New Approaches in Management and Marketing

Abstract This study aims to design a comprehensive and dynamic model to explain organizational resilience in Iranian small and medium-sized enterprises. Given that these companies operate in a unique ecosystem of permanent crisis, traditional resilience models based on cross-sectional shocks seem inadequate to explain their dynamics. This research is exploratory and theoretical in nature and is based on the interpretive paradigm. A mixed methodological approach including metasynthesis as the main method and bibliometric analysis as a complementary method was used, and bibliometric data were extracted from 953 articles in Scopus and analyzed with VOSviewer software. After a systematic search of reliable databases and screening, 67 key articles were selected and synthesized and integrated through a content analysis process. Qualitative data analysis led to the identification of 460 unique conceptual codes that were categorized into 15 organizing themes and 5 overarching themes including: “1. Drivers and enabling factors, 2. Multilevel capabilities (individual/entrepreneurial, organizational, network/institutional), 3. Dynamic process cycle (anticipation, exposure, learning), 4. Resilient strategies (defensive, adaptive, offensive), and 5. Heterogeneous outcomes”. The main finding of the research is “A dynamic and multilevel model of organizational resilience in a permanent crisis environment,” which conceptualizes resilience as an evolutionary meta-capability. This research presents the first comprehensive and dynamic theoretical framework to explain resilience in the Iranian perma-crisis ecosystem, and its main innovation lies in conceptualizing resilience as an evolutionary process for the strategic transition from survival to evolution and showing the mechanisms of this transition.
Introduction
The business landscape is witnessing a paradigm shift as it enters an era of constant turmoil and unpredictable disruptions. This environment, described as the “Woka world”, has seriously challenged the fundamental principles of traditional strategic management. In these circumstances, the survival and sustainable growth of organizations requires a capacity beyond short-term resistance, known in the literature as the concept of organizational resilience (Chi et al., 2025). The understanding of the concept of resilience has evolved from the traditional “go back” perspective to the new “leap forward” paradigm, emphasizing strategic learning and transformation (Hernes et al., 2025). However, the existing literature suffers from three gaps: theoretical fragmentation and lack of integrated models, a homogeneous view of resilience pathways, and a lack of sensitivity to context.
Much of the research has examined resilience in response to episodic crises and has not been able to explain it in the context of a permanent crisis (permacrisis), a structural situation in which multiple and intertwined crises have become the norm (Maalouf et al., 2025). This concept accurately describes the unique nature of the Iranian business environment. Iranian companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, operate in a multi-crisis ecosystem shaped by a combination of factors such as economic and institutional instability, international sanctions, social unrest, geopolitical tensions, and infrastructure challenges (Shabani et al., 2025). Numerous pieces of evidence, including the National Business Environment Monitoring Reports and the unprecedented rise in the Uncertainty Index, confirm this turbulent ecosystem. These conditions render resilience models developed in more stable environments ineffective.
At the heart of this ecosystem, SMEs, as the driving force of the economy, face a paradox: on one hand, they are more vulnerable due to resource constraints; and on the other hand, they have a higher potential for agility due to their flexibility (Koporcic et al., 2025). How this potential is activated in Iran’s high-risk context is a question that, despite valuable domestic research, still requires a comprehensive model based on systematic knowledge synthesis.
Accordingly, this study aims to design and present a comprehensive, dynamic, and multi-level model of organizational resilience for SMEs in Iran’s perma-crisis ecosystem. This article conceptualizes resilience as an evolutionary meta-capability for the transition from survival to evolution, moving beyond a static perspective. To achieve this goal, this research uses meta-synthesis and bibliometric analysis to systematically synthesize previous researches to arrive at a new and context-sensitive theoretical framework and answer the fundamental question: "What are the dimensions and components of a comprehensive model of organizational resilience in Iranian small and medium-sized enterprises in a permanent crisis ecosystem?"
The theoretical framework
Organizational Resilience
Hepfer & Lawrence (2022) defines resilience as “the ability of an organization to anticipate, respond to, recover from, and learn from adversity”. Organizational resilience is a multilevel phenomenon. The existing literature generally distinguishes three key levels of resilience: individual, organizational, and network/institutional (Hillmann & Guenther, 2021). 1. Individual level: This level focuses on the psychological resilience of employees, managers, and especially entrepreneurs (Hartmann et al., 2022). In the context of small and medium-sized enterprises, the individual resilience of the entrepreneur plays a vital and pivotal role in guiding the entire organization’s response to a crisis (Leonelli et al., 2024). 2. Organizational level: This level, which is the main focus of this research, addresses the resources, processes, capabilities, and structures that allow the entire organization to cope with disruptions (Barasa et al., 2018). 3. Network/Institutional Level: This level examines resilience beyond the boundaries of an organization and focuses on the quality of the institutional environment, supportive policies, and the organization’s relationships with external actors and stakeholders (Koporcic et al., 2025).
Koporcic et al. (2025) in a comprehensive umbrella review, identified key barriers to resilience in SMEs as constraints related to firm size and greater vulnerability to shocks, financial constraints and ineffective leadership and lack of crisis management skills; and key coping strategies included business continuity planning, organizational culture, technology adoption, proactive manufacturing, and strategic cooperations.
De Waal et al. (2025) identified four heterogeneous resilience paths (incomplete recovery and survival, performance recovery, leapfrogging, explosive leap) in a longitudinal study of Ukrainian companies in war conditions, which shows that survival in critical conditions is itself a form of resilience.
Research Methodology
This research is exploratory and theoretical in nature, based on an interpretive paradigm, and uses the meta-synthesis and bibliometric analysis methods.
Research Findings
Data analysis was conducted using the meta-synthesis method as the main method and bibliometric analysis as a complementary method. Also, bibliometric data were extracted from 953 articles in Scopus and analyzed with VOSviewer software. After a systematic search of reliable databases and screening, 67 key qualitative and conceptual studies were finally selected and synthesized and integrated through a content analysis process. The results showed that 460 conceptual codes were classified into 15 organizing themes and 5 overarching themes including “drivers and enabling factors, multilevel capabilities, dynamic process cycle, resilient strategies, and heterogeneous outcomes.” The main finding of the research is “A dynamic and multilevel model of organizational resilience in a permanent crisis environment”. This model conceptualizes resilience as an evolutionary meta-capability that emerges from the dynamic interaction between the reservoir of multilevel capabilities and the flow of a continuous learning cycle and includes the following elements: 1) drivers and enabling factors (permanent crisis context); 2) the core of resilience including multilevel capabilities (individual/entrepreneurial, organizational, and network/institutional) and a dynamic process cycle (anticipation, exposure, learning); and 3) heterogeneous outcomes (from survival to explosive mutation). This model operates through strategic choices (defensive, adaptive, offensive) and evolves over time with feedback loops and an “evolutionary learning spiral”.
Conclusion
The present study aimed to provide a comprehensive and dynamic model of organizational resilience in Iranian SMEs in a permanent crisis ecosystem using a meta-synthesis method. The findings of this study are fully consistent with studies that emphasize the pivotal role of the leader in SMEs (Leonelli et al., 2024; Branicki et al., 2018). However, this model goes further and shows that leader resilience (including strategic intelligence and managerial competencies) is not only a driver, but also the main catalyst for activating capabilities at other levels. At the organizational level, this model is consistent with the main literature by highlighting capabilities such as agility, learning culture and digital transformation (Georgescu et al., 2024; Dowlatabadi, 2025) and shows that organizational capabilities are a platform for institutionalizing individual-level experiences and intuitions and transforming individual learning into organizational memory. At the network level, this model is also consistent with the findings of researchers by emphasizing strategic partnerships and resource dependency management (Koporcic et al., 2025). In the Iranian context, where formal institutions are weak and unreliable, informal and trust-based networks (social capital) become an alternative infrastructure for business. At the macro level, the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises affects the resilience indicators of society, and supportive government policies can lead to strengthening the country's business ecosystem. This research, by moving beyond simplistic models, attempted to open the black box of resilience in the unique context of Iran's permanent crisis. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge all individuals, institutions, and organizations that provided scientific, technical, administrative, or advisory support throughout this research and the preparation of this manuscript. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial, personal, professional, or institutional conflicts of interest relevant to this work. Data Availability Statement The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. AI Use Statement The authors declare that no generative artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies were used in the preparation, writing, or editing of this manuscript. Funding The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other financial support were received during the conduct of this research or the preparation of this manuscript. Ethics Approval All procedures performed in this study were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional and national research committee.

Abstract The aim of this research is to test the digital marketing model for the internationalization of small and medium-sized dairy companies. The present research is applicable in terms of its purpose, and descriptive-survey in terms of its nature and method. The statistical population of the present research includes 289 managers and experts of the dairy industries of Mazandaran province. The Cochran formula was used to determine the sample size and 165 people were selected as samples using stratified random sampling. The collection tool in the present research includes a researcher-made questionnaire. SPSS and PLS software were used to analyze the findings. According to the results, the main themes include digital marketing content, digital marketing tools, digital advertising, digital sales development, and digital customer relationship management. Among them, the theme of a strong presence in the digital space is of first importance, and the theme of analyzing and understanding international markets is of second importance, the theme of using innovative international digital marketing models is of third importance, the theme of creating a global brand is of fourth priority and importance, the theme of complying with international laws and standards is of fifth importance, and finally, the theme of cooperating with international business partners is of sixth importance. Also, the adaptation and adaptation of the obtained digital marketing model for the internationalization of small and medium-sized dairy companies in Mazandaran province has been assessed as appropriate.
Introduction
The extensive growth of technology and the increase in people's access to the Internet have paved the way for the transition to digital marketing. Evidence indicates that digital marketing has gradually replaced conventional marketing, meaning that its effects on customers' lives have become more important. This is a reality that current businesses must accept and embrace digital marketing (Rahmani et al., 2023). Industries and companies use digital marketing not only to carry out marketing activities within their borders and geographical areas, but digital marketing is also considered a suitable model for cross-border activities and exports (Zahoor & Lew, 2023).
In recent years, the dairy industry has faced a reduction in the scope of export markets and sinusoidal exports for various reasons, which requires a solution to completely overcome such conditions. The potential capabilities of the country's dairy companies, as well as the existence of potential and diverse markets for exporting dairy products in the Middle East, Asia and Eurasia, provide the conditions for reclaiming past markets and even expanding markets along with improving and increasing continuous and sustainable exports (Dadashi Jokandan et al., 2022).
Now, producers and customers have become more aware of the transparency, health and environmental impacts of product production and service provision activities. Changes in customer and market demands have forced producers to abandon short-term gains and consider long-term development of dairy production, distribution, and sales using digital marketing. It seems that companies active in the dairy industry are also forced to use digital marketing (Ikramov et al., 2021).
The dairy industry is important in the economy of Mazandaran province and its importance is expected to increase in the next few years. Therefore, dairy industry marketing, which takes into account all current technology-based tools and facilities, is very important for growth in international and domestic markets. Despite valuable efforts to develop exports in the dairy sector for easy and correct management, no practical model has been presented so far for developing dairy product exports in this province. Therefore, the main question of the present study is: how to test the digital marketing model for the internationalization of small and medium-sized dairy companies?
Theoretical Framework
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing means achieving marketing goals using the methods and tools of the digital technology world. In this method, all possible capacities and channels available in the digital world are used to deliver information to the customer or consumer. The use of digital tools (to introduce a product, attract customers, build a brand, and sell) is called digital marketing. In other words, the business owner introduces his product to customers through digital marketing tools and tries to increase sales (Diss & Henberry, 2020).
Internationalization of Small and Medium-sized Businesses
A small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) is a business with fewer than a certain number of employees. This limit varies in different countries and economies, but in many societies, including the European Union, it is considered 250 people. Small and medium-sized enterprises have an important place in the literature on organization and management. When talking about such companies, they mostly refer to companies that were formed based on entrepreneurship. Various types of spin-offs, startups, science and technology park companies, knowledge-based companies, and companies operating in industrial parks fall into this category (Amini & Fatahi, 2018).
Beigloo et al. (2025) studied the provision of an appropriate digital marketing model for Iranian small and medium-sized industries. The research findings indicate 6 dimensions (including: marketing strategy, digital content marketing, appropriate digital tools, customer engagement, visitor conversion, interaction with target customers), 18 components and 54 indicators that determine the digital marketing model in Iranian small and medium-sized industries. The research results show that the dimensions, components and indicators extracted from the meta-synthesis method (research model) were approved by the target community. Also, in the ranking of digital marketing dimensions for small and medium-sized industries, among the 6 dimensions; “Reaching the target customer and interacting with them” and “Customer engagement” are in first place and “Visitor conversion”, “Digital content marketing”, “appropriate digital tools” are in second place and finally “Marketing strategy” is in third place.
Zarei & Mohammad Khani (2024) stated in a study entitled A Model for Improving Digital Marketing Capabilities with Emphasis on Digital Marketing Usage Indicators in Industrial Companies that the convergence of information, media, and communication technologies has changed consumer behavior in terms of searching, obtaining, processing, and responding to company information or services. And the model for improving marketing capabilities has been designed with an emphasis on digital marketing usage indicators in industrial companies.
Research Methodology
The purpose of the present study is to test the digital marketing model for the internationalization of small and medium-sized dairy companies. This research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive-survey in terms of nature and method. The statistical population of the present study includes 289 managers and experts in the dairy industries of Mazandaran province. The Cochran formula was used to determine the sample size, and 165 people were selected as samples using stratified random sampling. The collection tool in the present study includes a researcher-made questionnaire.
Research findings
SPSS and PLS software were used to analyze the findings. According to the results, the main themes include digital marketing content, digital marketing tools, digital advertising, digital sales development, and digital customer relationship management. Among them, the theme of a strong presence in the digital space is of first importance, and the theme of analyzing and understanding international markets is of second importance, the theme of using innovative international digital marketing models is of third importance, the theme of creating a global brand is of fourth priority and importance, the theme of complying with international laws and standards is of fifth importance, and finally, the theme of cooperating with international business partners is of sixth importance. Also, the consistency and fit of the obtained digital marketing model for the internationalization of small and medium-sized dairy companies in Mazandaran province has been assessed as appropriate.
Conclusion
The present study was conducted with the aim of testing the digital marketing model for the internationalization of small and medium-sized dairy companies. The results of this research are somewhat similar to the results of Beigloo et al. (2025), Zarei & Mohammad khani (2024), Dalili et al. (2024), Moradi ziba et al. (2023), Jahandideh & Bahramzadeh (2023), Rahmani et al. (2023), Javid et al. (2023), Raja (2023), Jadhav et al. (2023), Thaha et al. (2021), Quirós-Gómez & Arce-Gutiérrez (2020), Pakparvar et al. (2020), Jadhav et al. (2023), Khaerani et al. (2023), Klapkiv et al. (2023), Borhani et al. (2023), Bulegoda & Fernando (2023), Asgarnezhad (2023), and Nouri et al. (2020). Jadhav et al. (2023) stated the various benefits received by SMEs due to digital marketing in different capacities that can help organizations to improve their productivity. The mind map presents the idea of ​​the impact of SMEs on their various functions in rural as well as urban areas.
According to the results of the study, the following suggestions were made:
Creation of target market database: Creation of a comprehensive database for information related to the needs, preferences and behavior of customers in target markets.
Precise targeting of digital advertising: Use market information to create targeted advertising campaigns on social networks and search engines. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge all individuals, institutions, and organizations that provided scientific, technical, administrative, or advisory support throughout this research and the preparation of this manuscript. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial, personal, professional, or institutional conflicts of interest relevant to this work. Data Availability Statement The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. AI Use Statement The authors declare that no generative artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies were used in the preparation, writing, or editing of this manuscript. Funding The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other financial support were received during the conduct of this research or the preparation of this manuscript. Ethics Approval All procedures performed in this study were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional and national research committee.

Abstract Abstract
The aim of the present study is to design and develop an innovative ecosystem model for small and medium-sized enterprises in Iran. The design of this innovation ecosystem model can act as a driving factor for involving various actors in the production, design, development and commercialization of innovative products and services in small and medium-sized enterprises. To achieve this goal, the meta-synthesis method was used and, according to previous studies, 1469 articles were selected and interpreted from among various articles. In fact, an interpretation beyond previous studies was obtained and in this method, the findings were combined and a comprehensive view of the phenomenon in question was obtained. Finally, 69 articles were selected using the screening method. The findings show that, according to the combination of studies conducted, the dimensions of the innovation ecosystem model in small and medium-sized enterprises include innovation in inputs, innovation in processes, innovation in outcomes and outputs, social innovations, strategy innovations, and environmental sustainability innovations. In fact, in addition to these dimensions, their indicators and components have also been extracted, which actually play a facilitating role in implementing the desired model. The results show that the innovation ecosystem model, which is the result of extracting indicators and components, can be applied in small and medium-sized enterprises.
Introduction
Today, creativity and innovation and the ability to discover new opportunities are among the most essential characteristics of entrepreneurs. Competition in technology and ensuring and continuing life and survival in companies and industries require finding new solutions and methods of dealing with problems that depend greatly on innovation, creation of new products, processes, and approaches. In today's business world, some factors such as continuous and sometimes fundamental changes in technologies, emergence of new demands from customers, short product and service life cycles, disappearance of the boundary between industries and the constant presence of new entrants from different industries and many other factors have created a special space and as a result of these changes, companies are dependent on other companies and institutions to create value for their customers. Considering value creation from an ecosystem perspective is different from the traditional view, which is based on value creation by a specific company and is static. Therefore, to use ecosystems, companies need to change their perspective from a traditional and company-based and static view to an ecosystem view (Fuller et al., 2019). In the innovation ecosystem, key people are connected to many other factors in valuable interactions. One of the reasons for the increasing importance of innovation at the international level is the globalization of markets and the competitive pressure on companies to keep on seeking innovation. Innovation ecosystems connect the way actors, producers, service providers, end users, regulators, and civil society organizations to achieve a collective outcome (Zakobedes & Calleagues, 2017). Ecosystems similar to innovation ecosystems increase the sustainability of organizations and industries and can support their sustainable activities towards sustainable development (Reezner & Calleagues, 2019), because it is likely to have implications for both researchers and policymakers and practitioners (Dedhayer & Calleagues, 2018).
Regarding the theoretical gap in the research, it can be said that by reviewing the research, it was found that limited studies have been presented in the field of designing and developing a coherent framework for the innovation ecosystem in small and medium-sized enterprises in the country, although many of these studies were very general or only analyzed the innovation ecosystem from one aspect (Holm & Ankarkrona, 2016). Also, regarding the necessity of conducting this research, it can be said that previous studies have mainly focused on the technological dimension of the ecosystem, which limits the possibility of examining and evaluating complex ecosystems (Chen et al., 2016). On the other hand, a large part of the studies have only examined a few ecosystem actors and the interactions between them, and have not comprehensively examined all stakeholders and the relationships between them (Motoyama & Knowlton, 2017). Today, designing an innovation ecosystem model can be considered as a stimulus to increase the performance of these small and medium-sized industries. In this regard, the present study attempts to, through the study of previous research, address the question of how the innovation ecosystem model in small and medium-sized enterprises is designed and developed using the meta-synthesis model.
Theoretical framework
In the present era, innovation emerges when the organization seeks to respond to an environment in which it is operating under environmental disturbances, and this has caused managers to focus on organizational transformation in order to adapt and respond to changes in a timely manner and maintain the organization's competitive advantages, and they consider themselves in need of an appropriate leadership style and human capital management to deal with such changes (Veghry and Fileshver, 2024).
Small companies may not grow with proper innovation management, but they can still survive. Companies that have planned innovation management well will be able to survive (Zoares Eskoober and Goozman, 2017). On the other hand, businesses also face obstacles, including restrictions and laws on content production and advertising, audience limitations, the impact of political and social crises, the presence of competition, references, government restrictions, unethical behavior of audiences and competitors, and systemic problems such as messaging bugs and lack of financial support, lack of sufficient facilities, and ideological limitations (Kafshdar Toosi, 2024). As Shompiter emphasizes, innovation is a powerful tool for new companies to successfully enter the market and challenge established companies. Also, established organizations need innovation to maintain their competitive position in the face of new and emerging or “disruptive” technologies (Cresstenson, 2010). Radical innovations are those that are developed by a company and are also innovations that are new to an industry (Reechesten and Salter, 2006). SMEs, known for their centralized management and informal structures, are therefore more prone to innovation. Companies that propose product innovation should focus on new product development or technological improvements, while companies that introduce new organizational methods such as process innovation should focus on knowledge and management culture (Ikermorat and Bardoogan, 2011). However, the most difficult task for SMEs is to realize this idea to meet demand. SMEs must follow several stages until the newly created product becomes marketable. New product development is a process in which new ideas are used in the final product and service. This process consists of six stages. Research and development stage, product design, concept testing, prototype, test marketing, and commercialization or launch. All these processes require resources and budget. Studies show that in Iran, not much research has been done so far on the topic of innovation ecosystem model in small and medium-sized companies and key players, and even practical models and patterns in this field. Considering that today advanced economies have placed innovation as their main factor and driver, developing countries need innovation in services and products to accelerate their growth and development. Considering the economic conditions of the country, many small and medium-sized companies cannot continue their production cycle.
Methodology
This research is applicable in terms of purpose, qualitative in terms of data collection, and with a meta-synthesis approach in terms of research implementation method. This research is based on the seven-step method of Sandelowski and Barroso (2007) in meta-synthesis.
Research findings
In this research, based on articles discovered from reputable journals and databases, 68 articles were fully reviewed and by combining the findings, six dimensions along with their indicators and components were identified for the innovation ecosystem, described below. Based on the results of the meta-synthesis, the dimensions of the innovation ecosystem can be categorized into six main areas, including input innovation, process innovation, strategy innovation, output and outcome innovation, social innovation, and environmental innovation.
Conclusion
 The first dimension is the input innovation dimension, consistent with the research of Liang & Wang (2023) and Block et al., (2023), and based on the research conducted, it is suggested that in order to have an effective input in the field of innovation, its indicators and components need to be calculated in a real sense and in accordance with the environment in which it operates. These indicators and components include crowdfunding, launching a venture capital fund, hiring startup-minded employees, innovation in financing methods, etc. The second dimension is the process innovation dimension, which acts as a strategic role in converting inputs into outputs and, in a way, extracts accurate and correct outputs and actions after a targeted and effective analysis of inputs. The results of this dimension are consistent with the research of Piñera-Salmerón et al., (2023). In this dimension, indicators and components such as the production of artificial intelligence-based services, updating machinery and equipment, setting up a research and development unit, using artificial intelligence capabilities, smartening business processes, continuous product improvement, application of quality tools, redesigning parts and components, etc. are mentioned. The third dimension is innovation in outputs and outcomes, which are actually indicators such as obtaining an electronic trust mark, developing new product versions, setting up spin-off companies, using online sales platforms, developing the export of innovative products, obtaining a knowledge-based mark for products, commercializing innovative products, etc., and is consistent with the research of Jin & Li (2023). The fourth dimension is social innovation, the results of which are consistent with the research of Sampaio & Sebastião (2024), and these studies showed that this dimension facilitates the cooperation of non-governmental sectors and civil society to promote innovation and also influence the innovation process. In fact, social innovation is an environmental factor that plays a decisive role in the adoption of innovation and the production of innovation. The indicators of this dimension include the development of corporate citizenship behavior, the allocation of budget lines to the field of social responsibility, the creation of local networks for the exchange of knowledge and benefits, etc. The fifth dimension is innovation strategies, which is consistent with the research of Agazu & Kero (2024). The components of this dimension include the development of entrepreneurial culture, the development of digital entrepreneurship, co-creation in the production of new products, and the development of gradual innovation, and therefore it is suggested that strategy be considered as a facilitator of the role of the innovation path and the purposefulness of the innovation development process. The sixth dimension is environmental innovation, which includes indicators and components such as green innovation development, green management development, green product development, green marketing development, reduction of environmental pollutants, use of less polluting materials, etc., which is consistent with the research of Kirikkaleli et al., (2023). The three dimensions of social innovation, environmental innovation, and strategic innovation are considered as external environmental dimensions of innovation that affect the internal environment of innovation and in a way stimulate innovation. Any research or management action in the field of innovation ecosystems requires a precise understanding of the six dimensions.