FROM DIGITAL READINESS TO ENTREPRENEURIAL CAPACITY: THE ROLE OF DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES IN BULGARIAN SMES

Abstract

This study examines the role of dynamic capabilities as a mechanism through which the digital readiness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can be transformed into entrepreneurial capacity. Amidst accelerated digital transformation, the possession of digital technologies and infrastructure is not a sufficient condition for organizational renewal, innovation, and the realization of new market opportunities. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory and existing literature on digital transformation, the study proposes a conceptual model linking digital readiness to the processes of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring, as well as to the formation of entrepreneurial capacity. Consistent with the perspective of Zahra, Sapienza, and Davidsson (2006), dynamic capabilities are viewed as an organizational mechanism enabling enterprises to alter and reconfigure their resource base in response to emerging opportunities [Zahra et al., 2006]. In the model, entrepreneurial capacity manifests through the ability to recognize opportunities, innovation activity, and proactive entrepreneurial action. The proposed framework focuses on Bulgarian SMEs and establishes a foundation for the subsequent empirical testing of the mediating role of dynamic capabilities.