Dynamic Capabilities and System Thinking: The Role of Networking Capabilities to Foster Innovation in SMEs

In the present work, the authors investigate the relationship between exploitation, exploration processes and firm performance in the ecosystem of the Italian sharing economy in the face of change. Their research results show that the propensity to adapt dynamically to the environment is significantly higher for companies that are aware of belonging to a network. This fundamental question has engaged scholars from disciplines as disparate as management, strategy, organizational sociology, psychology, and economics that contributed also to redefine the firm concept. On these considerations, in the present work the firm will be considered as a complex and adaptive system composed of tangible and intangible components in interaction to achieve survival by creating and maintaining dynamic relations with numerous and heterogeneous stakeholders.