The Mediating Effect of Innovative Performance on the Relationship Between the Use of Information Technology and Organizational Agility in SMEs

The current study has four main objectives. First, it aims to investigate the effect of the relationship between information technology (IT) dimensions (customer relationship management, knowledge management, and human resource management) and innovative practices on organizational agility in small and medium-size companies (SMEs). Second, it seeks to measure the relationship between IT components and innovative performance. Third, it examines the impact of innovative performance on organizational agility. Fourth it explores the mediating role of innovative performance in the relationship between IT and organizational agility. These objectives provide a clear roadmap for the research and guide the analysis and interpretation of the findings. This paper’s statistical population was composed of senior managers in SMEs in Khorsaran Razavi, Iran. The data were collected using standard questionnaires, 172 which were received in 2023 and analyzed using SPSS version 25 and SmartPLS version 4 software. The results demonstrate that using customer relationships, human resources, and knowledge management as three dimensions of IT and innovative performance can enhance organizational agility. Moreover, innovative performance plays a crucial role as a mediator, strengthening the impact of information IT dimensions on organizational agility. These findings underscore the practical relevance for companies operating in a dynamic economic environment. Special attention to organizational agility and practical factors will increase flexibility, speed of response, etc., and, ultimately, companies’ success in this tense economic environment. The innovation of this research is that the three dimensions of IT, including evaluating customer relationship management, human resource management, and knowledge management, is a growing research field in organizational agility. Therefore, this research is vital in empowering SMEs to increase agility. By evaluating the effect of the four variables of knowledge management, customer relationship management, human resource management, and innovative performance on organizational agility in SMEs, on the one hand, this research expands the theoretical literature and, on the other hand, helps such companies.