Information Technology Capabilities and Manufacturing Performance in SMEs: A Corporate Entrepreneurship Perspective

With relevance to developing nations like the United Arab Emirates, this conceptual analysis looks at how information technology (IT) affects manufacturing performance in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Because IT is frequently viewed as a binary adoption variable rather than as a collection of strategic capabilities, previous research reports inconsistent performance consequences despite widespread digital adoption. The goal of this research is to close this gap by identifying and synthesising important information technology components that help SMEs turn digital investment into long-term manufacturing success. To explain how IT infrastructure flexibility, IT integration, and IT alignment shape entrepreneurial behaviours that drive performance outcomes—business venturing, proactivity, and self-renewal—the paper conceptually analyses previous empirical and theoretical studies, drawing on the resource-based view and corporate entrepreneurship literature. According to the assessment, IT is more valuable when it is set up as an organisational capability and activated by entrepreneurial initiative as opposed to routine automation. The study adds a capability-and-conversion viewpoint to the field of SME digitisation studies. It lacks empirical testing because it is a conceptual study; quantitative and longitudinal methodologies should be used in future research to validate the framework.