How Crisis-Driven Time Compression Affects Digital Network Synchronisation in SMEs

Abstract This study examines how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sought to synchronise international partner relationships through digital means under crisis-driven time compression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on 29 interviews with New Zealand SME owner-managers and internationalisation experts and using a multi-stage pattern-matching design, we analyse how differences in digital conditions shape relationship-level synchronisation outcomes when physical interaction becomes constrained. The analysis identifies two conditioning dimensions: digital distance in opportunities, which refers to capability misalignment between SMEs and key partners, and digital distance in markets, which refers to differences in platform ecosystems, digital norms, and communication practices across countries. Their interaction yields four pathways of network synchronisation under crisis conditions: rapid re-synchronisation in digitally aligned markets; partial synchronisation via partner upskilling in familiar markets; co-created synchronisation in digitally divergent markets; and desynchronisation with selective retreat under dual digital friction. Across these pathways, trust and digital cultural competence moderate firms’ ability to transfer routines, experiment jointly, and sustain temporal alignment. This study contributes to SME internationalisation research by developing a mid-range process explanation of digital network synchronisation under crisis-driven time compression, showing how initial digital conditions shape adaptive synchronisation responses and, in turn, differentiated synchronisation outcomes.