Journal of Project Management (Canada) | 2026
Authors: Almahameed M.; Almohtaseb A.; Shakkour A.
DOI: 10.5267/j.jpm.2025.12.005
Journal: Journal of Project Management (Canada)
Year: 2026
Publisher: Growing Science
Document Type: Article
Open Access: All Open Access; Gold Open Access
Cited by: 0
Firms operating in emerging markets deal with volatile and uncertain conditions that force them to continuously adapt and reconfigure their resources. We use the Dynamic Capabilities View as our theoretical lens to investigate how dynamic capabilities work together with digital readiness to affect performance in SMEs that face these turbulent environments. Dynamic capabilities give managers the means to sense changes in their environment, seize new opportunities when they arise, and realign organizational resources as needed. Digital readiness provides the technological infrastructure required to make these strategic and project-level adjustments work in practice. We gathered survey data from 305 food-processing SMEs in Jordan and analyzed the data using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. Our results show that dynamic capabilities have a strong positive effect on firm performance. We also found that digital readiness amplifies this effect in important ways. The study contributes to strategic management, operations management, and project management research. It demonstrates that building capabilities while aligning digital tools helps firms navigate environmental uncertainty more effectively. For managers, the findings highlight something important: developing both organizational agility and digital infrastructure can turn turbulent market conditions into competitive advantages. The results offer practical guidance for operations and project managers in SMEs who are working to execute sustainability-oriented operational projects. They show that capability development paired with digital preparedness supports smoother execution and leads to stronger project outcomes. © 2026 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada.
Digital readiness; Dynamic capabilities; Emerging markets; Jordan; Operations management; Project management; SME performance