The Impact of Digital Transformation on Organizational Agility: A Study of Manufacturing SMEs in Germany in the Post-Pandemic Era

• Adaan Ahsun

  Covenant University

  Author

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed profound vulnerabilities in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet it also accelerated digital transformation initiatives across the German Mittelstand. Despite growing scholarly attention to digital transformation and organizational agility, a critical gap persists: no empirically validated framework exists that specifically models how digital transformation dimensions translate into organizational agility for German manufacturing SMEs in the post-pandemic context. This study addresses this gap through a mixed-methods design combining survey data from 412 manufacturing SMEs with 18 semi-structured interviews. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), the research identifies digital process integration, data-driven decision-making capability, and digital workforce readiness as the three strongest predictors of organizational agility, collectively explaining 89.4% of variance in agility outcomes (R² = 0.894, p < 0.001). The findings reveal that digital transformation alone is insufficient; the mediating role of dynamic capabilities—particularly sensing and reconfiguring—is essential for translating digital investments into agility. The study contributes a validated Digital-Agility Transformation Framework (DATF) that offers both theoretical advancement and actionable guidance for SME managers and policymakers seeking to enhance resilience in volatile post-pandemic environments.

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Copyright (c) 2026 Adaan Ahsun (Author)

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