Enhancing Operational Flexibility Through Big Data Integration: A Study of Food and Beverage SMEs in the Post-Pandemic Era

• Abbas Ahsun

  Texas University

  Author

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed profound vulnerabilities in the operational frameworks of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly within the food and beverage (F&B) sector, where demand volatility, supply chain disruptions, and shifting regulatory landscapes demanded unprecedented adaptability. While big data analytics (BDA) has been theorized as a catalyst for organizational agility, empirical evidence validating its integration within resource-constrained F&B SMEs in post-pandemic contexts remains fragmented and largely qualitative. This study addresses this gap by developing and validating a predictive operational flexibility framework that integrates BDA maturity, supply chain data integration, and managerial resource orchestration. Using a mixed-methods design combining a survey of 312 F&B SME managers across three regions with a retrospective analysis of operational performance data, the research employs structural equation modeling and machine learning feature importance analysis. The proposed BDA-driven flexibility model achieved 89.4% predictive accuracy in identifying SMEs that successfully enhanced operational flexibility post-pandemic. Key findings reveal that real-time demand sensing and supplier data integration are the strongest predictors of flexibility, mediated by managerial data-driven culture. The study concludes that BDA integration, when strategically orchestrated rather than merely adopted, significantly enhances operational flexibility. Practical implications include a replicable maturity roadmap for SME administrators, while academic contributions extend resource orchestration theory to the F&B SME context.

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Copyright (c) 2026 Abbas Ahsun (Author)

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