N°021_Vol.4_26

Introduction: SMEs contribute in a substantial way to employment, innovation, and economic development. Their performance in developing economies, though, tends to be shaped by institutional uncertainty, insufficient resources, deficient infrastructure, and competitive pressure (Bruton et al., 2021; Simba et al., 2021). Performance hinges not merely on what firms hold in their possession; it depends on how available resources get mobilized, combined, and adapted (Teece, 2007). Resilience matters just as much, since firms must absorb disruptions without losing operational continuity (Duchek, 2020). Several perspectives offer complementary explanations. The Resource-Based View (RBV) foregrounds valuable and difficult-to-imitate resources (Barney, 1991). Dynamic capabilities, for their part, account for resource renewal and reconfiguration (Teece, 2007), while institutional theory points to formal and informal rules (North, 1990; Greenwood et al., 2011). Configurational research demonstrates something else again: that different combinations of conditions can produce similar outcomes (Fiss, 2011; Misangyi et al., 2017). None of these perspectives, however, has been sufficiently woven together for SMEs operating in contexts where formal institutional support remains incomplete and resources stay tightly constrained (a gap that matters especially in fragile markets). This study addresses that gap. It draws on the Conjunctural Hybridization Theory, a framework that treats competitiveness and resilience as outcomes dependent on configuration, produced through the interaction of resource coordination, adaptive institutional responses, relational instruments, and organizational capabilities; the framework is tested through fsQCA, relying on data collected from 84 SMEs in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Three contributions follow. First, resource-based, dynamic-capability, institutional, and configurational perspectives get integrated into a single analytical lens. Second, Synsome and AIR are conceptualized as mechanisms through which heterogeneous resources and institutional arrangements become jointly actionable, at least in the cases examined here. Third, and this is arguably the most striking point, empirical evidence shows that multiple pathways can lead toward favorable outcomes even within a structurally constrained African context.

Conclusion: This research developed and empirically examined the Conjunctural Hybridization Theory to explain how SMEs achieve competitiveness and resilience under institutional and resource constraints. Evidence from 84 SMEs in Kinshasa shows that favorable outcomes arise through multiple configurations rather than a single causal pathway. Synsome is especially recurrent, while AIR, networks, innovation, and experience assume complementary roles that vary by configuration. The findings support equifinality and causal asymmetry and show that competitiveness and resilience, although related, should not be treated as identical outcomes.

The CHT consequently shifts the analysis from resource possession to the coordination of heterogeneous resources, adaptation of the institutional interface, and context-dependent combination of capabilities. Its contribution remains contextual and requires further empirical validation, but it provides a concise framework for studying SME adaptation in emerging and institutionally constrained economies.