Purpose Although small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play major roles in most economies in terms of job creation, innovation and contribution to national income, they are often underrepresented in public procurement markets. This paper aims to explore how the dynamic capabilities theory can improve SME participation in public procurement. Design/methodology/approach Through a systematic literature review, the paper identifies common barriers to the effective participation of SMEs in public procurement and explores the applicability of the dynamic capabilities theory in addressing these barriers. Findings A theoretical analysis was conducted to identify possible relationships between the factors reported in the literature as barriers to SME participation in public procurement and different components of the dynamic capabilities of firms (i.e. sensing, seizing, reconfiguring and learning). Seven key propositions were generated to guide future research. Research limitations/implications Despite its contributions, this paper is based solely on a systematic literature review and theoretical analysis. Future studies could use meta-analysis to review multiple studies relating to the nexus between SMEs and public procurement, hence improving methodological rigour. Practical implications The paper contributes to the ongoing debate about whether and how SMEs can leverage their resources and capabilities to develop self-help strategies to improve participation in public procurement, an area yet underexplored in the literature. Originality/value This is one of the few studies examining the implications of firm-level capabilities of SME activity in public procurement markets. The findings may be beneficial to SME managers/owners, particularly regarding firms' ability to leverage resources and capabilities to participate effectively in public procurement.

中文翻译：

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中小企业参与公共采购的动态能力

目的尽管在大多数经济体中，中小企业在创造就业机会，创新和对国民收入的贡献方面发挥着主要作用，但在公共采购市场上他们通常所占的比例不足。本文旨在探讨动态能力理论如何改善中小企业对公共采购的参与。设计/方法/方法通过系统的文献综述，本文确定了中小企业有效参与公共采购的常见障碍，并探讨了动态能力理论在解决这些障碍方面的适用性。研究结果进行了理论分析，以查明文献中报道的阻碍中小企业参与公共采购的因素与企业动态能力的不同组成部分之间的可能关系（即 感应，抓住，重新配置和学习）。产生了七个关键命题来指导未来的研究。研究局限性/意义尽管有贡献，但本文仅基于系统的文献综述和理论分析。未来的研究可以使用荟萃分析来审查有关中小型企业和公共采购之间关系的多项研究，从而提高方法的严谨性。实际意义本文为有关中小型企业是否以及如何利用其资源和能力制定自助战略以改善对公共采购的参与的辩论做出了贡献，这是文献中尚未探讨的领域。原创性/价值这是检验公共采购市场中中小企业活动的公司层面能力影响的少数研究之一。