Prior research has shown that institutional constraints, present in many emerging and transition economies, decrease the performance of firms. However, how resource-restricted small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) deal with these institutional constraints and potentially overcome them is currently not well understood. We combine an institutional perspective with a relational view and argue that innovative capabilities, along with networking activities enabling these firms to tap into crucial resources external to their organizations, are important means of dealing with institutional constraints. Our unique dataset of a total of 518 SMEs from Ukraine and Russia reveals that a firm’s innovativeness coupled with local partnerships and resource sharing activities can help to mitigate the negative relationship between institutional constraints and firm performance. This study provides a more-nuanced understanding of how innovative SMEs in highly turbulent transition economies deal with institutional constraints and increase their performance.

中文翻译：

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逆境之花：转型经济体的制度约束与创新型中小企业

先前的研究表明，许多新兴经济体和转型经济体中存在的制度约束会降低企业的绩效。然而，资源受限的中小企业如何应对这些制度限制并可能克服这些限制目前尚不清楚。我们将制度视角与关系观点相结合，认为创新能力以及使这些公司能够利用组织外部关键资源的网络活动是应对制度约束的重要手段。我们对来自乌克兰和俄罗斯的 518 家中小企业的独特数据集表明，企业的创新能力与当地合作伙伴关系和资源共享活动相结合，有助于减轻制度约束与企业绩效之间的负面关系。这项研究提供了对高度动荡的转型经济体中的创新型中小企业如何应对制度约束并提高绩效的更细致的了解。