한국 중소기업의 동태적 역량과 회복탄력성에 대한 탐색적 연구 - 자동차 부품 업체의 사업전환 및 다각화 활동을 중심으로 - = Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Dynamic Capabilities, Organizational Resilience, and SME Transformation in the Automotive Parts Sector

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 자동차 부품 중소기업의 동태적 역량과 회복탄력성을 사업전환 및 다각화 활동이라는 대리변수를 통해 매출액 효과를 4,628개 중소기업의 2009~2023년 패널 데이터를 구축해 분석하였다. 본 연구는 탐색적 연구로서 중소기업의 동태적 역량과 회복탄력성에 기반한 사업전환 및 다각화 효과를 분석할 가능성을 제시하며 향후 추가적인 연구 설계 및 정책 기여 방안을 도출할 수 있는 기초 연구자료로 활용될 것을 기대할 수 있다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study explores how dynamic capabilities and organizational resilience shape the performance outcomes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) amid profound industrial transformation, focusing on Korean automotive parts suppliers facing the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. While rapid technological and structural changes pose significant threats to SMEs, this study argues that strategic business transformation and diversification can function as key mechanisms through which firms convert crisis into growth opportunities.
Using a unique panel dataset of 4,628 Korean automotive parts SMEs spanning the period from 2009 to 2023, this study empirically examines the sales effects of business transformation and diversification as proxy measures for dynamic capabilities and resilience. Fixed-effects panel regression and event-time analysis are employed to control for firm-specific heterogeneity and macroeconomic shocks. The results demonstrate that firms engaging in certified business transformation and diversification exhibit significantly higher sales growth and greater revenue stability than non-transforming firms. Notably, positive performance effects emerge several years prior to the formal transformation event and persist for at least two years afterward, suggesting anticipatory capability-building and sustained resilience.
Complementary descriptive and case-based analyses further reveal that transforming firms show markedly higher survival rates and employment growth, even during periods of industry-wide downturn. These findings indicate that dynamic capabilities operate as strategic enablers of transformation, while organizational resilience functions as a buffering mechanism that absorbs uncertainty and translates strategic change into measurable financial performance.
By providing large-scale empirical evidence from a capital- and technology-intensive manufacturing sector, this study contributes to the literature by bridging dynamic capabilities and resilience perspectives in the context of SMEs-an area largely dominated by studies on large firms or conceptual models. The findings also offer policy implications for designing proactive SME transformation support systems that go beyond short-term financial assistance toward capability-oriented and resilience-enhancing interventions.