The influence of workforce agility on external manufacturing flexibility of Iranian SMEs

A lack of workforce agility has been reported as one of the main reasons that some enterprises have difficulty keeping pace with markets and technological changes. Shortage of research on the consequences of workforce agility can be one of the main reasons for inconsideration about workforce agility in SMEs. In order to contribute to this debate, this research investigates whether and how extent workforce agility is a critical factor for promoting external manufacturing flexibility, as a key component in dynamic environment. The study is conducted by gathering sample from 161 Iranian SMEs. Supporting the hypotheses, the results suggest workforce agility enhances new product, mix, and volume flexibility. Moreover, testing the relationship between external manufacturing flexibility dimensions shows that mix flexibility encourages volume and new product flexibility in the SMEs.