IRSM: Extending the Resource-Based View to Explain Competitive Advantage in Conflict-Induced Displacement Entrepreneurship Among Sudanese Diaspora SMEs (2023–2026)

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to extend the Resource-Based View (RBV) by developing and empirically testing the Integrative Resource Strategy Model (IRSM) to explain how intangible resource bundles generate competitive advantage among conflict-induced displaced entrepreneurs. Specifically, the study examines the effects of Digital and AI Capabilities (X₁), Relational Capital and Personal Branding (X₂), and Entrepreneurial Human Capital (X₃) on Business Success (Y), and tests whether the three resource pillars jointly exert a significant effect on Business Success. Four hypotheses are proposed concerning the partial effects of each resource pillar and their simultaneous effect.

Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among Sudanese SME owners and managers who established or re-established businesses abroad following the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan on 15 April 2023. Using purposive and snowball sampling, data were collected through a bilingual Arabic-English questionnaire from entrepreneurs operating across Egypt, the Gulf states, and neighbouring African countries. After data screening, 132 valid responses were analysed. The study measured Digital and AI Capabilities, Personal Branding, Entrepreneurial Knowledge, and Business Success using 28 five-point Likert-scale items. Ordinary least squares multiple linear regression was employed, with normality, multicollinearity, and homoscedasticity assumptions assessed before inference.

Results: The regression model was statistically significant, F(3, 128) = 12.674, p < 0.001, explaining 22.9% of the variance in Business Success (R² = 0.229; Adjusted R² = 0.211). Entrepreneurial Knowledge was the only significant partial predictor of Business Success (β = 0.406, t = 4.491, p < 0.001), supporting H₃. Digital and AI Capabilities showed a positive but non-significant partial effect (β = 0.150, p = 0.072), while Personal Branding had a negligible and non-significant partial effect (β = 0.009, p = 0.924). Thus, H₁ and H₂ were not supported, whereas the significant simultaneous effect of all three resource pillars supported H₄. The findings indicate that Entrepreneurial Knowledge functions as a foundational cognitive resource through which digital and relational resources can contribute to business performance.

Implications: The findings extend RBV to conflict-induced displacement by demonstrating how portable intangible resources can substitute for destroyed tangible and institutional resources. For practice, displaced entrepreneurs should prioritise entrepreneurial knowledge development while using AI and personal branding as complementary capabilities. For policymakers and multilateral agencies, enterprise-support programmes should emphasise entrepreneurial knowledge, AI and digital literacy, network development, simplified licensing, and financial instruments that recognise intangible resources. Future research should employ longitudinal and multi-country designs and examine the IRSM framework across other displacement contexts to strengthen causal inference and external validity.