The quality of SMEs stakeholder communication during strategic crises: The case of Italian unlisted SMEs

The aim of this paper is to assess small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs') readiness to initiate a mature dialogue with stakeholders in the exceptional context of a strategic crisis, when information on business model sustainability has become universally material for all stakeholders. A quantitative study is carried out by developing a business model content analysis and applying it to a data sample of 109 manufacturing SMEs in Italy with annual revenues ranging from €10 to €50 million. The results are that under the stress of the crisis, all SMEs, particularly those that were strategically and financially vulnerable, provided extremely limited information, demonstrating the tendency to conceal strategic risks and the difficulties in engaging in mature dialogue with stakeholders.