As The transformation of small and medium sized enterprises into resilient and innovation driven organizations has become one of the most consequential challenges of contemporary economic development. Across diverse national and sectoral contexts, small and medium sized enterprises face increasing complexity derived from accelerated technological change, shifting market structures, and the growing importance of knowledge as a strategic asset. Within this environment, business consulting has evolved from a transactional service into a multidimensional knowledge intensive system that connects firms to external networks, innovation ecosystems, and institutional infrastructures. At the same time, social capital, absorptive capacity, and organizational innovativeness have emerged as decisive determinants of whether firms are able to translate external knowledge into sustainable competitive advantage. This article develops an integrated theoretical and methodological framework that links complex consulting models with network based theories of knowledge creation and social capital in order to explain how small and medium sized enterprises can enhance innovation performance through structured interaction with consulting systems and interorganizational networks.
The results demonstrate that consulting models which are aligned with networked knowledge structures significantly enhance the ability of small and medium sized enterprises to identify, acquire, assimilate, and exploit external knowledge. Social capital emerges as a critical mediating factor that amplifies the effectiveness of consulting by facilitating trust, reciprocity, and access to heterogeneous information sources. At the same time, the organizational innovativeness of firms determines whether external inputs can be translated into new products, processes, and business models. The analysis further reveals that consulting architectures which integrate technological, organizational, and relational dimensions are more effective than narrowly focused advisory approaches.
The discussion situates these findings within broader debates on the knowledge based economy, innovation systems, and the evolving role of professional services in entrepreneurial ecosystems. The article argues that the future of small and medium sized enterprise development depends on the institutionalization of complex consulting models that operate as integrative platforms for learning, collaboration, and strategic renewal. By providing a theoretically grounded and methodologically rigorous framework, this study contributes to both academic scholarship and policy oriented discourse on how to design more effective support structures for innovation driven entrepreneurship.

Business consulting, social capital, absorptive capacity, innovation systems

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