Competitive Intelligence and Financial Performance of Moroccan SMEs: A Sequential Double Mediation Model

Abstract

Abstract

In Morocco, SMEs form the backbone of the national productive fabric, accounting for more than 95% of firms, yet remain weakened by limited access to strategic information. Against this backdrop, the question of how competitive intelligence translates into measurable financial performance represents a central theoretical and managerial challenge. While a strong empirical consensus attests to a positive but indirect relationship between these two constructs, no integrated model has, to date, been identified that simultaneously articulates the mediation mechanisms at work in the specific context of Moroccan SMEs. This research seeks to address that gap by identifying the organisational mechanisms through which competitive intelligence contributes to enhancing the financial performance of Moroccan SMEs.  Methodologically, this study is based on a narrative literature review of works published between 2018 and 2026, complemented by foundational theories (Resource-Based View, dynamic capabilities theory, absorptive capacity framework). The corpus mobilised comprises 38 academic references. The majority of these are peer-reviewed articles published in journals indexed in Scopus and/or Web of Science, selected according to their direct relevance to the constructs of competitive intelligence, absorptive capacity, competitive advantage, and financial performance. This core is complemented by a smaller set of references drawn from regional and francophone journals, institutional reports, and foundational monographs, included specifically to capture studies conducted in emerging and Moroccan contexts, where empirical and theoretical coverage in internationally indexed databases remains comparatively limited. The present study proposes an integrated conceptual model of sequential double mediation. The analysis leads to a model in which this relationship operates first through absorptive capacity, which transforms strategic information into assimilated organisational knowledge, and then through competitive advantage, which converts that knowledge into a market position generating financial performance. Three research propositions structure this model, jointly mobilising dynamic capabilities theory, the absorptive capacity framework, and the Resource-Based View. From a managerial standpoint, the insights drawn from this review suggest that investments in competitive intelligence yield durable financial effects only when accompanied by the development of absorptive capacity and the valorisation of that knowledge into defensible competitive advantages. The main contribution of this research is the proposal of an integrated sequential double-mediation model, in which absorptive capacity and competitive advantage jointly explain how competitive intelligence translates into improved financial performance for Moroccan SMEs. The next step will involve empirically testing the model on a sample of Moroccan SMEs through structural equation modelling, in order to examine the proposed propositions and assess potential moderating effects.

Keywords

Competitive intelligence · Absorptive capacity · Competitive advantage · Financial performance · Moroccan SMEs · Narrative review