Abstract
This paper draws on the Dynamic Capabilities View to discuss how Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) use digital technologies and develop digital capabilities to pivot within turbulent environments. We collected and analysed qualitative data from 26 SME entrepreneurs in South-East England that have used digital technologies to pivot during the pandemic. We argue that digital technologies enable pivoting by facilitating the development of digital capabilities, that is, ‘digital sensing’, ‘digital seizing’ and ‘digital transforming’. Furthermore, we reveal the micro-foundations (sub-capabilities) of each of these as well as the importance of digital culture in shaping these. We contribute to the literature of digital entrepreneurship as we illustrate how the micro-foundations of digital capabilities as facilitated by digital technologies assist pivoting.