The contemporary environment of small and medium-sized enterprises is characterized by accelerating technological change, intensifying competitive pressures, fragmented markets, and the increasing importance of intangible strategic resources. Within this complex context, business consulting is no longer a peripheral support function but has become a central mechanism through which SMEs can adapt, innovate, and remain viable. Despite the growing importance of consulting, the theoretical and methodological foundations that explain how consulting interventions systematically influence business model innovation, organizational legitimacy, and network-based competitiveness remain fragmented and underdeveloped. This research article develops and elaborates a comprehensive theoretical and methodological framework for business consulting for SMEs by integrating the complex consulting model proposed by Kovalchuk (2025) with established perspectives from business model theory, innovation management, network theory, and corporate social responsibility research.

The study argues that consulting for SMEs cannot be reduced to technical advice or episodic problem solving but should be understood as a multi-layered socio-economic process that reconfigures organizational structures, strategic orientation, and inter-organizational relationships. Drawing on business model literature that emphasizes value creation, value capture, and value delivery as dynamic and interdependent processes, the article demonstrates that consulting interventions can function as catalysts for business model innovation when they are embedded within broader organizational and network contexts (Johnson et al., 2008; Magretta, 2002; Foss and Saebi, 2017). The complex consulting model elaborated by Kovalchuk (2025) is used as a central analytical lens to explain how consulting processes integrate diagnostic, design, implementation, and feedback loops in ways that align strategic intent with operational capability.

Methodologically, this research adopts a qualitative integrative design that synthesizes insights from multiple streams of literature. Rather than presenting statistical testing, the study develops a conceptually rich interpretive analysis that maps how consulting activities interact with business model patterns, network structures, and legitimacy-building mechanisms. This approach allows for a nuanced understanding of how SMEs can use consulting not only to solve immediate problems but also to develop long-term strategic resilience.

The results indicate that effective consulting contributes to SME performance by enabling systematic business model adaptation, strengthening network embeddedness, and enhancing organizational legitimacy in the eyes of stakeholders, including customers, governments, and partners (Saebi et al., 2017; Hu et al., 2020; Wenqi et al., 2022). The discussion further situates these findings within broader debates on innovation, corporate responsibility, and strategic change, highlighting both the opportunities and the structural constraints that shape consulting outcomes.

Overall, this article contributes to theory by integrating the complex consulting model of Kovalchuk (2025) into the mainstream discourse on business model innovation and SME strategy. It also offers a robust conceptual foundation for practitioners and policymakers seeking to design consulting systems that foster sustainable competitiveness in the SME sector.

Business consulting, small and medium-sized enterprises, business model innovation, strategic networks, organizational legitimacy, corporate social responsibility

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