Conclusion
Besides highlighting a number of actual sources of changes in the environment (e.g. competition and uncertainty or complexity in general) and the varying natures of these changes (e.g. disturbances and continuous changes or expected and unexpected changes), the review of the triggers of strategic flexibility points to the assumption that different firms can act differently when faced with the same type of changes. Furthermore, the review of the dimensions, in particular, shows the progress of the conceptualization of strategic flexibility. The most prevailing understanding of strategic flexibility is as a reactive set of abilities; however, more recent contributions portray the proactive side of strategic flexibility. Moreover, the literature, especially in relation to the enablers of strategic flexibility, recognizes the broadness of the mechanisms of strategic flexibility. In this sense, the literature claims that the mechanisms of strategic flexibility and the sources of strategic options may include tactical flexibility (Fredericks 2005), organizational flexibility (Sushil and Stohr 2014; Volberda 1996), technological flexibility (Wang et al. 2015b), operational and manufacturing flexibilities (De Toni and Tonchia 1998; Nandakumar et al. 2014), IS/IT (Nandakumar et al. 2014; Sushil and Stohr 2014), marketing capabilities (Ling-Yee and Ogunmokun 2013; Singh 2014), strategic alliances (Young-Ybarra and Wiersema 1999), quality management (Fernandez- ´ Perez and Guti ´ errez 2013), niche strategies (Ham- ´ lin et al. 2012), networks (Mason and Mouzas 2012), open innovation (Rajala et al. 2012), outsourcing (Arias-Aranda et al. 2011; Hilman and Mohamed 2013; Quinn 1999), entrepreneurial orientation (Mishra and Jain 2014) and business processes in general (Sushil and Stohr 2014).
