Administrative management in the development of SMEs: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Small business organizations play a strategic role in socioeconomic development, but they face strong structural challenges that limit their growth, competitiveness, sustainability, and innovation. The objective was to systematically identify studies on administrative management in the development of SMEs between 2021 and 2025, which includes the collection, analysis, and synthesis of documents. The method was descriptive and was applied through a PRISMA systematic review, analyzing 85 articles from the Scopus, ScienceDirect, and SciELO databases. The results reveal that managerial competencies, organizational knowledge, management practices, digitalization, and innovation are decisive for performance, sustainability, and organizational innovation. It is concluded that administrative management plays a strategic and integral role in the development of SMEs, by articulating human, digital, financial, and cultural aspects, which is essential to strengthen the competitiveness of these organizations.