Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A, University of Applied Sciences Chur, course: MSc Entrepreneurship, language: English, abstract: This report was commissioned to examine whether small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that target only a few market segments will promote their products and services more effectively than SMEs that target the mass market. The research draws attention to Porter's generic theory of competitive advantage by mainly concentrating on the third of his competitive advantage strategies, the focus strategy. Theory as well as a practical survey was used in order to falsify or approve the research question. Theory revealed Porter's focus strategy to have several key advantages over a mass market strategy which make firms pursuing such a strategy more effective in their product promotion efforts. First, a focused firm does not have to devote substantial resources into being all things to all people entailing less expenditure of time and money in comparison to a mass market strategy. Second, empirical evidence was found that customers do value specialized firms due to their focused capabilities. Third, a focused firm is less likely to be overwhelmed by great amount of different customer request and is more likely to identify and adapt to market changes in a quick time manner. Besides the advantages of a focus strategy, the research question is only supported when the SME makes bigger rivals to accommodate their existence in the segment(s) by creating circumstances in which the cost for the bigger rival in fighting the SME exceeds the cost of accommodating the SME. 27 SMEs from South Germany have returned completed questionnaires which were used to find practical evidence for answering the research question. Results revealed several tendencies which partly support theory. First, SMEs that pursue a focus strategy are more likely to do this with a differ

Competitive Advantage in SMEs draws on up-to-date empirical evidence to illustrate how SMEs can become more innovative through the introduction of new products and services. Discusses the effective and efficient use of information technology by broadening management skills and knowledge.

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A, University of Applied Sciences Chur, course: MSc Entrepreneurship, language: English, abstract: This report was commissioned to examine whether small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that target only a few market segments will promote their products and services more effectively than SMEs that target the mass market. The research draws attention to Porter’s generic theory of competitive advantage by mainly concentrating on the third of his competitive advantage strategies, the focus strategy. Theory as well as a practical survey was used in order to falsify or approve the research question. Theory revealed Porter’s focus strategy to have several key advantages over a mass market strategy which make firms pursuing such a strategy more effective in their product promotion efforts. First, a focused firm does not have to devote substantial resources into being all things to all people entailing less expenditure of time and money in comparison to a mass market strategy. Second, empirical evidence was found that customers do value specialized firms due to their focused capabilities. Third, a focused firm is less likely to be overwhelmed by great amount of different customer request and is more likely to identify and adapt to market changes in a quick time manner. Besides the advantages of a focus strategy, the research question is only supported when the SME makes bigger rivals to accommodate their existence in the segment(s) by creating circumstances in which the cost for the bigger rival in fighting the SME exceeds the cost of accommodating the SME. 27 SMEs from South Germany have returned completed questionnaires which were used to find practical evidence for answering the research question. Results revealed several tendencies which partly support theory. First, SMEs that pursue a focus strategy are more likely to do this with a differentiation focus and secondly and most importantly they tend to have fewer problems in attracting and retaining customers. There was no indication that focused SMEs are more likely to see and adapt to market changes on an early stage and there was also no tendency visible whether SMEs with a focus strategy are less likely to be overwhelmed with customer requests. In conclusion, theory supports the research question only when the firm is able to adequately implement the focus strategy.

This book is a timely guide for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) researchers, policy makers and strategists. SMEs are the most important sources of job creation and local development especially in knowledge-based economies. As turbulence in the globalized economies expands SMEs will have to learn to sustain competitiveness by developing their ‘dynamic capabilities’. Based on the findings of a 4-year European and Latin American research project, this book provides a theoretical framework, practical instruments and cases on how SMEs in diverse economic, social and cultural contexts can develop crisis resilience, increase agility, innovate and thus successfully compete in turbulent times.

The environmental analysis is an important instrument for the SMEs, and it can contribute to their success through the globalization process. This book mainly focuses on the environmental analysis of the SMEs by analyzing three layers of environment under eight sub-categories: macro; potential competitors; substitutes; customers; competitors; suppliers; assets; and competencies. This book explains the relationship of the SMEs with their environments under this perspective, and gives sectoral examples for clarification. Each part is written by different academicians to reflect different points of view. (Series: International Economics, Vol. 5) [Subject: International Economics, Business Studies]

Open markets and the rapid development of the Internet have given shape to the competitive pressures faced by the UK's Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and, consequently, created the grounds for this study. Extensive research shows that, although SMEs are indeed adopting the Internet, most of them are slow to take up electronic business (e-business) as the basis for business communications and transactions. This is because many SMEs are not equipped with, or supported by, the appropriate guidelines and business models to allow them to take advantage of the developing digital economy and e-business. The lack of this kind of support makes it difficult for SMEs to use e-business as a means to gain competitive advantage, locally, nationally or globally. What is more, the constraints of appropriate technological resources and inadequate knowledge among key personnel at the same time inhibit the operational efficiency and innovation of SMEs. This limits the competitive advantage that ebusiness could bring to their businesses. The research presented in this study has a twofold aim. The first, which is the contribution this study makes to the field of Management Studies, is to promote a better understanding of ebusiness and its role in SMEs. The second, which has the more pragmatic aim of contributing to SMEs, is to find a way of enhancing their business competitiveness via the use of e-business. It builds on previous work suggesting that traditional business strategies, which create competitive advantage, have to be changed in order to facilitate the adoption, implementation and use of ebusiness technology. An examination of the transition of SMEs from an 'old' traditional business strategy to a 'new' e-business strategy is at the heart of this study. The study was conducted using the 'mixed methodology' of both qualitative and quantitative data as its primary tool. As a starting point, a range of academic and practitioner literature relating to IT, e-business, and different business models, was reviewed. This review and accompanying analysis were followed by nine longitudinal case studies and a national survey which were used to collect primary data from UK SMEs. This combination of micro-level longitudinal studies with macro-level national surveys provides the core data for the findings made in this study. Overall, the findings point to a paradoxical conclusion: on the one hand, SMEs use IT and the Internet in order to enhance their business competitiveness. However, on the other, the attitude of the owners and the knowledge shown at the managerial level was often the very obstacle to using IT. In other words, while the 'hard' of technology is available, the 'soft' of attitudes and knowledge often is not. This gap between the existence of technology and the absence of the appropriate attitudes and knowledge pose a number of potential challenges for SMEs in the creation of competitive advantage through e-business. To overcome these challenges, the findings were deployed in order to develop an e-business model named the "Competitive Advantage Through E-business" (CATE-b). This is the major innovation of this study in terms of applying the fruits of my research in order not only to make a contribution to knowledge, but also to solve the practical problems faced by business practitioners. This model is meant to serve the heuristic purpose of acting as a guide to help SMEs to comprehend an e-business vision, formulate strategy, identify e-business application areas, put together a portfolio, and design a plan for e-business implementation. In short, the long-term goal of this study is to help SMEs to enhance their local, national or global competitiveness through applying CATE-b, with the hope that new technology can become a force for creating competitive advantage.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been widely acknowledged to be an important agent of development because of their potential for addressing unemployment, inequality, and poverty, as well as promoting inclusiveness in economic development. The sector is critical for achieving the country’s sustainable growth. However, there is a lack of research on the adaptations SMEs are making in today’s technologically driven market. Challenges and Opportunities for SMEs in Industry 4.0 is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of modern business development and innovative strategies for small and medium enterprises in the age of smart industrialism. This book features a wide range of topics including business intelligence, collaborative manufacturing, and organizational networking. This reference source is ideally designed for managers, policymakers, economists, entrepreneurs, strategists, researchers, industrialists, academicians, educators, and students.