ABSTRACT
In the current economic climate, achieving profitable growth is a challenge for most companies, and more so for internationalizing SMEs. Until recently, most studies of entrepreneurship have concentrated on SMEs that compete in niche markets. But the reality is that a vast number of SMEs are now oriented outwards to the global marketplace and, accordingly, subjected to severe competitive pressures like large organizations. Indeed, SMEs are growing an international presence, although not always in the conventional sense. Realizing the potential opportunities for growth often requires gaining new insights into customers, employing technology in new ways to reach and communicate with customers and breaking down traditional barriers. All of these mean developing a stronger competitive orientation. Thus, the focus of this chapter is on exploring how to manage competitive threats. The chapter shows the difference between competition and hyper-competition, the latter coming as a result of the information age. It also examines competitive analysis strategies – how companies analyse their competitors as well as the process of identifying, assessing and selecting a competitive strategy
Competition was once thought of mostly in terms of price. It is now much more complex – the marketing map has been changed by many different forces. Small and large companies must now plan an effective marketing strategy. They have to identify their competitors, constantly compare prices and look at their promotions and distribution channels. They must also assess their competitors’ objectives, strategies, strengths, weaknesses and reaction
patterns and must select which competitors to attack and which to avoid. Identifying and assessing competitors is as important for internationalizing SMEs as it is for large international companies when gaining, building and sustaining competitive advantage.
