Competing on Action: Business Models and the Competitiveness of Emerging Market Enterprises

Abstract

How do emerging market enterprises become competitive actors in a global environment still largely dominated by established firms from advanced economies? Debate on this question is fueled by an apparent paradox: Even though EMEs are increasingly becoming global contenders, their underlying basis of competitive advantage is not so obvious at first glance. Traditional international business and strategic management research typically focus on industry, resource and institution-based explanations of firm competitiveness. We introduce the perspective of international competition based on actions articulated by and executed through firms’ business models. We attribute EMEs’ successful expansion to their business models, which leverage their particular conditions and history and manifest themselves in greater agility. We then apply our argument to four case illustrations and discuss the implications for the basis of competitive advantage.