Position Of Small Enterprises Research Articles

Achieving competitive advantage in the Mexican footwear industry

PurposeTo provide a systemic view of competitive advantage in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Gaining a competitive advantage involves a process that evolves over time and which considers the role of three factors: the entrepreneur, the firm's resources and capabilities and the supporting institutions.Design/methodology/approachThe case study method was selected as an exploratory research method. Many of the findings were based on secondary data while results were confirmed or complemented to some extent by primary data. Primary data were collected via an electronic questionnaire and semi‐structured telephone interviews with SMEs' owners in the Mexican footwear industry.FindingsChanges in the business environment may transform the grounds on which SMEs conduct their business. Consequently, adaptation, new relationships and creativity may emerge as a way to overcome scarcity of resources and/or difficulties in gaining access to resources that contribute to their competitive advantage.Research limitations/implicationsThe results present only a preliminary picture limited to the period 1985‐1999. Furthermore, most findings from the primary data refer to responses provided by medium‐sized enterprises so the position of small enterprises may need to be revised.Originality/valueFindings may pose interesting implications for entrepreneurs, policymakers and supporting institutions, for the way in which they work together and the impact this may have on SMEs' competitive advantage.

Globalization, Upgrading, and Small Enterprises: A View from Central America

This article examines the processes through which small enterprises pursuing an accumulation strategy are inserted into the global economic regime. Our focus on small enterprises in globalization has a dual objective. First, in analytic terms, it suggests that the key question to be addressed concerns the opportunities and threats that globalization produces for this type of enterprise. In this regard, the concept of upgrading proves critical to addressing this question. Second, from a methodological perspective, the approach leads us to adopt a view ‘from below’, i.e., from the position of small enterprises themselves. The analysis is intended to complement rather than to challenge the ‘top-down’ perspectives that characterize studies of globalization, and in which small enterprises tend to be rendered invisible. This study examines two empirical cases: the software sector in Costa Rica and the development of the garment industry in a cluster concentrated in an indigenous community in Guatemala.