Comprehensive Review of Competitive Strategies for SMEs in Business

This report provides a comprehensive review of competitive strategies employed by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It begins by introducing the significance of competitive strategies like cost leadership and differentiation in the SME sector. The report identifies a research problem centered on the challenges SMEs face while implementing these strategies, such as potential losses or obliteration. Research objectives are established to pinpoint the exact problems, their causes, and their impact on SME functioning. The study further aims to recommend solutions, including close monitoring systems and innovative risk assessment techniques, to mitigate these issues. The research questions are formulated to guide the investigation into the nature of the problems and the effectiveness of the proposed solutions. The contribution of the research lies in identifying and tracing the problems, resolving them through systematic approaches, and testing recommended solutions against real-world scenarios. The conclusion emphasizes the study's utility in enlisting problems, arriving at justified resolutions, and providing valuable insights for the future of SMEs. The report references various studies supporting the analysis and findings.

Running head: REVIEW ON COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Review on Competitive Strategies
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REVIEW ON COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Introduction
SMEs employ certain competitive strategies to sustain in the future. This study is aimed
at reviewing the strategies employed by SME’s and to generate a research problem based on
these strategies. The following paragraphs will generate research objectives and will try to
account for the validity and justification of this research.
Research Problem
SMEs are seen to adopt various competitive strategies that assist them in competing with
the other competitors and improve the performance of the firms (Kumlu 2014). SMEs adopt cost
leadership competitive strategy to compete with others. This refers to the manner in which small
firms strive to reduce cost by employing efficient sourcing (Huo 2014). Studies have also
endeavored to reveal that SME’s employ the competitive strategy of differentiation (Herzallah,
Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez and Munoz Rosas 2014). This refers to the strategy that encompasses the
inculcation of creation of products that stand apart from the products offered by different
companies. Studies have depicted that the competitive strategy of product differentiation assists
SME’s in overthrowing competition (Davcik and Sharma 2015).
The research problem that is identified in this study is based on the fact that the SMEs
have to face certain problems while incorporating these strategies. There are various problems
that SMEs face while implementing these policies and strategies. It can happen that while
incorporating the cost leadership competitive strategy, SMEs might face the challenge of loss
and future erasure. Further, due to the acute problems, the existence of SMEs might be
obliterated. The research problem that is identified is justified because this study aims to address
this issue of the problems faced by SME’s during and after the implementation of these

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REVIEW ON COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
strategies. The research problem identified is relevant because the previous researches do not
take into consideration the various problems related to the implementation of these strategies.
Research Objectives
 To identify the exact problems and causes of these problems that SME have to face while
incorporating competitive strategies.
 To identify the manner in which these problems affect the functioning of SME.
 To recommend ways such as employment of close monitoring system and innovative risk
assessment techniques that can erase the problems before they even start.
Research Questions
RQ1) What are the exact problems and causes of these problems?
RQ2) How does these problems affect the SME?
RQ3) How can close monitoring system and innovative risk assessment techniques assist in
erasing the problems?
Contribution
This research will contribute in identifying and tracing the problems that SMEs have to
overthrow during and after the inclusion of the competitive strategies. This research will also
contribute in resolving the problem identified because it will help in systematic resolution of the
problems faced by SME. This research will investigate into the nature of the problems and strive
to resolve them by justifying and investigating into the credibility of the recommended solutions.
This research will also contribute in arriving at tested resolutions for the problem because it will
test its recommended solutions against the present scenario.

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REVIEW ON COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Conclusion
It can be concluded that this study will enlist the problems faced by SMEs. It can also be
concluded that this research will arrive at concrete and justified resolutions to the identified
challenges. In conclusion, it can also be mentioned that the study will prove to be useful for the
future of SMEs.

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Reference
Huo, B., Qi, Y., Wang, Z. and Zhao, X., 2014. The impact of supply chain integration on firm
performance: The moderating role of competitive strategy. Supply Chain Management: An
International Journal, 19(4), pp.369-384.
Herzallah, A.M., Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, L. and Munoz Rosas, J.F., 2014. Total quality
management practices, competitive strategies and financial performance: the case of the
Palestinian industrial SMEs. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 25(5-6), pp.635-
649.
Davcik, N.S. and Sharma, P., 2015. Impact of product differentiation, marketing investments and
brand equity on pricing strategies: A brand level investigation. European Journal of
Marketing, 49(5/6), pp.760-781.
Kumlu, Ö., 2014. The effect of intangible resources and competitive strategies on the export
performance of small and medium sized enterprises. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 150, pp.24-34.

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REVIEW ON COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES