How Export Oriented Firms Build Competitiveness: The Case of Indian SMEs

Abstract

Risk taking is crucial for long-term growth of any firm and constant innovation in the form of new products and services is the key to success. However, failure rates of new products have been extraordinarily high. We contend that success rates can be improved if a more systematic analysis of opportunities is carried out so that potential winners can be spotted and suitable strategies drawn up to exploit them. We have introduced three key concepts: Criticality of a Problem, Customer Discontentment and Customer Dissatisfaction Elimination Chain, in this paper. Using these concepts, we have devised a framework called the Opportunity Harvest Matrix for systematically analysing opportunities so that the potential for success can be judged and strategies developed to exploit them. This paper discusses findings from an empirical validation of the framework with data from export-oriented firms operating in the Information Technology industry. We find that the Matrix is indeed an effective tool and its application allows a comprehensive assessment of opportunities and guides the formulation of suitable strategies to exploit them.