SMEs and strategic management : tools and methods to fill the gap

/ Olga Annushkina, Luana Carcano, Ugo Lassini, Federico Visconti. - Milano : McGraw-Hill [etc.], c2012. - xi, 167 p. ; 24 cm. - ISBN 978-88-386-7338-2.

All SMEs come to a turning point at some time in their life cycle: at such times firms strategic positioning in the competitive arena becomes a key determinant of its long-term sustainable performance; it also distinguishes one type of entrepreneurs from another.

Today more than ever, SMEs are urged to spend more time “managing strategy” and to develop resources and competences of strategic management. The book proposes methods and tools that allow them to analyse the existing strategy, to control the performances and to evaluate the direction of the development.

SOMMARIO

INTRODUCTION
1. SMEs: their distinctive features and their role in modern economies	1
1.1 The importance of SMES in the international economic context	2
1.2 The definition: quantitative parameters	6
1.3 The definition: qualitative elements	8
1.4 The role of the entrepreneur	13
1.5 Small and medium enterprises: a concise model	16
2. Stay or grow?	21
2.1 Asking the key question: stay or grow?	22
2.2 Asking the key question: industry analysis	24
2.3 Avoiding the key question: decide not to decide	34
2.4 Assessing the key question: deciding to stay	37
2.4.1 The segmentation matrix	38
2.4.2 The large firm-SME cooperation matrix	41
2.5 Assessing the key question: deciding to grow	45
2.5.1 Do I grow alone or with other firms?	47
2.4.2 Strategic determinants of increases in earnings	48
2.6 The consequences of the decision to grow: organizational (r)evolution	52
3 Mastering the niche	61
3.1 Design a successful focalized strategy	62
3.2 The key strategic decisions	65
3.2.1 What distinguishes the firm from competitors?	66
3.2.2 What is the right level of strategic autonomy?	70
3.2.3 What is the right level of innovation?	73
3.3 Execute to succeed	75
3.3.1 Leading an International niche	76

3.3.2 Excellence in experimenter strategy	78
3.3.3 Top end competitive posItioning	81
3.3.4 Excellence as specialists	84
3.3.5 Leader in technology-Intensive industries	85
3.4 Conditions for sustainability: mastering the niche in the long run	88
4 SMEs: growth management	91
4.1 The growth process	92
4.2 The internationalization of SMEs: directions, opportunities and threats	100
4.3 Planning the foreign market(s) entry	103
4.4The implementation of growth strategies	106
4.5 Managerial and organizational implications growth	110
4.6 Sustainable growth: the financial perspective	113
5 Network for success	125
5.1 Design a network strategy for success	126
5.2 Getting actively involved with external organizations	128
5.3 Leveraging strategic collaborations	131
5.4 Engaging in organizational networks	134
5.5 Taking advantage of territorially based networks	138
5.5.1 Industrial clusters	138
5.5.2 Participating in science, technological and industrial parks	142
5.6 Successfully executing a network strategy	143
6 The ecosystem for the development of SMEs	149
6.1 The key components of the ecosystem	150
6.2 The contribution of the main institutional players	154
6.3 Policies for the development of SMEs	157
CONCLUSIONS	163