A Generic Competitive Business Strategies Typology for Micro-Enterprises

Abstract

The important role of the micro enterprises (ME) sector in generating growth, creating jobs and reducing poverty, especially in developing countries is widely acknowledged.  Literature on competitive business strategy typology development and validation, however, reveals a significant focus on small, medium and large enterprises, with virtual absence of any discourse on MEs.  Although several competitive business strategies (CBS) typologies can be found in the literature, they have mainly been developed from and validated on medium to large enterprise data.  These typologies, therefore, may not be fully applicable to MEs.  The new typology of generic competitive business strategies for MEs described in this paper is built on two dimensions of  Collaboration and Competency, yielding four generic types, representing four broad types of strategic groups better suited than current models, in providing avenues for MEs seeking competitive advantage. The new typology provides a concise model relevant to MEs, providing a structured set of consistent and well understood guidelines for choice of adaptation by owner/managers who are typically involved, whether formally or informally, in an incremental process of strategic formulation and implementation.

Keywords: Generic Strategy Typology, Informal Sector, Micro Enterprises, Competitive Advantage