Strategic Analysis Tools Application at SMEs in Ecuador
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article explores the nature and scope of Strategic Analysis Tools (SAT) application in SMEs located in emerging countries such as Ecuador (where there are no formal studies on the subject). It is intended to assess which of the instruments utilized by these firms may contribute to formulate strategic options and which of them create awareness of relevant risks or distress specifically about continuity concerning their operations.
Through the application of a survey to an intentional sample-selection of SMEs in Quito-Ecuador we analyzed the consciousness over these instruments to facilitate the creation of strategic options, their contribution to assess their competitive position and their interaction with the improvement of other capabilities to let them possibly achieve superior performance.
Our conclusion is that SMEs can take advantage of exploiting SAT by systematically considering relevant variables in order to assess their current and future possibilities to outperform competition. On the other hand, awareness of which are the strategic factors these firms should pursue and its constant monitoring can help building sustainable advantages. Cultural barriers and unconsciousness of their benefits may explain their low usage rates.
This is a qualitative investigation and the research design is not experimental (besides, it is transversal as it relates to a specific moment in time).
Downloads
Article Details
1. Proposal of Policy for Free Access Periodics
Authors whom publish in this magazine should agree to the following terms:
a. Authors should keep the copyrights and grant to the magazine the right of the first publication, with the work simultaneously permitted under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 that allows the sharing of the work with recognition of the authorship of the work and initial publication in this magazine.
b. Authors should have authorization for assuming additional contracts separately, for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this magazine (e.g.: to publish in an institutional repository or as book chapter), with recognition of authorship and initial publication in this magazine.
c. Authors should have permission and should be stimulated to publish and to distribute its work online (e.g.: in institutional repositories or its personal page) to any point before or during the publishing process, since this can generate productive alterations, as well as increasing the impact and the citation of the published work (See The Effect of Free Access).
Proposal of Policy for Periodic that offer Postponed Free Access
Authors whom publish in this magazine should agree to the following terms:
a. Authors should keep the copyrights and grant to the magazine the right of the first publication, with the work simultaneously permitted under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 [SPECIFY TIME HERE] after the publication, allowing the sharing of the work with recognition of the authorship of the work and initial publication in this magazine.
b. Authors should have authorization for assuming additional contracts separately, for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this magazine (e.g.: to publish in institutional repository or as book chapter), with recognition of authorship and initial publication in this magazine.
c. Authors should have permission and should be stimulated to publish and to distribute its work online (e.g.: in institutional repositories or its personal page) to any point before or during the publishing process, since this can generate productive alterations, as well as increasing the impact and the citation of the published work (See The Effect of Free Access).
d. They allow some kind of open dissemination. Authors can disseminate their articles in open access, but with specific conditions imposed by the editor that are related to:
Version of the article that can be deposited in the repository:
Pre-print: before being reviewed by pairs.
Post-print: once reviewed by pairs, which can be:
The version of the author that has been accepted for publication.
The editor's version, that is, the article published in the magazine.
At which point the article can be made accessible in an open manner: before it is published in the magazine, immediately afterwards or if a period of seizure is required, which can range from six months to several years.
Where to leave open: on the author's personal web page, only departmental websites, the repository of the institution, the file of the research funding agency, among others.
References
ALVAREZ, D.; VILTARD, L. A. (2015) Simple strategic analysis tools at SMEs in Ecuador, Independent Journal of Management and Production (IJM&P), v. 6, n. 2.
KOTLER, P.; ARMSTRONG, G. (2006) Principles of Marketing, 11th ed. London: Pearson Education Inc.
LESSARD, D. (2003) Frameworks for Global Strategic Analysis. Senate Hall Academic Publishing (MIT), v. 1, n. 1.
QUIÑONEZ, M. (2012) Estudio de la gestión competitiva de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (Pymes) comerciales en la provincia de Esmeraldas en Ecuador. Available: http://www.eumed.net/cursecon/ecolat/ec/2012/ Access: 31st August, 2013.