LIFE CYCLE, COMPETITION AND STRATEGIES IN SMALL AND MICRO ENTERPRISES

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to understand the viewpoint of enterprise managers in different life cycle stages in relation to the competitiveness level in the sectors they belong, attempting to connect it to the strategies formulated by them. A discussion was made about theoretical aspects of SMEs’ strategies and the theoretical model proposed by Dodge, Furleton and Robbins (1994), which focuses on the relations between life cycle stages and competition in small and micro enterprises. The study is qualitative oriented, with 16 micro businessmen interviewed and discourse analysis developed. It was verified that enterprise managers in a same life cycle stage have different perceptions about competition degree. Such managers also perform strategic practices not necessarily associated neither to their view on competition nor to the life cycle stage of their enterprises. These conclusions allowed reflection on the possible plurality of factors behind strategy practices in SMEs, converging to the questioning of the simple application of interpretation models produced from the analysis of large and medium enterprises’ cases.