Selected aspects of strategic management in small enterprises in services

Abstract

Currently due to constant changes, it is imperative for the enterprises to place great emphasis on how they are managed. Changes that come from the neighbourhood are common and the enterprises need to be able to react quickly and flexibly to them. Introduced strategic management helps the enterprise to find possible starting points for changes that are so typical of today's times. The research shows that the small enterprise in the area of the services pay considerable attention to competition and track changes in the market, they can precisely define their competitive advantage, weakness, opportunities and threats. They also carry out the activities related to strategic management, ether unknowingly. The strategies of small enterprises in services are most likely either similar to those of their competitors or they are not pursuing a competitive strategy because they offer a unique product. The focus of the corporate strategy is most often either to differentiate the product from the competition or to focus on part of the market where other enterprises do not operate. The enterprises pay close attention to competition monitoring. The enterprises see “strong competition" as their weakness. The small enterprises also report "internal processes". The other enterprises often report "dependence on inputs". "Everything about competition" is identified as the greatest threat by the other enterprises even more compared to the small enterprises in services. The other enterprises are also worried about "increased input prices". The enterprises are well aware of their competitive advantage, stressing that it is "professionalism, expertise, experience and reliability". Interestingly, the "price" is considered a competitive advantage in one case only. The strategy is "similar to the strategies of the competitors" for most of the enterprises. The small enterprises also mentioned the answer "totally different from the competitors" and that "they do not follow the competitors". Business strategy is most often focused on "differentiating the product from the competition", the other enterprises also focus on "cost cutting"; and the small enterprises in services "focus on parts of the market where the competitors do not operate."

Keywords

• SMEs
• Strategic management
• Strategy