Strategic Orientation of Small to Medium Scale Manufacturing Firms in Developing Country: A Case of Auto Parts Manufacturing Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan
In today's industrial world, SMEs contribute significantly in almost all the sectors especially manufacturing. Business and functional strategies of these SMEs are important research areas. In this qualitative research, multiple case study method has been utilized to explore the business strategies of SMEs operating in auto parts manufacturing sector of Pakistan. Business strategies of SMEs are analyzed as prospectors, analyzers, defenders and reactors utilizing Miles and Snow typology (1978). The researchers investigate that how this business strategy is linked to functional strategies of SMEs operating in business environment marked with limited domestic market and low export orientation. Though operating in same business environment, SMEs vary in their competitive priorities and methods to achieve organizational goal in not so thriving auto parts sector. Manufacturing, Human Resource Management (HRM) and marketing being important functional strategies are explored to find the differences and similarities even when SMEs follow the similar strategic posture. The use of multiple methods for finding the business strategies of SMEs has been resorted to understand the implicit and explicit ways of conducting business. (Ahmad Y, Pirzada D.Saeed, Khan MT. Strategic Orientation of Small to Medium Scale Manufacturing Firms in Developing Country: A Case of Auto Parts Manufacturing Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. Life Sci J 2013;10(3):517-527) (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 75