Market Orientation and Competition : Constraints of growth-oriented enterprises

Enterprises that grow do so because they are good at finding their market niche and understanding market demands. Most enterprises start by targeting the home market, often at the higher income niche. As the home market gets saturated, they look to expand their markets geographically, and eventually consider exporting. Few enterprises start exporting initially.

As has been noted in other studies (e.g., Parker, 1996), enterprises often cite the lack of demand as an important impediment to growth. Lack of demand may also be understood as targeting the wrong market. In the Focus Group Discussions there were several examples of enterprises that, at least for a period of time, stopped growing because they did not keep up with market developments.

To be more likely to succeed, aspiring growth-oriented enterprises must learn how to adequately identify their market niches and how to exploit them. They also must come to appreciate the importance of putting the customer first and what that implies for their operations. They should make quality a prime concern and not become complacent, but strive for further product development. In general, it would seem, growing enterprises must learn to get linked up with larger enterprises within and outside the country. Finally, enterprises that opt to target the export market would require additional assistance to get a better understanding of how to go about it (see Amjadi, Reincke & Yeats, 1996).

Constraints of growth-oriented enterprises in the southern and eastern African region Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Oct 2002 by Trulsson, Per To learn more about this author, visit Journal of Development Entrepreneurship's Website.

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