engleski

Competitive advantage of small stone producers

In this paper, it is analyzed how entrepreneurs for stone processing and production that are owners of small businesses can keep their position on market next to the only giant stone company in Istrian county, and respectively to traditional heritage and traditional way of processing stone. In order to conduct the research, small and medium sized Crotian enterprises were firstly analysed through scientific studies to detrmine if their products are innovative enough and if there is further posibillity to create innovative products that could be sold outside of the Croatian borders. Afterwards, interviews were conducted related to stone, stone processors, customers, substitutes and competition among small entrepreneurs for stone processing and production. It is concluded that keeping the position is hard because there are many small businesses in Istrian County that are in stone business and also one gaint that is taking almost every opportunity away from small entrepreneurs. Small enterprises do not have enough resources to gain competitive advantage on the market because the lack of advanced tehnologies, innovative ideas and worldwide connections. Results showed that even though they can't gain compatitive advantage through economies of scale, like one of the biggest competitors on Istrian County, they can still keep their position on the market by starting to use small machinery, exploring new markets and adapting to new worldwide trends in stone processing and construction, in other words using modernised technology for stone processing and construction, and better understanding the demands of foreign customers.

competitive advantage ; stone producers ; competition ; enterperneurship

nije evidentirano