Hi-Tech SMEs and Partnership Management

Download a 2-page executive summary: (English, PDF)

The topic for my MBA research sprung largely out of my previous experience working in the EU for a small B2B software developer.

On a world scale, the company was a mouse. Market penetration in Canada and the US was proceeding well. But Europe provided a different order of challenge. Our particular niche was all about high-value strategic B2B software projects, multi-level selling, public tenders and selling professional services alongside the software. Easy, right?

Wrong. Breaking into Europe required competencies and resources we didn’t have already: local knowledge, contacts, links to locally-established brands and personalities. And perhaps most importantly, scale.  While we could “buy” some of these resources ourselves (for example by hiring locals), budget limitations meant we couldn’t initially have a permanent presence in every market, or even pursue these markets consistently from a distance. Partnerships at multiple levels were required – including resellers and systems integrators.

We were mice working with gorillas: we had to attract the gorillas’ attention, convince them to work with us, and then build a relationship that benefited us both… being careful not to get crushed or ignored in the process!

These challenges have largely inspired the theme for my research project - how small and medium enterprises in the I.T. sector engage and partner with much larger multi-national corporations .

Some of the questions I hoped to address in my research include:

• How do small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) establish and maintain partnerships with large firms that are mutually beneficial?
• What are the ways in which SMEs can play on their particular advantages to ensure that their value is recognised by the larger partner, without being swallowed up or ignored?
• Is there a current “best practice”, or does each SME improvise their partnership strategy as best they can?  (These best practices might need to span multiple business functions, including HR, marketing/communications, R&D, business development and senior management)
• Is ‘Partnership Management’ a distinct competency/role in itself ? To what degree is it a skill that needs to be developed in multiple parts of the business?

My project focused on strategies and practices that work for SMEs, with a particular reference to IT/hi-tech businesses, and the European business context.

Download a 2-page executive summary: (English, PDF)