Strategic Entrepreneurship in SMEs

Most small businesses fail to make it big even after identifying gaps in the market. The reason often being their inability to integrate opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviors to sustain a competitive advantage. Thus this study applies Ireland et al.¿s (2003) model of strategic entrepreneurship to a software company in India, Infynita Inc., in an attempt to identify where SMEs such as Infynita Inc. go wrong after they successfully identify entrepreneurial opportunities. The study holds focus in four key areas, as per Ireland et al.¿s (2003) model, namely: (1) entrepreneurial mindset, (2) entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial leadership, (3) managing resources strategically and (4) applying creativity and developing innovation. Along with this, the research attempts to indicate the usefulness of the model, which is primarily based on a literature review. The study can¿t make generalisations on all SMEs in the software industry in India, however it indicates the prime areas of failure in the particular case of Infynita Inc. The study also suggests potential gaps in the model and further areas of development that would ease future direct implementation of the model.