Standardized strategic assessment framework for small and medium enterprises in high-tech manufacturing industry

A fundamental question in the field of strategic management is how companies achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The Market-Oriented Theory (MOT), the Resource-Based Model and their complementary perspective try to answer this fundamental question. The primary goal of this study is to lay the groundwork for Standardized Strategic Assessment Framework (SSAF). The SSAF, which consists of a set of six models, aids in the evaluation and assessment of current and future strategic positioning of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The SSAF was visualized by IDEF0, a systems engineering tool. In addition, a secondary goal is the development of models to explain relationships between a company's resources, capabilities, and competitive strategy within the SSAF. Six models are considered within the SSAF, including R&D; activities model, product innovation model, process innovation model, operational excellence model, and export performance model. Only one of them, R&D; activities model was explained in-debt and developed a model by transformational system. In the R&D; activities model, the following question drives the investigation. Do company R&D; inputs (tangible, intangible and human resources) affect R&D; activities (basic research, applied research, and experimental development)? Based on this research question, eight hypotheses were extrapolated regarding R&D; activities model. In order to analyze these hypotheses, survey questions were developed for the R&D; model. A survey was sent to academic staff and industry experts for a survey instrument validation. Based on the survey instrument validation, content validity has been established and questions, format, and scales have been improved for future research application.