Selecting a technical strategy for high-tech enterprises in developing countries - a case study

Some developing countries have experienced rapid growth in trade and investment as a consequence of increasingly liberal trade restrictions and increasingly intense global competition. However, high-tech manufacturing firms in developing countries often suffer in competition with their counterparts in developed countries. Fledgling firms in developing countries must identify appropriate strategies to flourish in times of national growth. By examining the Legend Company Group, a successful computer enterprise in the People's Republic of China, it is shown that firms in developing countries can gain a foothold in high-tech industrial markets, especially in their domestic market. Three key strategies are identified that are thought to be generalisable to other high-tech manufacturing enterprises in developing countries. They are: (i) exploiting market opportunities for growth consistent with the firm's capacity and competitive advantage, (ii) continually expanding the business to acquire expertise and capital to enable increasingly sophisticated processes, and (iii) cooperating with technical forerunners.