The SME advantage in Asian markets

'WE are just a small local company; we can never compete with the large multinational giants." This is an oft-heard line from SME (small and medium enterprise) owners and managers when asked about their business strength. Indeed, such a self-defeating attitude pervades the SME sector. This is especially so in Asia where, for a variety of reasons (including Asian humility and a legacy of market dominance by Western corporations), SMEs lack the will and strategic intent to wrestle market power from large firms.

Yet, history shows that SMEs do often possess a number of competitive advantages over large firms. In fact, one must not forget that many global enterprises (consider Microsoft, Apple and Alibaba) began as small, entrepreneurial startups with only a handful of employees and without even a proper office. Yet, they grew into mega corporations precisely because of "SME advantages".

What are some of these competitive advantages that SMEs have and can exploit in order to successfully compete in the marketplace?