Paper Title
Factors determining the Competitive Marketing Strategy of SMEs in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka
Abstract
Small medium enterprises (SMEs) play prominent role in growth and development of Nation. The purpose of the
study is to identify the determining factors of competitive marketing strategy of SMEs in Jaffna district. This research
integrates competitive marketing strategy and resource- based view which have emerged in literature and model of
marketing strategy. Data were collected from 296 owners of SMEs in Jaffna district by using questionnaires. Random
sampling method was applied to select samples for this study. Researcher utilized exploratory factor analysis to confirm the
factors of marketing strategy of SMEs. This study identified and confirmed four factors of competitive marketing strategy,
namely differentiation strategy, focus strategy, pricing and promotion strategy and innovative marketing strategy. This
research revealed that differentiation strategy had more emphasis on the marketing strategy of SMEs and derived from six
items of SMEs. Next important factor was pricing and promotion marketing strategy consist of five items. The focus
marketing strategy was third factor with five items. The innovative marketing strategy was also last influencing factor with
four items. These marketing strategies are highly demanded for SMEs in Jaffna district. This finding induce the managers of
SMEs to apply these above stated strategies to be successive in this competitive and dynamic world.
Key words - Differentiation strategy, Pricing and promotion strategy, focus strategy and innovative marketing strategy,
SMEs