The competitiveness of SMEs: Manisa OSB analysis in the period after 2008

In the globalized competitive environment, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), play important role to prove in creation of new employment opportunities, reducing unemployment, balanced economic and social development. In addition, SMEs can easily to accommodate to rapid changes in markets by means of flexible structures. However, with each passing day high-competitive level, SMEs is pushing to check and improve constantly due to the fact that new competitors enter the global market. Globalization, businesses all over the world has led to major changes in trade and production methods. All changes at global level in areas and in rapid such as production and technology, the structure of business has changed. In this context, to improve the competitiveness and survive technological developments, SMEs had to keep track of technological developments, pay importance on AR-GE, produce the better quality products and towards the costumers' demands to manufacture. This new phenomenon arising in the process of competition has become increasingly important. Both businesses have a much greater say in global markets for both countries to increase their competitiveness in order to be engaged in intensive effort. Determinants of competitiveness of SMEs in order to have a share in international markets which are fundamental factors are product quality, productivity, profitability ratios, organizational and management structures and level of technologies. Outside of these basic factors, the presence of financial and legal structure that encourage competition, the country's natural resources and natural wealth are also important issues. Compared to large enterprises, thanks to have a flexible structure and easy answers to customers' requests by providing the reshaping of production structures, SMEs are able to survive in all business cycle. For this aim in the study, first of all, conceptions of SMEs and competitiveness have been researched in literatures. And then, in Manisa Organized Industrial Zone (OIZ)'s SMEs was measured from method of the survey. Furthermore, opportunities and threats against the superior and weaknesses of SMEs which have an important role to increase the competitiveness were determined with SWOT analysis and were given various solutions. When examining the competitiveness of SMEs in Manisa OSB, It has been observed a lot of SMEs financial, marketing and competition issues.