Study On The Conduct Of Symbiosis During The Growth Of Small And Medium-sized Enterprise Base On The Competition-cooperation Relation

As the most energetic economic power nowadays in the world, the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) grow rapidly in many countries, and have shown their surprising vigor and strong vitality. However, with economic globalization and economic growth in China, the enterprises are exposed to a severe competition at home and abroad brought by international labor division and advanced technology. Facing the complicated and changeable environment world widely, more and more SMEs come to realize that it is hard to survive and develop in such a rapidly-changing market just relying on their own capability, and thus it is urgent to adjust their develop strategies. The relation among enterprises transforms from simple competition to competition—cooperation. The new strategy of competition-cooperation means that the relation between enterprises and their related groups such as supplier, consumers, peer competitors, and complementary products suppliers, has become to be a complicated game with competition and cooperation as well. The new relation can be considered as an intergrowth, which makes impact not only on the performance and competitive advantages of dominant enterprise, but also on the behavior, benefits and environment of other enterprises in the intergrowth pattern. The major question that will be solved in the paper is to find an effective way to set up a best intergrowth pattern of SMEs by analyzing their inner energy of intergrowth. On the basis of intergrowth theory, this paper will discuss the growth of SMEs in a way of competition-cooperation.Chapter1introduces the significance of the topic, and summarizes the intergrowth theory and literature about the growth of SMEs in competition-cooperation, so as to provide theoretical basis to the paper.Chapter2defines the "competition-cooperation intergrowth of SMEs" as a cooperation relation between SMEs and their partners in the form of intergrowth. Then, it introduces the theory and principles about intergrowth, and applies it to explain the competition-cooperation relation among SMEs:firstly, it confirms the components, unit, pattern and environment of the intergrowth of SMEs; secondly, it introduces the primary principles of the intergrowth of SMEs:intergrowth energy choice mechanism of SMEs, intergrowth interface choice mechanism of SMEs, and intergrowth evolvement of SMEs; thirdly, it introduces analytical methods of intergrowth theory:intergrowth degree analysis, intergrowth interface analysis and intergrowth pattern analysis, which provide the basis to the research of SMEs intergrowth. Chapter3defines the research objective mainly from the angle of quality: comparing big enterprises, SMEs is small in their business scales, lack of a major share in market, and weak in the competitions. Then it makes a summary on the theories concerning SMEs, including existence theory, development theory, competition theory, and competition-cooperation theory. Finally, it analyses the energy resource of SMEs intergrowth in following five aspects:(1) intergrowth may help SMEs get through the bottle-neck in the process of development;(2) intergrowth may lower the risk of SMEs;(3) intergrowth may decrease the trade cost of SMEs;(4) intergrowth may promote the cooperation among SMEs;(5) intergrowth is the best the choice for the ucvelopment of SMEs.Chapter4analyses the condition of the SMEs intergrowth, and finds that there are four necessary conditions to realize the intergrowth of SMEs as follows:firstly, there should be some links existing between enterprises; secondly, an interface (i.e. common language) is needed for communication;(3) there should be surplus in the cooperation of enterprises;(4) it need a stable communication pattern. The paper takes the specific groups that may have a competition-cooperation relation with SMEs as research targets, such as buyers (suppliers), sellers (distributors and consumers), complementary product suppliers and peer competitors. Then it analyses the conditions that can result in energy is the process of intergrowth between SMEs and their partners:firstly, the energy will be produced when there is a surplus resulting from the cooperation between SMEs and suppliers, i.e., the decrease of cooperation cost between SMEs and suppliers is more than profit increment in the direct market trades earned by enterprises; secondly, the energy will be produced when there is a surplus resulting from the cooperation between SMEs and buyers, i.e., the cooperation cost between SMEs and buyers is smaller than the possible marketing expenses of enterprises; thirdly, the energy will be produced when there is a big surplus resulting from the cooperation between SMEs and peer competitors, i.e., the competitive capability and interactive impact of SMEs and their peer competitors are quite strong; fourthly, the energy will be produced when there is a surplus resulting from the cooperation between SMEs and complementary product suppliers, i.e., there is a strong interactive influence on market performance between SMEs and complementary product suppliers. It also makes analysis on the choice of intergrowth partners from two aspects:firstly, SMEs choose intergrowth partners with competitive mechanism when information is incomplete, i.e. choose the one that meet the demand of intergrowth best; secondly, SMEs choose intergrowth partners with non-competitive mechanism when information is complete, i.e. choose partners according to the similarity degree or correlation degree of SMEs with the candidate enterprises. The higher the degrees of enterprises are, the more likely to become intergrowth partners. Then it indicates that enterprises scale in the intergrowth system can be expanded, when the number of participated enterprises in the intergrowth systems will not influence overall cooperation performance; when the increase of participated enterprises in the intergrowth systems will influence overall cooperation performance, the function of enterprises should be enhanced in the system. Finally, it emphasizes that favorable political, economic, social, technological, human resource and natural environment shall be guaranteed for the stable and sustainable development of SMEs intergrowth systems.Chapter5makes analysis on the organization and behavior of the SMEs intergrowth on the basis of intergrowth pattern analytical method. The organization model of SMEs includes point symbiosis, intermittent symbiosis, continuous symbiosis, and integrated symbiosis. The behavior model of SMEs includes parasitic intergrowth, commensalism, asymmetric mutualism, and symmetric mutualism. Decided by the organization and behavior of SMEs intergrowth, the intergrowth has totally16models in line with the different combination of organization and behavior models. The intergrowth models may be categorized by three ways:firstly, in accordance with the size of enterprises, they are big-big enterprises model, big-medium enterprises model, SME-big enterprises model; secondly, in accordance with intergrowth mechanism, they are market mechanism, middle mechanism and bureaucracy; thirdly, in accordance with the network structure of intergrowth, they are resource model, equality model, support model and virtual model. The appropriate models that SMEs may choose are as follows: firstly, the intergrowth between SMEs and suppliers is asymmetric or symmetric mutualism continuous model, with integration of supply chain in the middle model; secondly, the intergrowth between SMEs and buyers is asymmetric or symmetric mutualism continuous model, with integration of supply chain, outsourcing, and modularization of silicon valley in the middle model; thirdly, the intergrowth between SMEs and peer competitors is intermittent or continuous symmetric mutualism model, with strategic alliance in the middle model; fourthly, the intergrowth between SMEs and complementary product suppliers is intermittent commensalism model and continuous mutualism model, with integration of supply chain in the middle model.Chapter6focuses on the analysis of the intergrowth evolvement of SMEs. It firstly analyses the dynamic intergrowth evolvement process of SMEs, in which the intergrowth evolves from point intergrowth to integrated intergrowth by transforming from parasitism, commensalism to mutualism, and the best model is symmetric integrated intergrowth. Then it indicates the four phases of SMEs intergrowth evolvement from the simplest from to the most complicated one:kinship intergrowth, vocational intergrowth, geographical intergrowth and network intergrowth. And the four phases are not independent from each other, but exist together very often. Finally, it proposes four possible ways to realize the intergrowth of SMEs as follows: elf-promotion of SMEs, coordination from middle organizations, embedded production of SMEs into their partners, and leading from government.Chapter7makes a summary on the paper. Although there are many difficulties faced by SMEs in the process of their development, SMEs can growth in a stable and sustainable way as long as they find a proper intergrowth model and make development strategies accordingly. An overall-element intergrowth patterned is expected to be created by studying SMEs in a larger intergrowth system. The paper shows a new angel of research on SMEs, enriches the content of SMEs growth studies, and contributes theoretically to the development of SMEs.