Surviving and Competing in Times of Crisis: Cases of Strategies by Argentine SMEs

In this chapter you will learn which strategies and measures SMes take to survive crisis. Cases from a sample of 25 companies located in the surrounding area of Argentina’s third biggest city, Rosario, are presented. These SMEs have survived all major crises in the past 15 years and thus, have demonstrated their ability to cope with economic turbulences successfully. In the current economic crisis, many European SMEs are struggling to survive and it seems appropriate that some of these strategies could be applied in the European context. This chapter forms a “trilogy” with the previous chapter on Argentinan economic development and the following chapter which explores the role of owner/mangers in turbulent environments.