How a small business can compete with a big firm? In the first instance, the small organisation must understand what advantages it has over the big one. And it has a few:

• Speed – big firms are complex and slow; small firms are simpler and fast which give them an advantage in reacting to changes or being first in exploiting an opportunity;
• Flexibility – smaller firms are more capable of adjusting to new market developments and doing so is less expensive for them;
• Stealth – there is a small amount of data and intelligence on small firms in contrast to big firms whose actions and plans are monitored by many and on whose data and intelligence are available in public domain or can be gathered easily.

The small firm can benefit from the characteristics by being the first mover, ‘stealing’ the customers who are not well served by the big firm, imitating the big firm’s solutions or processes, etc. The advantages can be used in both attack and defence.

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