Competitive Analysis of Small and Medium Enterprises in Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador, has received a number of awards during its history. The latest award from Financial Times Magazine, rates it the as the number one city in the cost benefit category within the Small Cities of the Future 2013-2014 ranking. During five years it was among the ten cities in the world that had to be visited. Furthermore it is considered the best destination in the world for retirees due to its good living conditions, quality in public services and accessible costs. Nationally the Ecuadorian National Assembly labeled it as the city of Universities, because of the quality of higher education institutions in the region. It ranks with the highest national coverage of public services. In business it has the largest density of productive units in the country including small and medium size enterprises, which in number are not as important as micro enterprise. But, they are important for generating jobs and for being an important source of income for the local economy. However it has not been as effective as it should because of limited competitiveness due to internal and external factors. This research is precisely focused on identifying and prioritizing these factors to help plan public policies to design strategies to improve the sector.