A Proposal for a Standard With Innovation Management System

The Competitive Advantage for Early Stage Entrepreneurs:
The Case of Lebanon
Maroun Jneid 1 and Antoine Tannous 2
1
Doctoral school Cognition-Language-Interaction, Université Paris 8, Saint
Denis, France
Faculty of engineering, Antonine University, Beirut - Lebanon
2
Marketing Department, faculty of Business, Lebanese University, Tripoli,
Lebanon
mjneid@etud.univ-paris8.fr
antoine_tannous@yahoo.fr
Abstract: The startup usually has less capital, fewer scientists and engineers, less legitimacy or brand presence,
fewer strategic alliances, evolving organizational structures and incomplete or even non-existent business
processes. At a more abstract level, young firms have liabilities of newness and smallness, so they fail at higher
rates than do their larger and older competitors. On the other hand, entrepreneurship is a driving force bringing
creativity to the business and establishing a community of high-growth economy. In fact, an embracing of
entrepreneurial creativity can also bring a business of wider growth, more competitive advantage, enhanced
productivity, numerous jobs and wealth creation and ultimately a better quality of life for all. Increasingly, firms are
attempting to design and implement entrepreneurial strategies in order to strengthen their competitive advantage
and to survive the early stage. Therefore, our paper will present how Lebanese entrepreneurs are perceiving the
below indicators on the reinforcement of the competitive advantage: External/Internal Information evaluation
process. Human resource management practices for SMEs. The process that begins with a new idea and
concludes with market introduction in order to mark the point of difference in competition. The value chain
analysis and its importance in the quest to achieve sustainable competitive advantage for an entrepreneurship;
as time elapses, the value chain may lose its ability to generate value for the customer or due that to competition,
demand, fluctuations and discovery of weak links. Entrepreneurship skills, marketing capability and sustained
competitive advantage; hopefully to propose some new points of view in managing enterprises. Interviewed
entrepreneurs have superficial and general information about the basic knowledge that allow them to take the
right decisions. According to our exploratory research, we found that this basic knowledge is considered as a key
factor of success to their early stage business. Thereby, Lebanese entrepreneurs should undertake training and
have a follow up to all the basic knowledge to help them surpass the in flexibility related to the early stage.
Entrepreneurs have weaknesses or even ignore the importance of scientific studies like SWOT analysis,
interviews, qualitative and quantitative studies, offers and management to the consumers’ needs, and also how to
look for competitive advantages, though these studies are essential before the formation of their ideas. Our paper
is based on a qualitative approach and will be of use first for young entrepreneurs in order to leverage their
awareness about the importance of the competitive advantage and to highlight the type of training to get in order
to survive the early stage of their entrepreneurial process and second for the government to give a lucid vision
about possible regulations to support the entrepreneurs in their early stage
Keywords: competitive advantage, value chain, entrepreneurs skills, information system, human resources,
marketing and financial plan
1. Introduction and research design
Knowledge is the key factor of an entrepreneurial success in its early stage. Our paper shows the
level of basic knowledge of Lebanese entrepreneurs in their early stages.
As we know, small businesses are the job creators for a country as well as the key driver of the
economy. That's why we want to help the Lebanese entrepreneurs to succeed in their starting phase
in a competitive market, and that, by detecting their level of knowledge in order to offer them an
adapted training to their needs. Therefore, after a primary research, we identified the importance of
knowledge’s level an entrepreneur should hold in the following areas: The importance of competitive
advantage, the value chain, the innovation, the information system, human resources, the awareness
and effectiveness of the marketing plan of the entrepreneur, the level of skills and experiences of this
latter as well as his acquaintance with the field of financial ratios.
To evaluate the entrepreneurs’ level of knowledge in their early stages, we found it necessary to help
entrepreneurs express themselves deeply and in details through qualitative methods (semi-structured
individual interview).
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