Location and competitiveness in subsistence small businesses

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the location as root of the specificity of the sources of competitiveness in subsistence small businesses (SSBs) of wood industry to improve the situation of poverty and the different behaviour of subsistence entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach The research uses an exploratory analysis based on principal components in two phases and confirmatory analysis based on partial least square techniques applied to a sample of 113 small and medium enterprises of wood industry in Obera, a region of Argentina. Findings The analysis evidences the use of competitiveness sources of SSBs and a double behaviour in SSBs according to subsistence threshold. Satisfactory SSBs use competitiveness sources to improve organizational and economic performance. Unsatisfactory SSBs find economic performance without relation to organizational performance. Research limitations/implications Data are cross-sectional, and in a conjuncture of economy expansion, future research should monitor the sample of firms using panel data to assess the development of relations. Sample is in a particular region and sector, and generalizations should be done carefully. Practical implications SSBs should raise the strategy integrating short and long term, which requires a strengthening of intellectual capital, especially in cooperation, professionalism and training. They could integrate and share a business community to develop competitive advantages of collective systemic. Originality/value The research shows the importance of the location for the competitiveness of SSBs and provides a classification of SSBs according to their performance.