DOI: 10.36347/sjebm.2019.v06i03.004

Pages: 198-202

Malaysian manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are challenged by the competitive pressures emerging from trade liberalization and rapid technology advances. They have to emphasize on meeting the needs of Industry Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) and adopt appropriate competitive strategies to acquire sustainable competitive advantage. This paper examines the international competitiveness of Malaysian manufacturing SMEs in the context of E-commerce and regional trading blocs. Methodology: Combining inductive and deductive methodologies, the data collection tools were a literature review, personal interviews and a web survey involving 102 participants. A five-point Likert scale was adopted for attitude measurement. Results: Regional trading blocs are creating export opportunities for Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. This requires them to develop the competencies to identify new export markets, address competitive threats and participate in global supply chains. However, they face several challenges for successful internationalization including the adoption of IR4.0 practices and new business models to achieve competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive landscape. Conclusion and Recommendations: The findings revealed that in the digital economy has generated new electronic markets for manufactured goods, E-commerce is an effective strategic competitive weapon to address the intense competition. This requires Malaysian SMEs to effectively compete in a liberalized trading landscape. They also have to embrace IR 4.0, for competing with larger enterprises. It is recommended that manufacturing SMEs acquire democratized technologies, which include machine learning and cloud computing to develop their R&D capabilities for new product development and to lower their operating costs.