A Business Model for Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers (SMEs) in Sparsely Populated Areas in Northern Norway

Abstract

As Northern Norway is considered as a low population density area with small and dispersed settlement structures, dispersed economic foundation with simplification, and focus on primary production. Manufacturing firms in Northern Norway are predominantly Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs). With the development of globalization and the industry 4.0 trends, manufacturing industry focus more on lower the cost and developing economies with rapid advances in new technologies, SMEs especially manufacturers in Northern Norway are facing great challenges such as geographical seclusion from the major market and a low capital turnover ratio. In this paper, I focus on the current situation of small and medium-sized manufacturers and come up with a new business model for enhancing the competitive of small and medium-sized manufacturers in sparsely populated areas in northern Norway.