摘要：Acknowledges that SMEs (small to mediumsized enterprises) cannot do conventional ma r k e t i n g because of the limitations o f resourceswhich are inherent to all SMEs and also because SME owner/managers behave and think differently from conventional marketing decisionmaking practices in large companies. In this context the discussion focuses on SM E characteristics and how these impact upon marketingcharacteristics within SMEs . In a search for ``alternative’’ marketing approaches, the inherent existence of th e owner/ manager’s ``network’’ in its various guises such as personal contact netw orks, social networks, business networks and industry and marketing networksand how these networks are used is considered. Some evidence from an empirical st udy carried out simultaneously in Westerns Maharashtra is presented which illustrates how and why networking is used by S ME owner/managers as a tool or approach for carrying out meaningful marketing.
