| One of the most developed software design and development industry concentrations in America has been in Massachusetts. The state's software industry experienced a severe employment decline since its peak. However, the financial management software industry segment in Massachusetts has been quite stable during this same period, from 2001 to 2005. In order to analyze this phenomenon, this thesis explores the close relationship between financial management software firms and their clients. This thesis utilizes the Corporate Technology Information Services, Inc. (CorpTech) database of High Technology firms to identify 39 independent Massachusetts-based firms in order to conduct a case study focused on the three aspects: (1) market orientation, (2) product development, and (3) executives and founders, including their prior experience, education, firm capitalization and location. Detailed analysis, assessment and historical and regional comparisons of this industry segment along with observing the changes in the financial service industry's requirements, explains trends and the sources of competitive advantage developed by these firms and the prospects for sustaining the state's competitive strength. |
