Software industry evolution in a developing country: an in depth study

This paper presents data on the evolution of representative software companies in Pakistan. Evolution of the business strategy, functional strategies in finance, marketing, technology, and human resource development areas have been studied along with the changes in the organizational processes and systems at these organizations. Changes in these dimensions have been analyzed in the light of developments in the external aspects such as target markets, supplier institutions and the overall environmental factors, specifically government policies. Our analysis has shown that government policy plays a key role in development of software industry. Different factors determine growth of companies at various stages of their evolution. Ability to react to opportunities in a timely manner has been one important determinant of companies´ success in achieving high level of sustained growth.