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Tech start-ups (TSs) functioning in different domains have a responsibility of ensuring that domestic knowledge and capabilities are leveraged to minimize dependence on foreign organizations. Despite the growth of the ecosystem, while numerous TSs emerge, very few of them are able to survive, and of those that survive, very few scale up. The aim of this study is to identify the factors influencing the competitiveness of technological start-ups and to study the interrelationship and interdependence of these factors.

Modified total interpretative structural modeling (m-TISM) was employed for the current research. The analysis of what factors have an effect on competitiveness, how they affect it and why they affect it should be explored. The study begins by developing the list of factors through literature search, and further it is validated by expert opinion. A hierarchical model has been developed using m-TISM and MICMAC analysis to analyze the driving and dependency power of factors at each level.

Results show that the competitiveness of TSs is affected by organizational agility and internationalization. Factors present at the bottom level, namely entrepreneurial intensity, act as a strong driver for TSs. Team member commitment, transformational leadership, strategic alliances, knowledge sharing and organizational ambidexterity are middle-level factors.

This study is among the few articles that have explored competitiveness of TSs in the Indian context.

Technological start-ups are significant contributor to the innovation and employment provider in an economy. Numerous technological start-ups are established every year; however, only a miniscule percentage of these technological start-ups sustain and scale up in the long run. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that affect Indian technological start-ups’ competitiveness.

Case study analysis of two technological start-ups (namely, WayCool and Moglix) is undertaken to study the factors affecting the competitiveness of technological start-ups in India. Being a relatively underexplored theme of study in entrepreneurship and strategy, case analysis facilitates exploration and validation of factors influencing competitiveness. Information for case study analysis is drawn from secondary sources of information. The collected data undergoes deductive thematic analysis to systematically identify and examine recurring themes and patterns relevant to the competitiveness of Indian technological start-ups.

Case analysis reveals that innovation intensity, organisational agility and internationalisation influence competitiveness of technological start-ups. The importance of the role of each of these factors for entrepreneurial ventures has been highlighted in literature; however, their effect on competitiveness has not been examined in extant literature.

Being among the few studies on the competitiveness of technological start-ups in specific and start-ups in general, this study highlights the gap in the literature and suggests the need for examining the competitiveness of technological start-ups.

For the practitioners, this study reinforces the need for entrepreneurs to emphasise fundamental factors that build competitiveness. Subsequently, the sources of competitiveness shall enable the start-up to gain a competitive advantage.

This is among the few studies to have explored the competitiveness of technological start-ups in the Indian context.