Competitive Strategy Analysis and the Growth Stage Model: The Case of Taiwan’s Yacht Maker

Abstract

By integrating the growth stage model and competitive strategy analysis, this paper proposes a synthesised approach to demonstrate how a small firm grows into a global enterprise. Under this framework we draw upon the three main research fields of wealth-creation firms - namely entrepreneurship, strategic management and leadership - that provide spatial dimensions for selecting competitive strategies. The growth stage model, which is divided into four stages - initiation, expansion, maturity and diversification - represents a temporal dimension that offers a roadmap to guide growing firms. We aptly apply the conceptual framework to examine how Horizon Group, under the leadership of John Lu, has grown and transformed into Asia's number one yacht maker through investigating the various competitive strategies adopted at each stage of its growth path.