Basis For Competitive Advantage Research Articles

АДАПТИВНИЙ ПІДХІД В ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННІ СТІЙКОГО РОЗВИТКУ ПІДПРИЄМСТВА

The article examines the contents of the adaptive approach in the system of management of production-economic activity of the enterprise. The features of adaptive enterprise management, which consists in the timely identification and implementation of necessary changes, formation on this basis of competitive advantages and sustainable development of the enterprise in a dynamic and unstable economic conditions. Justified the components of the mechanism of adaptive management: object, subject, tasks and tools. The revealed main stages of the process of adaptation of production and economic activity of enterprises., including: analysis, assessment and prediction of instability of external environment and an assessment of the economic potential of the enterprise; the establishment of performance targets of the enterprise; assessment of adaptability of the enterprise and determination of the degree of misalignment of the actual values of the parameters from the target; development of alternative adaptation strategies; consistent implementation of selected adaptive strategies; the monitoring of the process of adaptation and regulation of deviations; evaluation of the impact of adaptation measures; forecasting the future development and changes to the existing model of activities according to the identified reserves

What Is Green Growth Strategy for Government Link Company?

Disasters around the world are very extreme because of the global warming and climate change. Malaysia firms have to play their role in handling the challenging of environmental problems in order to sustain. The feature of the new strategy which is green growth strategy has been identified. The study focuses on the features of the green growth strategy which discuss on the keys to sustaining the strategy, marketing emphasis, production emphasis, product line, basis of competitive advantage and strategic target. Business had contributed to the industrialisation era positively or negatively and therefore there is a must for business people to use the best strategy in reducing the environmental risks. By 2020, Malaysia will achieve the target in becoming an advanced economy by applying the right strategy. The objective of this paper is to propose a feature for new strategy known as green growth strategy. Future study is to propose to conduct an empirical analysis to confirm the green growth strategy features.

STRATEGY AND FACTORS OF REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS

The purpose of the article is to study the forms and methods of strategic action on the development of regional competitiveness in a competitive environment in Ukraine. Marketing of the region can be seen as a way to establish relationships between market players, providing an advantageous position in relation to regional resources and target markets. The peculiarity of marketing strategy of the region as regional policy consists in the positioning of the region – a difference from other areas based on specific competitive advantages in social and economic environment of the country as the subject of a competitive market economy. The strategy of regional marketing is based on the following principles: coordination of interests of market relations; determination of marketing goals in the region; target markets and positioning mode of the region; marketing strategy development of the region on the basis of competitive advantages. The competitiveness of the region is revealed in the creation of the best, in comparison with other regions, conditions for residence, business, investment flows, to be exact – providing investment, educational, recreational attraction that promotes the influx of various consumer groups in the region. Therefore, impacts on the competitiveness of the region should be considered separately for each kind of competitiveness, forming them into groups according to homogeneous characteristics that are the basis for further evaluation of the competitiveness of the region. Complex nature of the system of regional marketing relations determines the grouping of its tools – industrial, pricing, distribution policy in the region, and a system of business relations between economic entities

Competing on Action: Business Models and the Competitiveness of Emerging Market Enterprises

How do emerging market enterprises become competitive actors in a global environment still largely dominated by established firms from advanced economies? Debate on this question is fueled by an apparent paradox: Even though EMEs are increasingly becoming global contenders, their underlying basis of competitive advantage is not so obvious at first glance. Traditional international business and strategic management research typically focus on industry, resource and institution-based explanations of firm competitiveness. We introduce the perspective of international competition based on actions articulated by and executed through firms’ business models. We attribute EMEs’ successful expansion to their business models, which leverage their particular conditions and history and manifest themselves in greater agility. We then apply our argument to four case illustrations and discuss the implications for the basis of competitive advantage.

Análisis de eficiencia técnica y estudio de casos en los cultivos de flores de la Sabana de Bogotá (Colombia)

The article aims to compare the results of applying a DEA model with undesirable outputs and crossover study of multiple cases flower crops companies in the Sabana de Bogota, to establish common patterns in flower crops that are technically inefficient and those that are efficient despite the crisis experienced by growers for the revaluation of the Colombian peso Fecha de recepcion: Diciembre de 2013 Fecha de aceptacion: Julio de 2012 against the U.S. dollar. In November 2009 measures and analyzes technical efficiency in 53 flowers crops of the Sabana de Bogota, finding a wide dispersion in the results. Therefore, decides to do a case study to explore nine flower companies and identify different ways in which competing: strategies, distribution channels, forms of marketing and the bases of competitive advantage. It found that 38 crops are inefficient, of which 31 are medium, fact that coincides with the case study, which shows that the group hardest hit by the 2009 crisis are medium enterprises. The reasons are: high level of debt, concentration on productivity, low possibility to reduce size, and demand shrinking. These medium-sized firms have three choices: grow up and act like big enterprises, reduce size and behave as small, or out of business of flower crops. The medium-small enterprises are Pareto efficient, since they have lighter cost structure and have operating profitability good, are diversifying into new markets which lead to better margins per stem sold. Large companies are vertically integrated, competitive strategy is based on: cost management, brand development and utilization of the evolution of retail channel in USA.

Special Issue Call for Papers

Transportation is an integral and necessary part of the supply chain. Transportation not only offers the physical connection among companies in the supply chain, but also the basis of competitive advantages. According to The 24th Annual State of Logistics Report, transportation accounts for approximately 63 percent of logistics costs and about 5 percent of US GDP. However, the economic significance of transportation in supply chain management also brings with it impacts on the environment, contributing approximately 27 percent of US total greenhouse gas emissions. Balancing the roles and impacts of transportation on logistics and supply chain management has been and will continue to be key in the global economic landscape.The academic research in transportation is a central part of logistics and supply chain research; it also transcends several disciplines outside of the supply chain area. While all transportation research affects logistics and supply chain management in some way, there is a core body of transportation research that is of higher relevance to both areas. The Transportation Journal has been the leading journal of logistics and supply chain-related transportation research for over 50 years. This noteworthy milestone is being acknowledged by the publication of a special themed issue on Transportation and Supply Chain Relations.We are pleased to announce that the themed issued will be the Winter 2015 issue. Manuscripts for this themed issue should clearly demonstrate the roles and impacts of transportation in contemporary logistics and supply chain management. Topics for consideration include: Efficient management of transportation companiesTransportation and corporate social responsibility (e.g., environmental, societal, economic)Transportation stressors (e.g., congestion, security, energy costs)Global transportation issuesTransportation and economic development (e.g., public-private partnerships)Collaborative transportation managementTechnology in transportation managementManuscripts should be submitted no later than May 31, 2014, for consideration. Please refer to www.editorialmanager.com/TransJour for author and submission guidelines. We very much look forward to your contributions, including industry notes, to this special themed issue of the Transportation Journal.

The perspectives of entry of ukrainian companies at the world market of services

In this article author analyzes main issues of Ukrainian service market integration within the international competition environment. It is proved that institution and transaction costs are one of the key factors in the development of the modern Ukrainian trade in services sector. The author examines them as a basis for competitive advantages in the process of internation- al exchange in services.

Policy Constraints And Strategic Choices: MNE Subsidiaries Market Penetration In China

This study describes how firm level decisions and capabilities correspond to policy conditions in a host country where local market access is constrained and success is contingent on compliance with cultural hegemony. Using data from surveys gathered from multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries operating in China, we describe the mode of entry the firms have used to penetrate and exploit markets in light of the constrained strategic choices open to their subsidiaries. We also expose the patterns of growth accomplished by the MNE and their underlying bases of competitive advantage. Finally, we relate the degree of centralization we observe among the respondents strategies.

The Factor in the Technological Creativity of V–VI Formers

The article analyses how technological education determines the creativity of 5th–6th formers. Technological education is an integral part of general education. It makes it possible for students to act creatively, to choose flexibly – which is essential for anybody regardless their gender in the constantly changing socio-cultural environment, and to be able to use simple technologies at a user level. The article considers the development of students’ creativity in a systemic approach. Technological education is perceived as a complex of social and educational factors determining students’ creativity.
 In a creative society creativity is important in all spheres of activity where creative material becomes the basis for competitive advantage in the economy of the global market. The changes in the development of students’ creativity are conditioned by the fluctuation in educational paradigms, learning environments, general education programmes. Creativity is understood as a complex of personal qualities that manifests itself as an ability to offer new ideas, to think non-stereotypically, to orient oneself quickly in problematic situations, to find original solutions easily, which is determined by talents and interests. A systemic approach to creativity requires a systemic assessment of creativity development factors.
 Technological education is an integral part of general education. It originates from the idea of a “working school”, technologies as a school subject, teaching crafts, polytechnic and professional education. Technologies include material and human intellectual resources, scientific and practical knowledge and ways of organizing work. Technological education can be treated as a complex of both educational and social factors that promote students’ creativity.
 The method of factor analysis highlighted the following socio-educational factors of 5th–6th formers’ creativity development in technology classes: participation in the activities which are important for the school community; aesthetic activity; communication – cooperation; democratic relations; independent and responsible activity; individual activity; folk art recognition; promotion of activity; group work. Two factors have the most important influence on the development of students’ creativity: participation in the activities which are important for the school community (20.779 percent of dispersion) and participation in aesthetic activity (7.401 percent of dispersion). Nonetheless, the dispersion of social activity is almost three times bigger than that of aesthetic activity.
 Students’ creativity in technology classes is mostly determined by social factors. Out of the nine distinguished factors as many as four are of social character and only two (group work, individual work) are of educational character. Two creativity factors are related to aesthetic-artistic activity (aesthetic activity, folk art knowledge).
 Technology teachers see the source of creativity in their students’ interests. The tasks that correspond to students’ interests promote creativity. Technology teachers give a positive evaluation of the influence of individual and group work methods on creativity development. Teachers treat group work methods as a means of creating a favorable learning environment which creates “group enjoyment”. However, teachers state that it is impossible to do without individual work in technology classes. Technological tasks have to be performed accurately, with precision. They require a lot of time. Hence competitive methods are not suitable as competition can diminish the quality of work. Teachers think that in technological education both cooperative learning and individual work are important.

The competitive advantage of cluster firms: the priority of regional network position over extra-regional networks – a study of a French high-tech cluster

This paper extends research on industry clusters by unbundling network from cluster effects and by analysing how network effects drive the performance of cluster firms. The results show that a firm's connectedness in a regional network is positively associated with firm performance. However, we found that for cluster firms, it is even more important to build strong network positions by developing rather exclusive alliance networks. In addition, a weak position within a cluster cannot be compensated for by strong extra-regional networking activities. From this perspective, cluster-specific advantages are firm-specific and the basis for competitive advantage. Regional competitiveness is therefore a non-substitutable pre-condition for the overall performance of cluster firms.

Organisational learning capability, product innovation performance and export intensity

The hypothesis that managerial characteristics which facilitate the organisational learning process can provide firms with a basis for competitive advantage has received a great deal of attention. While there is evidence that organisational learning affects export intensity, we argue that intermediate variables, such as innovation, should be used in order to evaluate its impact in organisations. This study shows that firms with a higher organisational learning capability tend to be more innovative, and for this reason, they are more likely to export a higher share of their production. From a longitudinal perspective, we use structural equation modeling on a database from Italian and Spanish ceramic tile producers, worldwide leaders in terms of technology. The database combines primary and secondary data. The results support our theoretical conjectures. Findings improve our understanding of the antecedents of export intensity and are related to previous research.

Service Quality At Hospital – A Study Of Apollo Hospital In Mysore

Quality is considered as one of the important factors in differentiation and excellence of services and it is a basis of competitive advantage so that its understanding, measuring, and developing it are important challenges for all health services organizations. The objective of this research is to examine the service quality influence on patient loyalty in Apollo hospital of Mysore, service quality measures are based on some of the dimensions of the SERVQUAL, in this study four dimensions namely responsiveness, empathy, reliability and tangible were considered. The research is purely based on primary data, the data has been collected by 185 respondents by using structures questionnaire. The data has been analyzed by using one sample t test and regression analysis. The results revealed that all the four dimensions were positively related to patient's loyalty. Keywords -Apollo hospital, customer loyalty, service quality I. Introduction During the last few decades, the number of private centers providing health care services in Mysore has been growing, and the private sector health care services market has turned out to be a competitive environment Quality is such an important aspect that it is considered a really major concept in our real life. It is considered as a strategic weapon. And the vital need of increasing service organizations and advancing their services necessitates the measuring of service quality. The peer competitions have made the hospitals to provide superior services in order to retain in the competitive environment. Hospitals provide the various types of services but with different quality if the therefore quality can be considered as one of the important as one of the important strategy to create the competitive advantage.

Organisational design elements and competencies for optimising the expertise of knowledge workers in a shared services centre

Orientation: Organisations are still structured according to the Industrial Age control model that restricts optimising the expertise of knowledge workers.Research purpose: The general aim of the research was to explore the organisation design elements and competencies that contribute to optimising the expertise of knowledge workers in a shared services centre.Motivation for the study: Current organisational design methodologies do not emphasise optimising the expertise of knowledge workers. This research addresses the challenge of how an organisation design can improve the creation and availability of the expertise of knowledge workers.Research design/approach method: The researcher followed a qualitative case study research design and collected data in six focus group sessions (N = 25).Main findings: The findings showed that the shared services centre (SSC) is not designed to enable its structure, culture and codifying system to optimise the expertise of knowledge workers. In addition, the SSC does not share the knowledge generated with other knowledge workers. Furthermore, it does not use the output of the knowledge workers to improve business processes.Practical/managerial implications: The expertise of knowledge workers is the basis of competitive advantage. Therefore, managers should create an organisational design that is conducive to optimising knowledge work expertise.Contribution/value add: This research highlights the important organisational design elements and supportive organisational structures for optimising the expertise of knowledge workers. The research also proposes a framework for optimising the expertise of knowledge workers and helping an organisation to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

Marketing a consumer durable brand in Malaysia: a conjoint analysis and market simulation

PurposeThis paper aims to use conjoint analysis to examine how Malaysian consumers make decisions regarding a consumer durable product – namely room air conditioners – under multi‐cue situations.Design/methodology/approachThis study first assesses the impact of a priori perceived differences between brand names, country of manufacture, price, quality, technological advancement, and warranty on product evaluation. Second, the relative importance of the attributes as evaluative criteria is determined by performing part worth analysis. Six pertinent hypotheses are developed and tested. Conjoint analysis is used to develop product profiles that respondents could evaluate via a survey. This is followed by a market simulation to suggest marketing strategies for Malaysian and Japanese products (the latter dominate the Malaysian market).FindingsThe findings indicate the importance of capitalising upon consumer durables' intrinsic qualities, and the need to carefully consider the relationship between price and quality. Ways to take advantage of the strength of foreign brand names need to be understood and operationalised. The simulation exercise also indicates ways in which indigenous and external competitors could take advantage of market opportunities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study does place in a Malaysian context, and moreover used a convenience sampling approach. The need is demonstrable for more representative probabilistic sampling. While country of origin effects are understood, other criteria (i.e. design, assembly, and source) need to be considered in future studies.Practical implicationsIt is felt that the approach utilised and the simulations developed can be applied in other geographic and cultural contexts and have implications for marketing strategies for branded consumer durable typologies.Originality/valueThe paper identifies and evaluates strategies for more effective competition in the Malaysian room air conditioner market. The use of conjoint analysis and market simulation provides a basis for competitive advantage in a tightly focused market sector.

Strategy types of service firms: evidence from Greece

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically examine different types of service firms, featuring strategy orientations and the performance of different emphases.Design/methodology/approachTo answer the questions the paper raises, data of 80 Greek firms of the services sector are analysed with the help of factor analysis, cluster analysis and analysis of variance.FindingsThe findings reveal three types of firms pursuing different strategy orientations for dealing with competition (i.e. the hybridists: 44 firms, the confused strategists: 25 firms and the non‐strategists: 11 firms). Furthermore, they suggest that performance is dependent on these strategy types.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides new evidence outside the manufacturing industry and the US context, which dominates the literature. Nonetheless, further empirical research will help to generalise the findings within the services sector in Greece and/or comparable national contexts, especially within the European Union.Practical implicationsThe empirical results highlight the discussion of pure vs hybrid forms of competitive advantage pursued by service firms operating at home. A message of the utmost importance for practitioners is that the hybrid form of competitive advantage, which places high emphasis on low cost, is the prevailing and the best‐performing strategic choice.Originality/valueThe study focuses on strategy types of firms to offer a view on the basis of competitive advantage within the services sector of a dynamic European Union member state. By excluding the well‐known pure and stuck‐in‐the‐middle alternatives, the evidence highlights the lack of a strategy and combined choices of strategic orientations, which differ in terms of performance. It appears that the dominant argument of strategic purity is not applicable to all firms in all countries.

Resources in academic discourse: An empirical investigation of management journals

Commonly shared conceptualizations of resources are scant in academic management research which strikes as somewhat peculiar since resources and their allocation thereof have long been recognised to be at the heart of the competitive advantage and performance of a firm. The research literature considering resources as basis for competitive advantages has further faced contemporary criticism for the vagueness of the fundamental definition of the resource concept. Therefore, this paper empirically studies the representation of resource concept in academic management research literature. The paper reports results on the state of conceptualisations of organisations’ resources found in two distinct sources of research literature, namely ScienceDirect’s database and ISI’s top management journals, resulting in two data sets of a total of 457 articles. The findings illustrate the two-dimensional conceptual farrago in the conceptualisations; on the definitions of the resource concept itself and on the internal structure and the level of analysis when the concept is considered. In addition, the paper sheds light on the temporal evolution of the discourse explicitly considering resources. Finally, the paper considers several remedies for these deficiencies in order both to aid future theory development in management studies and to help increase the practical impact of the research in assisting managerial decision-making.

Resources in academic discourse: An empirical investigation of management journals

Commonly shared conceptualizations of resources are scant in academic management research which strikes as somewhat peculiar since resources and their allocation thereof have long been recognised to be at the heart of the competitive advantage and performance of a firm. The research literature considering resources as basis for competitive advantages has further faced contemporary criticism for the vagueness of the fundamental definition of the resource concept. Therefore, this paper empirically studies the representation of resource concept in academic management research literature. The paper reports results on the state of conceptualisations of organisations’ resources found in two distinct sources of research literature, namely ScienceDirect’s database and ISI’s top management journals, resulting in two data sets of a total of 457 articles. The findings illustrate the two-dimensional conceptual farrago in the conceptualisations; on the definitions of the resource concept itself and on the internal structure and the level of analysis when the concept is considered. In addition, the paper sheds light on the temporal evolution of the discourse explicitly considering resources. Finally, the paper considers several remedies for these deficiencies in order both to aid future theory development in management studies and to help increase the practical impact of the research in assisting managerial decision-making.

Strategy types of exporting firms: a view on the basis of competitive advantage

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically examine types of exporting firms featuring strategy orientations and profitability of differential emphasis.Design/methodology/approachTo answer the questions the paper raises, data of 82 exporting firms established in Greece are analysed with the help of factor analysis, cluster analysis and cross‐tabulation.FindingsThe findings reveal three types of firms pursuing different strategy orientations for dealing with competition in export markets (i.e. the marketing‐based strategists, the hybridists and the non‐strategists). Furthermore, they suggest that export profitability is dependent on these strategy types.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralisation of the research results should be made with caution. A fruitful direction of further research is to replicate the principal features of the study with other samples of firms in Greece or in comparable national contexts, especially within the European Union.Practical implicationsThe empirical results highlight the discussion of more vs less profitable forms of competitive advantage pursued by firms operating in foreign markets. A message of utmost importance for practitioners is that the hybrid form of competitive advantage, although dominant, does not offer the most profitable strategic choice.Originality/valueThe study focuses on strategy types of firms competing in the international arena to offer a view on the basis of competitive advantage. By excluding the well‐known pure and stuck‐in‐the‐middle alternatives, the evidence highlights either no‐strategy or combined choices of strategy orientations, which differ in terms of export profitability. As such, the study sheds some light on the relation of strategy to export performance, which is under‐researched outside the USA.

Seven perspectives on regional clusters and the case of Grand Rapids office furniture city

The globalization of the value chain puts older regional clusters characterized by local, vertical value chains across multiple connected sectors, at a significant risk. Firms operating within the local regional clusters need to develop new generic strategies and new bases of competitive advantage in response to the growing outsourcing within the regional cluster. We review Krugman's geography, Porter's diamond, and European regional innovation system perspectives, as well as three extensions of those perspectives, to identify relevant generic strategies and bases of competitive advantage in regional clusters. A seventh transnational value chain perspective is also discussed. Then, we contextually analyze the historical furniture cluster of the Greater Grand Rapids region, Michigan, USA, and highlight the shifts in the generic strategies and the bases of competitive advantage in response to globalization. The findings have critical implications for the theory of regional clustering, and for the policy decisions.

Innovation, competition and change in international business: Emergent research trajectories

Abstract and Key Results * This paper introduces innovation, competition and regulatory change as dominant themes in international business. * These themes represent focussed trajectories for future research despite diversity in their causes, processes and consequences and the interactions between them which reflect the increasingly complex environment in which managers operate. * This diversity and the significant interactions between the three areas pose a challenge to scholars, with current research both shedding light on particular aspects and on the interactions between the elements in applied settings as demonstrated by the contributions to this focused issue. Key Words Innovation, Competition, Change, Regulation Introduction The School of Management at the University of Bath, UK hosted the 32nd annual conference of the Academy of International Business (AIB) UK chapter in April 2005. This annual event aims to promote research and scholarship in all areas of international business by acting as the major annual UK forum for the presentation of as yet unpublished work and the exchange of ideas in this field. It brings together scholars and professionals dealing with issues relating to international business, with an emphasis on encouraging the participation of younger researchers and doctoral students, as well established academics. There were over 170 participants at the Bath conference, a record number, drawn from organisations in 22 countries and altogether 79 papers were presented after a rigorous selection process. The broad themes of the conference this year were Innovation, Competition and Change (with particular reference to regulatory change) in International Business. Within these interrelated themes, the nature of the submissions was diverse in many ways: in terms of the topics discussed, the theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, levels of analysis and the industrial and national research settings adopted. Such diversity results from both the variety and complexity of the challenges posed by innovation, competition and regulatory change in today's global economy as well as the breadth and richness of the academic field of international business (IB). This diversity and richness is cause for celebration and is reflected in the set of papers selected for inclusion in this focused issue of MIR. Some of the selection of papers presented here, while focusing on a specialist area, address the interrelationships between at least two of the core concerns of innovation, competition and change whereas others predominately relate to one of these aspects. They have been organized within the issue according to the dominant theme of each paper. The final paper provides an assessment, drawing on two cases, which highlights the linkages between innovation, competition and regulatory change. Innovation In recent years, the basis of competitive advantage has shifted from tangible assets and resources to less tangible ones such as skills and knowledge. Firms now operate in a 'knowledge economy' where the sustainable, renewable and non-diminishing returns characteristics of knowledge have led to a significant change in the structures and strategies of international businesses. The multiplicity of knowledge sources and knowledge uses have encouraged firms to move from being highly centralised structures to multi-hub structures, thereby creating complex, corporate international production networks. The adoption of new organisational structures for R&D is one of the most strategically important developments of the past decade within the general changes in the scope and organisation of international business. Whilst much R&D remains centralised, the granting of different R&D mandates has enabled the geographic dispersal of R&D activities. Locally integrated and support laboratories can both exploit existing technological resources and also stimulate incremental innovation by using local materials and methods to tailor products and processes for market-specific needs. …