Competitiveness Of Firms Research Articles

Transforming talent management as a game changer for firm competitiveness of Islamic banks

Transforming talent management as a game changer for firm competitiveness of Islamic banks

Firm heterogeneity in competition among the big and the small

AbstractThis paper makes comparative statics in a model in which oligopolistic and monopolistically competitive firms that are heterogeneous in productivity compete. We demonstrate that (i) entry of oligopolistic incumbents, (ii) reduction in entry cost of monopolistically competitive entrants, and (iii) market size expansion improve the average productivity in the whole economy. However, (i) and (iii) raise welfare, but (ii) may lower welfare because of the presence of oligopolistic firms.

Bringing novices from the passive role in knowledge sharing to the active role

Purpose: The nature of firm competition between firms and the source of competitive advantage in many industries has shifted toward a knowledge-based economy. This is particularly the case in knowledge intensive industries, wherein a firm’s competitive advantage is highly dependent on its ability to generate and deploy new knowledge solutions. Although knowledge management (KM) is relevant to all organizations, it is likely that its importance is higher at some functional units like maintenance. The field of industrial maintenance is complex and knowledge-intensive. Typically, industrial maintenance knowledge is inaccessible due to industry policies and practices; furthermore, motivation to share knowledge is low or inexistent, due to its tacit and complex nature. Despite these difficulties, sharing knowledge between experienced workers and managers, on one hand, and novices and new comers, on the other hand, is a fundamental problem in industrial maintenance settings, and about which there is still much to be known. The current research reports an investigation aimed at increasing knowledge sharing (KS) between novices and other workers in industrial maintenance. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative field longitudinal research was carried out at a maintenance department of a high-tech company. The research included three steps: the first one assessed the current situation of KM and KS in the department; the second one implemented a number of training programs aimed to increase KS between novices and the rest of the department; and the third one collected information about KM and KS, to assess changes between the two observation moments. Findings: Novices can take an active role in KM and KS in maintenance departments of high-tech industries, rather than a passive role, which can significantly facilitate and improve their own and other employees' knowledge while moderately enhancing the culture of knowledge sharing. Practical Implications: sharing knowledge is a very challenging issue to maintenance managers, faced with risks and problems that need to be acquired by novices. The current research helps knowledge-intensive companies by highlighting solutions that can be designed and adapted to improve employees' knowledge and also KS. Originality/Value: Empowering novices to transition from a passive role in knowledge sharing to an active one, while simultaneously improving their knowledge and also KS practices in industrial maintenance through their involvement.

ENHANCING COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH REVERSE LOGISTICS PRACTICES: A STUDY OF FOOD MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA

This study investigates the role of reverse logistics practices in enhancing the competitiveness of food manufacturing firms in Kenya. Reverse logistics, encompassing product returns, recycling, and waste management, plays a vital role in sustainability and cost-effectiveness. In the context of food manufacturing, where quality, safety, and environmental concerns are paramount, understanding the impact of reverse logistics on competitiveness is critical. Employing a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, this research examines how the adoption of effective reverse logistics practices contributes to improved competitiveness, sustainability, and economic performance within the Kenyan food manufacturing sector.

Simons levers of control disentangled: A quasi-experiment into the competitiveness of hybrid firms

Controls are used to ensure "that resources are obtained and used efficiently and effectively to achieve the organization's objective" (Merchant and Otley, 2007, p. 788). Hybrid workplaces, which include flexible work arrangements like working from home, working outside of regular business hours, having flexible work hours, etc. (Stirpe and Zarraga-Oberty, 2017), are characterized by spatial and/or tem-poral separation. This presents control challenges because controlling requires that employee behaviour be in line with the company's goals (Snell 1992). Strict con-trols signal a compromise on trust (Christ et al., 2008), and loose controls dilute subordinates getting strong and clear directives (Long, 2010). Through a quasi-experiment utilizing the theoretical underpinning of Simon's levers of control (1995, 2000), this study explores the types of controls which enable hybrid firm's competitiveness. According to Widener (2007), the levers both individually and collectively drive firm-level knowledge production and attention direction, and be-cause they interact with one another, their effects are intricately entangled. This entanglement causes tension for organizational actors, who are largely interested in knowing which types of controls are effective in the hybrid firm's context and how these controls relate to each other. The results of the experiment identify that the best possible combination to enable hybrid firm competitiveness is ‘High IC and High DC'. The findings establish a significant role of high IC and high DC, in ensuring hybrid firm competitiveness.

Dynamic capabilities and SMEs competitiveness: the moderating effect of market turbulence

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effectiveness of individual dynamic capabilities (DC) constructs and whether they had comparable effects on a company’s competitiveness in market turbulence (MT). This study used quantitative methods to determine how the DC elements, sensing, learning, integrating and coordinating, influenced competitiveness, with the moderating role of MT during a real-time crisis.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data was gathered from 426 tourism small and medium-sized enterprises (TSMEs) in the United Arab Emirates and analyzed quantitatively.FindingsThe study found that not all DC constructs were equally important in promoting competitiveness. TSMEs’ survival depended more on sensing and integrating capabilities than learning and coordinating capabilities, and on how these capabilities were used by managers or owners of TSMEs. The study found no moderation effect of MT.Research limitations/implicationsThe generalizability of the results was hindered by the study’s focus on TSMEs in a single geographic location. The reasons for lack of proper mobilization of DCs constructs were not explored, but the data on the relative efficacy of DC constructs during a crisis significantly contributed to the literature.Originality/valueThis study emphasized ways that companies could improve firm competitiveness during a crisis by deploying DCs to optimize operations. The implications for research, practical aspects and limitations are presented and discussed.

An interactive and integrated framework for collaborative product development in cloud manufacturing using STEP standard-based ontology model.

Due to the growing competition of firms in manufacturing industries, the enhancement of the design of new products for quick and collaborative interaction of stakeholders is inevitable. A customer-oriented approach during the enhancing of product design requires the support of various stakeholders' collaboration from their functionality perspectives. Accordingly, manufacturing firms try to increase the product quality through the continuous collaboration and speeding up of the design process. Moreover, new manufacturing paradigms like cloud manufacturing require global and distributed collaboration of stakeholders. One competitive key necessity for firms is the integration of stakeholders in the design and production stages. This article has proposed an interactive and integrated framework for a cloud collaborative manufacturing system. The proposed framework uses the international STEP standard which ensures data integrity in the whole product development processes. The framework enables stakeholders to work collaboratively and interactively in their disciplines, while it also ensures coherency of modifications to avoid conflicts. The proposed model is introduced using an improvisational design method based on the STEP standard to create an interactive platform with a service-oriented approach and supports stakeholders for their own semantics. In addition to examining the needs of an interactive system, the article provides an architecture for implementation of this perspective. A comprehensive case study is designed to show the capabilities of the proposed framework.

Competitive firms’ low-carbon technology diffusion under pollution regulations: A network-based evolutionary analysis

To investigate the diffusion degree of low-carbon technology in competitive firms and the influence of different pollution regulations, we constructed an evolutionary game model representing three environmental mechanisms: total amount control and trading, carbon tax, and subsidy, within a complex firm network. By analyzing the effects of carbon quotas, tax rates, and subsidy rates, we comprehensively assessed the performance of these mechanisms in terms of diffusion degree, firm profits, consumer surplus, environmental damage, and social welfare. The study results demonstrated distinct outcomes for each environmental mechanism. Under the subsidy mechanism, low-carbon technology exhibited the highest diffusion degree, suggesting its efficacy in promoting widespread adoption. However, it is worth noting that the higher the subsidy, the more environmental pollution it led to, which presents a trade-off between environmental benefits and financial incentives. On the other hand, the carbon tax mechanism resulted in minimal pollution, reflecting its potential as an effective tool for environmental regulation. Finally, the cap-and-trade mechanism emerged as the most favorable option, as it maximized social welfare while effectively addressing environmental concerns.

R&D, Market Power, and the Cyclicality of Employment

AbstractThis paper provides a first look into the joint effects of research and development (R&D) and market power on the cyclicality of employment. It presents a theoretical model with R&D and monopolistically competitive firms which shows that firms smooth their R&D activities when they face large R&D adjustment costs. This smoothing behavior comes at the expense of higher labor volatility, and it is stronger for firms with high R&D intensity and low market power. Firm‐level data support these predictions. Dynamic panel estimations reveal that employment at competitive firms engaging in a high level of R&D is more procyclical.

How Do We Get Paid for This? The Relationship Between Strategic Design Management and Pricing Power

The belief that strategic design leads to improved firm competitiveness is broadly recognised in contemporary research. However, much less is understood about the precise, concrete mechanisms by which organizations translate their design-based resources and capabilities into higher performance. This paper provides context to this relationship by introducing the variable of pricing power as a potential element of unobserved “dark matter” that clarifies how design-based differentiation results in product performance. Pricing power is described by Stephan Liozu (2019) as “the ability to increase prices without losing demand”. Remarkably, nowhere in the vast literature on pricing is design mentioned, while in parallel pricing has not appeared to be of particular interest to strategic design researchers. In an effort to spur further interest in this variable a case study is provided, illustrating the process footwear and apparel brand Nike employed to leverage design-based differentiation to support the pricing power of a new offering.

Firm Competitiveness and Subnational Region: A Resource-Based Strategy of Business Localization

Firm Competitiveness and Subnational Region: A Resource-Based Strategy of Business Localization

Defining Firm Rivalry, Similarity, and Competitive Positioning: Modern Empirical Approaches

Defining Firm Rivalry, Similarity, and Competitive Positioning: Modern Empirical Approaches

Internationalization of SMEs: A Developing Country Perspective

Internationalization has become increasingly important to the competitiveness of firms of all sizes, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs play a crucial role in the development of lower-income countries. In Bangladesh, SMEs account for between 80 and 85 percent of industrial employment and 23 percent of total employment and are critical to economic growth. Though the literature on firm internationalization is well established, the internationalization process of SMEs from developing countries, such as Bangladesh, remains relatively under-explored. The main aim of this study is to explore factors that hinder the internationalization of SMEs in a developing country, with Bangladesh serving as the context of the investigation. Qualitative research methods were adopted, comprising semi-structured interviews with leaders of 16 SMEs in Bangladesh. Six major themes were identified as hindrances to the firms’ internationalization: (1) lack of market knowledge, (2) lack of family support, (3) the proliferation of ‘scammer buyers’, (4) the (negative) involvement of third parties, (5) mismanagement of domestic ports, and (6) unregulated local market. Regarding positive factors, only one theme emerged from the data, the strong support from the local government, which provides considerable backing for local SMEs with international ambitions. This study’s primary contribution and originality lie in the context of the investigation, with Bangladesh primarily overlooked in the international business literature. Therefore, the study presents several novel insights into the internationalization process of SMEs.

Competitive Firms’ Optimal Decisions on Entering Accessory Market

The smartphone is now a widespread trend that causes phone accessory markets to rise. The high penetration rate of smartphones has led to a saturated market. The accessory market not only has tremendous business opportunities but also high potential. In practice, the decision of whether to join the accessory market differentiates by each smartphone firm. This study analyzed and discussed the main product firms’ optimal decisions of whether to enter the accessory market by using game theory as a construct model. Considering the different competition situations, the decision of whether the main product firm invests in the accessory market affected the market demand, pricing, and profit of all firms. Furthermore, we analyzed the differences in the external environment to determine what the best decision for the main product firm was. The results of the research show that complementary effects do not always have a positive influence on firms’ willingness to join the accessory market. When weak main product firms have different market forces in the main product market, the dominant main product firms are not necessarily more willing to join the accessory market than weak firms.

Market orientation, restructuring and collaboration: The impact of digital design on organizational competitiveness

Design is commonly understood as a key element of products, contributing to their distinctiveness, usability and aesthetics. The success of a product is increasingly related to the user experience or the aesthetics of the user interface, meaning that design is increasingly important in the digital environment. The shift in competitive focus to the customer induced by digital design encourages companies to innovate and can also lead to changes in internal operations, market orientation and the reconfiguration of external collaboration procedures. This dimension of digital design‐induced effects has to date seen very little research. The objective of this study is to investigate how digital design‐induced changes in market orientation, internal restructuring and external cooperation affect firms' competitive orientation. The simultaneous equation framework was applied to a survey of 515 user interface and experience designers from France. Our results suggest that market orientation is not the only channel through which digital design influences firm competitiveness. Digital design leads to organizational change and the reconfiguration of external relationships that directly and indirectly help companies build competitive advantages and increase customer satisfaction.

Application of the fuzzy sets theory in the problem of products competitiveness evaluation

The article considers an example of using the tools of fuzzy sets theory in the problem of studying competitiveness of goods and firms. The competitiveness of goods has been defined through their utility in both subjective and objective manifestations. The transformation of utility indicators value from the simplest scales to the scale of equal relations has been carried out through the graphical membership functions. The general model of multi-criteria choice of optimal alternatives based on the intersection of fuzzy sets has been defined. The construction method and non-dominant alternatives set analysis on the basis of fuzzy preference relation has been considered. The problem of ranking alternatives, that are complex technical devices, considering several comparison criteria, some of which are qualitative, has been assessed by dimensionless scales with expert evaluations. Weighting coefficients have been determined for all criteria, alternatives functions belonging to the subset of optimal and matrices of fuzzy preference relations constructed, and a subset of non-dominant alternatives formed. The optimal alternative has been determined by the maximum value of subset elements. Calculation results can be used for further informed decision making in the absence of clear numerical data and presence of weakly formalized expert statements. Thus, the effectiveness and practicality of applying fuzzy sets methodology in ranking problems and optimal choice of alternatives has been shown.

Privatizing the Chinese Tiehua Industry: A Qualitative Economic Case Study

Tiehua (wrought iron painting) is a folk art originating in Anhui Province, China. The tiehua industry has changed drastically over the last 25 years as China's economy has liberalized: Wuhu Tiehua Factory, a heretofore state monopoly, underwent bankruptcy restructuring in 1992, 2002, and 2013, while several new, smaller and more competitive firms have entered the market. The marketization of tiehua has become a meaningful local and regional issue centering on the ownership structure of the tiehua firms, and has proven to be an excellent case study in basic economic theory.

Strategic Sensitivity and Firm Competitiveness in Selected Deposit Money Banks in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

Strategic sensitivity is keeping connections with a number of different people and organizations in order to be as open to information, intelligence, and innovations as feasible. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between Strategic Sensitivity and Firm Competitiveness of Deposit Money Banks in Akwa Ibom State. three research hypotheses were formulated to guide the conduct of the study. The survey research design approach was adopted for the study. The target respondents were staffs of 11 Deposit Money Banks operating within the study area. A sample size of 180 employees were adopted for this study and were assessed using the systematic sampling technique. The main data used were from primary sources gathered with the use of a likert scaled questionnaire. Data gathered were analyzed with the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) Analysis at a 0.05 significant level. It is concluded that there is a significant relationship between strategic sensitivity and firms’ competitiveness. Since the relationship of strategic sensitivity is significant, it is a good predictor of firm’s competitiveness. It is recommended that Deposit Money Banks in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State need to build strong capabilities. Have the strategic foresight, proactivity and adaptability and flexibility to analyze the dynamic business environment and constantly in addition to mitigation strategies, carefully analyze opportunities and threats. Lower production costs than other competitors.

Welfare-maximizing tariff versus trade-surplus-maximizing tariff: Impacts on multinational firm competition

Designing appropriate import tariff rates is crucial for global trade. In this paper, we propose game-theoretic models to investigate how tariff policies affect the competition of multinational firms (MNFs) in a global trading environment. The MNFs sell substitutable products and compete in two countries where the governments may adopt a welfare-maximizing tariff or a trade-surplus-maximizing tariff. We derive the equilibrium outcomes under different tariff policies and analyze the effects on the MNFs' profits and social welfare. We find that the MNF will solely serve the domestic market if the foreign country's tariff rate exceeds a threshold. We show that the tariff rate is higher under the trade-surplus-maximizing tariff than under the welfare-maximizing tariff. Under the welfare-maximizing tariff, the government may set a modest tariff rate to incentivize the product sales by the foreign MNF if its product's value-added level (i.e., the product value deducting the production cost) is high relative to the domestic MNF's. However, under a trade-surplus-maximizing tariff policy, the government always sets a high tariff rate to block imports. Moreover, we find that if one government deviates from the welfare-maximizing tariff to the trade-surplus-maximizing tariff, this always hurts social welfare and also harms the domestic MNF's profit if its product value-added level is low relative to the foreign MNF's. If the other government responds by switching to the trade-surplus-maximizing tariff as well, this will benefit the domestic MNF but harm social welfare.

Can digital transformation improve market and ESG performance? Evidence from Chinese SMEs

Promoting the digital transformation of businesses and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance can significantly benefit from research on the impact of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) digitalization on firm market performance and ESG. This study presents a theoretical framework for the impact of digitization on small firms' commercial and social performance. It examines the relationships among digital resources, digital organization, digital adoption, digital innovation culture, firm competitiveness, digital management, market performance, and ESG performance. This study examines the influence of digital transformation on market and ESG performance in Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Utilizing 331 valid questionnaires, we conducted a comprehensive modeling and empirical analysis through the application of fsQCA and PLS-SEM methodologies, revealing the following: 1) Digital resources, organizing, adoption, management, and firm competitiveness indirectly and positively affect ESG through the intermediary variable (firm market performance). 2) There is no precondition for establishing ESG; firm competitiveness is sufficient for ESG. 3) Firm market performance positively affects ESG, which is also a sufficient condition for ESG. 4) Innovatively discovering the moderator variable (digital innovation culture) positively modulates two paths (digital adoption and firm competitiveness, digital adoption and digital management). It provides theoretical, practical, and policy references to helping SMEs improve their competitiveness, performance, and practice of ESG.