Business Competitive Advantage Research Articles

Sustainable Development and Business Strategies: An Exploratory Study of Greek Businesses

The purpose of the present study is threefold: (a) it examines how Greek businesses perceive the concept of sustainability, (b) it investigates the implementation of sustainable development practices in Greek businesses, and (c) it examines if there is a correlation between sustainable development practices adopted by businesses and the competitive advantage of businesses. Furthermore, reference is made to concepts like sustainability, the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, the TBL for sustainable business practices and the viability of measurement systems are examined. For this study, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire composed of five sections, which was addressed to Greek companies operating in various sectors. A total of 150 questionnaires were sent out and responses were received from 34 enterprises. An analysis of the data from field research confirms that Greek companies perceive sustainability as a transformation catalyst for businesses and have adopted sustainability practices. Furthermore, there is a moderate correlation between the economic and social pillar of sustainability and the competitive advantage of organisations. The study aims to provide a deeper understanding of factors that influence the adoption of sustainable practices in Greek enterprises.

Achieving SMEs’ excellence: scale development of Islamic entrepreneurship from business and spiritual perspectives

PurposeThis paper investigates the effect of Islamic entrepreneurship on small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) business performance and the development of a framework to comprehensively investigate Islamic entrepreneurship to achieve competitive business advantages. Islamic entrepreneurship was measured through the Islamic entrepreneurial model, which is based on two unobserved constructs: business and spiritual perspectives. These two constructs were used as predictors of business performance. This paper aims to develop a new scale of Islamic entrepreneurship from business and spiritual perspectives to achieve SMEs’ successful business performance.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 189 Muslim respondents were involved and analyzed their responses using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory composite analysis.FindingsThe empirical findings proved that the Islamic entrepreneurial scale with two perspectives is an absolute measure. Besides, the predictive validity findings revealed that business (i.e. trustworthiness, honesty and truthfulness) and spiritual perspectives of Islamic entrepreneurship (i.e. Taqwa, good intention and respecting religious obligations) positively affected SMEs’ business performance.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study lies in expanding the existing research, developing a measurement scale and empirically testing the Islamic entrepreneurship model. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that contributes to the Islamic entrepreneurship literature in the SME context and offers new avenues for potential researchers. The new scale will allow SMEs to understand the halal and haram concepts in more depth and apply the Islamic rules and principles with full spirit.

Competitive Advantage Strategy Batik Creative Industry

The Covid 19 pandemic that hit the world for about two years has weakened economic performance in all fields. The Indonesian economy has experienced a decline due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the minimum level of consumption, and the imposition of restrictions on people's movements which have triggered a decrease in people's purchasing power. This certainly has an impact on business actors with production process delays due to the supply of raw materials that are not smooth and the market reach of these business actors is increasingly limited due to the minimal use of technology. To overcome this, business actors must quickly adapt by making operational transitions or additional operations through e-commerce. The operational transition process through e-commerce allows businesses to continue to market their products with a wider range than before. This limited access is caused by batik craftsmen not adopting technology and product diversification innovation. The batik creative industry is experiencing rapid growth, this development shows the existence of community creativity in seeing business opportunities. The internal and external aspects of this business must be integrated into a development strategy model to increase competitive advantage in the creative batik business

Pengaruh Orientasi Kewirausahaan, Inovasi Produk dan Keunggulan Bersaing Terhadap Kinerja Pemasaran UMKM Kuliner di Kota Bandar Lampung

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, product innovation, competitive advantage, and marketing performance of culinary micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Bandar Lampung. The study sample consisted of 53 of his MSME culinary entrepreneurs from Bandar Lampung city. The approach used in this study is quantitative research techniques and data analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics26. The results of the subtest show that while competitive advantage has a positive impact on marketing performance, it has no significant impact on business alignment or product innovation. Moreover, concurrent testing shows that marketing performance is jointly influenced by business alignment, product innovation, and competitive advantage. These results provide culinary SME entrepreneurs in Bandar Lampung with key insights to improve their marketing performance. Enhancing competitive advantage can be a powerful strategy for increasing business competitiveness, but the importance of business alignment and product innovation is also considered in achieving more optimal marketing outcomes. As business competition becomes more and more intense, this research could be the basis for strategic decisions in the development and growth of Bandar Lampung's culinary SME business.

Workplace Inclusivity: A Literature Review From a Strategy-As-Practice Perspective

Inclusive work environments are more likely to attract and retain a diverse talent pool, improving business outcomes and competitive advantage. However, inclusivity has been treated as a sum of organizational behaviour norms elaborated by savvy organizations. In line with real-world practices, we advance that inclusivity is a strategic practice that emerges as an inter-related and co-evolving pool of influences from the individual, firm, and environment, elevating it as a strategic management topic. We implemented a systematic literature review (SLR) of selected contributions dealing with the role of workplace inclusivity. Collected papers have been analysed by considering the so-called strategy-as-practice (s-as-p) perspective (i.e., the doing of strategy, who does it, what they do, how they do it, what they use, and what implications this has for shaping strategy), hence, enriching strategy theory, empirical research, and real-world practice. We offer a typology of strategic inclusivity practices that scholars and practitioners can use to study workplace inclusivity strategically. The proposed typology identifies the different domains of inclusivity by considering the level of praxis and practitioners. This article is the first to provide an in-depth and broad review of inclusivity in the workplace via a strategic management lens.

Внедрение элементов ТРИЗ в решение инновационных задач как инструмента эффективной коммерциализации инноваций

The commercialization of the results of intellectual work in innovatively active economic systems is the main way to capitalize a business and gain competitive advantages in a specific market segment. In this regard, it becomes especially relevant to consider ways to intensify the efficiency of the above process. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to consider one of these methods, namely, the TRIZ methodology applicable to solving an innovative problem. The problematic aspect is the life cycle of innovation from the search for an idea to commercialization from the standpoint of the system. Using a theoretical research method, the author analyzes indicators reflecting the innovative activity of Russian applicants. Based on the analysis of the presented data, the author formulated a number of activities, the elaboration of which is designed to structure awareness of the problem with the search, creation, implementation and subsequent implementation of innovative products using the TRIZ methodology.

TALENT MANAGEMENT AS A FACTOR IN INCREASING COMPANY EFFICIENCY

The purpose of the study is to improve understanding in the field of talent management, to study the meanings, main practices and to reveal the relationship of Talent Management with other functions of Human Resource Management for the possibility of using it in the practice of improving the quality of personnel management.Methodology. The article uses desk research to conduct a general review of the literature, which is fundamental to tracking evolution, professional development, and key talent management practices.The originality / value of the study lies in the fact that Talent Management has become one of the important strategic directions in organizations and in business in general today. Despite the importance of talent development, research in this area is still scarce. The authors of this article carried out a comparative analysis of research in the field of Talent Management. This analysis shows the importance of implementing the concept of Talent Management for competitive advantage in today's business realities.Findings. To achieve these goals, existing studies were analyzed, as well as recently published articles in this field. The talent management practice presented in the study is important for Kazakhstani companies in the modern conditions of labor organization.

Organizational Agility, Open Innovation, and Business Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Culinary SMEs in Indonesia

Some problems that are often faced by small and medium industry players are the low ability of SMEs to explore opportunities, and the low ability of SMEs to innovate in business. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the influence of organizational agility and open innovation on competitive advantage in culinary SMEs in Medan. This study used quantitative methods. The subjects in this study were employees and owners of the culinary industry in Medan City as many as 218 respondents. The sampling technique is carried out by accidental sampling method. The data was processed by structural methods of modeling equations, and using the IBM Amos Program. The results showed that there was a positive and significant influence between organizational agility and corporate open innovation. The findings also prove that organizational agility and open innovation can predict the competitive advantage of the culinary industry in Medan City positively and significantly. The results also found that open innovation mediates the influence of organizational agility on the competitive advantage of the culinary industry in Medan. In other words, open innovation is proven to significantly mediate those that form or create strong links between organizational agility and competitive advantage. We provide suggestions to improve organizational agility, and unlock innovations in the culinary industry in Medan City to improve business competitiveness.

Product and business process innovation, competitive advantage and export performance

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between innovation and export performance by examining the effect of different types of innovation on export performance and testing the assumption underlying most studies in the field that competitive advantage mediates this relationship.Design/methodology/approachFrom the literature review, this paper proposes a research model that is estimated using a sample of 200 Spanish exporting manufacturing companies. Data for this study were collected with an ad hoc questionnaire, and the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique was chosen to analyze the data.FindingsThe results show that there is a positive relationship between product and business process innovation and export performance and that competitive advantage mediates this relationship, but only when it is based on costs, not on differentiation.Originality/valueThis paper provides evidence that product and business process innovation are positively related to export performance and that competitive advantage mediates these relationships, but only when the advantage is low cost. Unexpectedly, this paper finds that differentiation is neither related to export performance nor explains the relationship between innovation and export performance.

Exploring the Relationship between Robotic Process Automation, Digital Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage in Banking Industry

Exploring the Relationship between Robotic Process Automation, Digital Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage in Banking Industry

Total Quality Management for Competitive Advantage in the UAE

Purpose: The study purposed to examine the influence of total quality management on the competitive advantage of businesses in the United Arab Emirates. TQM has been studied in the past but not in the context of competitive advantage, especially in business in the United Arab Emirates. The paper aimed to examine TQM practices and their influence on businesses' competitive advantage in the United Arab Emirates.
 Methodology: The study utilized a quantitative method aligned with a positivist philosophy and a deductive approach. A structured questionnaire was used to glean data from 54 participants. The sample was chosen through random sampling. The questionnaire was launched online and withdrawn after the allocated timeline was depleted. The response rate was 90% at the time of the withdrawal. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
 Findings: The results showed that different TQM practices such as customer focus, effective communication, continual improvement, fact-based decision making, strategic and systematic approach, integrated system, employee involvement, and process approach increased the business's competitive advantage in the United Arab Emirates. Also, the results showed that businesses that adopt TQM practices get time-based, cost, first mover, product differentiation, and price advantages through increasing customer satisfaction, reducing costs and defects, customer attraction, product quality loyalty, and product differentiation. Lastly, the result showed that TQM positively affects UAE business by increasing overall competitiveness.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study was anchored on customer focus theory which focuses on the customer, the modern market has arguably embraced this in the business environment where information systems development is considered. The findings of this study are insightful to business managers as they underpin the importance of implementing different TQM practices and leveraging them for competitive advantage

Optimal site selection of electric vehicle charging stations exploiting multi-criteria decision analysis: The case of Greek municipalities

The opportunities created in the Greek electric vehicle (EV) market have allowed potential investors to participate in the development of the EV charging infrastructure of the country. Yet, the decision process of relevant stakeholders for strategic investments is challenging, involving the identification of the most promising charging sites from a set of multiple alternative locations of various features that may significantly affect their business competitive advantage. This paper attempts to facilitate decision making in such settings using a comprehensive, yet thorough multi-criteria decision analysis framework. The proposed approach is validated considering ten Greek municipalities of different characteristics. The results show- case the overall strengths of the proposed approach and its utility in the strategic planning process of potential investors.

Strategic Management Accounting on Competitive Advantage

This study investigates the effect of business strategy on strategic management accounting (SMA) and its indirect effect on the competitive advantage of the rice export business in Thailand. A total of 215 major rice export businesses in Thailand in 2022 are chosen as the sample population, and data are collected. The results of the structural equation model (SEM) of the analysis model are found using an index that examines the absolute quality-of-fit measure. Additionally, the results of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, path coefficients, and hypothesis testing show that business strategy positively affects SMA. In addition, SMA plays a positive and significant role in competitive advantage. As for the theoretical contribution, conceptual SMA is explained by a resource-based view that focuses on resources influence on sustainable performance through competitive advantage. It is hoped that the present study will contribute significantly to the managerial contribution of rice export businesses, as SMA could support organizations in creating a competitive advantage.

Increasing Business Eco-Efficiency and Competitive Advantage through the Application of Green Accounting

The global ecological crisis caused by environmental damage due to the continuous exploitation of natural resources and the environment and not thinking about long-term sustainability is worsening and worrying. This is one of the driving aspects of the emergence of green accounting. The agro-industry sector is a sector that is vulnerable to environmental issues because it is closely related to the use of pesticides, concentrates, air quality pollution, use of fuel for its distribution, etc. This is what makes researchers interested in researching the Lumintu Farm Kediri Regency. This study examines how using green accounting increases eco-efficiency and competitive advantage. A comparison ratio of value added to environmental performance is used to analyze eco-efficiency. Data collection methods include literature study, observation, interviews, and documentation. The validity of the data is checked through the extension of participation, the persistence of words, and the triangulation of data. The findings demonstrated that Lumintu Farm had adopted green accounting through the stages of identifying costs for mitigating the impact of harmful externalities on production, recognition, measurement, presentation through the income statement, and disclosure of the costs or costs incurred by the company for environmental management. Eco-efficiency analysis with environmental performance and financial performance ratios shows positive results, 52%, an increase of 54%, and a rise of 2%. Implementing green accounting through a consistent allocation of environmental costs improves environmental performance and the entity’s profit. With this profit, business continuity will be better in increasing livestock growth.

Application of Business Strategy to Create Competitive Advantage in Indonesian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

This research is the result of a review of the importance of formulating, designing, and implementing long-term strategies. The purpose of this research is to discuss how business strategies enable competitive advantage in organizations through their design, formulation, implementation, and control. This review was conducted as part of this research. Companies can no longer achieve a competitive advantage solely through the prices of their goods and/or services, nor can they achieve profitability in the short term; instead, their focus has shifted to the development of long-term strategies. Methodologies such as descriptive qualitative research from a theoretical point of view, analysis, synthesis, and documentary review of bibliographic references related to business strategy, as a generator of business competitive advantage, and how to achieve returns through long-term strategic planning are utilized in this study. As one of the conclusions, it is clear that the importance of developing, designing, and putting into action strategies that make it possible to achieve long-term results cannot be overstated, given that the role of managers is currently restricted to the production of financial performance.

Impact Digital Business Strategy on Competitive Advantage in the Banking Sector

This study investigates the connection between digital business strategy and achieving competitive advantage by using four capabilities, namely managerial, operational, IT, and e-collaboration capabilities, that depict a digital business strategy seen as a need to achieve a digital business strategy to improve and boost competitiveness. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used as one of the data analysis techniques, and as many as 832 banking personnel participated in the survey as respondents. The results show that a company's competitive advantage is strongly influenced by its digital business strategy, represented by organizational and managerial skills, operational capabilities, IT skills, and electronic collaboration capabilities. In addition, this study sheds fresh light on the importance of sustainability strategy in the relationship between digital business strategy and competitive advantage Furthermore, the study's conclusions can be applied to other growing markets.

THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL EMPOWERMENT ON CONTEXTUAL AND ADAPTIVE PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOR

Organizations must continually explore new processes, products, and technology to survive and thrive through innovation. Organizational empowerment (OE) is a proactive and participative approach through which people within organizations acquire greater control and decision-making opportunities (Peterson & Zimmerman, 2004), which lead to creativity. Empowered employees would exhibit higher performance due to their more proactive approach to their work (Spreitzer, 1995). Contextual performance (CP), which improves the work environment and organizational culture through strengthened social networks. Differentiated from CP, adaptive performance (AP) is closely linked to innovation and creativity, which are essential to the success and competitive advantage of businesses. Despite the fact that organizations now confront more complex threats, little is known about the effectiveness of empowering approaches in improving contextual and adaptive performance. Based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), which explains human behavior from the interaction between environment and cognitive state, this study aims to explore the effect of OE on CP and AP through IWB. The study sample consists of 273 white-collar employees. Research hypotheses were tested with structural equation modeling (SEM) via AMOS 21.0. The findings indicate that OE enhances CP and AP via IWB. Theoretical and practical implications are presented.

ROLE OF HR PRACTICES ON SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE

Human resources (HR) are the backbone of every supply chain system and the key enabler for all other function to efficiently perform. HRM is centred around expanding strategic approaches to find, hire, select and retain the right employees, for the suitable job, and at the right time, such that they become future leaders to further the organizational objectives, maintaining in mind the organisation’s most valuable asset – It’s Employees. HR is the driving forces and sources of the core competitive advantage of ecommerce business. The basic aim of this study is to examine and analyze how HRM practices and HR strategies are formulated and utilized in the context of supply chain management of ecommerce companies. The study critically analyse the different areas of HRM in the company such as hiring, training and development, performance appraisal, compensation policy and remuneration, employee motivation and retention. The study examines the application of HR practices within the supply chain management of companies. The outcomes might be utilized to improve both HR practices and SCM process and to encourage further scope of research. KEY WORDS: Human Resource Practices, Supply Chain Management

Regulation of data-driven market power in the digital economy: Business value creation and competitive advantages from big data

Recent high-profile antitrust cases and policy proposals have put a spotlight on the relationship between firms’ access to big data and sustained competitive advantages in digital markets. In Europe, concerns about data-driven market power have led policymakers to propose far-reaching regulations of information technology (IT) in these markets. Despite the global policy relevance, the regulation of big data and its competitive effects has so far received little attention in information systems (IS) research. This article addresses this research gap by developing an overarching framework for future IS research on the role of IT for the regulation of data-driven market power. The proposed research framework builds upon a three-part analysis: First, we review the academic literature and show that there is extensive, although nuanced, empirical evidence for business value creation from big (user) data. Second, we draw on the resource-based view of the firm and recent policy reports to derive six facilitating factors that enable firms to establish market power based on sustained data-driven competitive advantages. Third, we characterize three regulatory approaches to govern market power and competition in data-driven digital markets: (i) empowering consumers, (ii) data openness, and (iii) limiting data scale. For each of these approaches, we highlight the key role of IT artifacts in mediating the effect of regulatory rules on actual practice.

Nexus Among ICT Support for Core Competencies, Competitive Advantage and Firm Performance: A Managerial Phenomenology Approach

This study analysed the nexus among ICT support for core competencies, competitive advantage and firm performance using data obtained from managers of firms in Harare, Zimbabwe. The qualitative phenomenological approach focused on the manufacturing and service sub-sectors that informed the analysis. The study used purposive sampling to select a sample of 10 participants, five business managers and five ICT experts. In-depth interviews with chosen ICT experts from business organisations in Harare, Zimbabwe, were conducted to gather qualitative data. The study's findings were from using within-case and cross-case qualitative data analysis. Key results from the study indicate that ICT support for management talent is perceived to impact business performance and competitive advantage positively. ICT support for core competencies gives businesses a competitive advantage that positively impacts operational performance. When ICT investments combine with ICT management skills, a company's value maximises. For ICT-enabled core competencies to influence firm performance, firms need complementary managerial and strategic capabilities. This study is distinctive because it addresses the dynamic organisational capabilities and resource-based perspective as the base theories. The methodology goes against the innovation adoption theories of comparable earlier studies on ICT acceptability. Thus, this study contributes to the growing body of ICT literature by demonstrating that ICT-enabled core competencies are insufficient to establish and maintain a competitive advantage and singularly influence firm performance. It made it even more essential for a firm to consider how to meet better customer needs and capture value by having a well-thought-out ICT-embedded business model, business strategy, and innovation alignment