Temporary Competitive Advantages Research Articles

Analysis on Resources and Organizational Culture as Sustainable Competitive Advantages in a Printed Newspaper Company in Semarang

Competition in printed media business is getting severe in the digital era due to the growing number of online media. Online media presents more varied news in faster ways for the public. The covid-19 pandemic exacerbates the condition as a lot of hotels, government institutions, banks, and private companies stop subscribing printed newspaper. The research aims to analyze whether resources and organizational culture of a printed newspaper company in Semarang imply sustainable competitive advantages. This research implemented qualitative method which was by interviewing three managers and employees of four departments to obtain data. The VRIO analysis was used to analyze the data. The results show that not all company’s resources imply sustainable competitive advantages; only human resources, organizational structure, and market do so. The financial and physical resources possess temporary competitive advantages. In terms of organizational culture, only kinship implies sustainable competitive advantage. Disciplinary and honesty have competitive parities and identity and policy have temporary competitive advantages

Creating A Competitive Advantage For Universities Through Knowledge-Based Strategic Assets Management

This study aims to identify and analyze strategic assets for universities and explain the role of leadership in maximizing the use of these assets as a competitive advantage through knowledge management practices. As a non-profit organization, universities live in a competitive world of higher education services. Theoretical and practical studies prove that intense competition will be won by organizations that have a sustainable level of competitive advantage, not temporary competitive advantages. In order to identify strategic assets for higher education institutions, this study assumes that all knowledge-based assets are strategic assets that add value to the organization and improve organizational performance. The role of higher education as a knowledge-based organization that nurtures diverse knowledge and as a producer of reliable human resources in the scientific field establishes knowledge-based assets or intellectual capital as the strategic capital of universities. The research population are the leaders of universities in East Java, both state universities and private universities. The sample was determined based on the purposive random sampling technique, namely by selecting the leaders of universities with a rating (AIPT) of at least B or Good, totalling 113 people. The criteria are set with the assumption that the university leadership has implemented knowledge management. Data were collected by distributing questionnaires and analyzed using SEM-PLS. Research is useful both theoretically and practically. At the theoretical level, a strategy for managing intellectual capital is formulated as a strategic asset, while at the practical level it can be carried out by university leaders.
 Keywords: Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management, AIPT, Competitive Advantage

Digital governance mechanisms and principles that enable agile responses in dynamic competitive environments

ABSTRACT Being an agile company today is no longer just about timely recognition of early signs of change in order to defend an existing competitive position but rather being able to perpetually transition between a series of short-lived, temporary competitive advantages. While traditional IT governance approaches have lent themselves well to extracting value from a long-lasting competitive advantage, they can become a liability if agile companies need to continuously reinvent themselves in pursuit of a new, “transient” competitive advantage. To that end, a temporal dimension of IT governance (when and how fast to decide) becomes as important as its structural (who decides what) and procedural (how to decide) aspects. In this paper, we adopt a “ternary” view on governance and build on the extant literature in IS, strategy, and organisation design as well as exemplar case studies to explore how traditional approaches to IT governance structures, processes, and relational mechanisms are altered to improve sensing, deciding, and responding capabilities in turbulent business environments. These mechanisms are then summarised into four digital governance principles to guide future research and practice. Those principles are: 1) disciplined autonomy, 2) IS-Business convergence, 3) permeable boundaries, and 4) incremental financial commitment including fast experimentation.

Hypercompetition: a review and agenda for future research

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to review and understand the dimensionality of hypercompetition, factors causing a hypercompetitive environment and the consequences of hypercompetition on markets. Thereby, the purpose of the study is to cover the main contributors in the research field of hypercompetition and explore their findings and different views on hypercompetition.Design/methodology/approachSystematically review 131 conceptual and empirical studies published or presented at a conference in the past 25 years, with the focus on the definitions, causes and consequences (or presumed effects) of hypercompetition. In the paper, I follow the well-known systematic literature review method by Tranfield et al. (2003).FindingsThe contribution of the study is to advance the knowledge of researchers and managers, in such a way that it becomes easier for them to select relevant variables to measure hypercompetition and identify strategies for gaining temporary competitive advantages in hypercompetitive environments. The construct of hypercompetition required a consolidation of commonalities in the definitions and characteristics used by scholars, to ensure that proper assumptions and variables are being used to measure hypercompetition in future research. Several ways to measure the effects of hypercompetition on firms, industries and individuals have been proposed, but the field still lacks of a clear definition on how to directly measure the construct.Practical implicationsIn this paper, I highlight three managerial implications of hypercompetition as follows: action-based strategy, the determinants of hypercompetition and the importance for managers of accurately establishing their firm’s competitive situation.Originality/valuePrevious reviews in the area have either focussed on specific components or effects of hypercompetition. The present study collectively takes into consideration the definitions, causes and consequences of hypercompetition on firms, industries and individuals. The contribution of the paper is to indicate future opportunities and challenges within research on hypercompetition.

Methodical Approach of Detecting and Calculating Key Indicators of the Competitive Potential of a Trade-Logistics Company in the Conditions of Uncertainty

The significantly changed conditions of the activity of trade-logistics enterprises place heavy demands on the accuracy of calculation and planning key indicators of competitive potential. The article formulates and solves a scientific problem, which consists in the absence of a unified approach, within which not only the strategic potential of an enterprise is assessed and key indicators of competitive potential are determined, but also a toolkit for calculating values of these indicators in the conditions of fuzzy input data is proposed. It is suggested to determine the key indicators of competitive potential based on the characteristics of the corporate profile that have the potential for temporary competitive advantages with the possibility of increasing their organization, as well as the key weaknesses of the organization. To calculate the values of the key indicators of competitive potential and their planning in the conditions of uncertainty, it is proposed to use fuzzy inference systems. The article presents the results of approbation of the developed methodological approach in a particular trade and logistics company.

Turning eco-investments into sustainable competitive advantages: an exploratory case study of eco-oriented startup

<p><em>Many studies have been conducted to understand eco-investment contribution on firms’ competitive advantages but there are still limited studies about its effects on eco-oriented startups’ competitive advantages. This qualitative study is written to explore more in detail on eco-oriented startups process in gaining sustained competitive advantages from their eco-investments. Using an existing conceptual framework for sustainability strategies, this single case study probes into a B corporation certified startup and found that eco-investments contribute to support the eco-oriented startup in gaining sustainable competitive advantages in multiple ways. The process can be categorized into three stages. First, eco-investments improve attractiveness of the company in eyes of investors and improve the likelihood to get funding from multiple funding sources. Second, eco-investments improve job satisfaction, motivation and employees’ sense of belonging. Lastly, eco-investments and eco-innovation support the company in executing eco-branding and beyond compliance leadership strategies but without sustainable value innovation, the startup can only achieve temporary competitive advantages not sustainable competitive advantages. The findings presented here may help startup founders and other business practitioners, especially those who are responsible in creating business strategy, to evaluate their eco-investment decisions based on the company's resources and capability in order to obtain sustainable competitive advantages.</em></p>

Hypercompetition: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

Over the past three decades, hypercompetition – the rapidly escalating competition with a constant changing industry structure and temporary competitive advantages – has attracted significant interest from both economists and management scholars. Despite the common use of the phenomenon in explaining competitive environment by scholars from various research streams, the literature on hypercompetition has developed in a more isolated manner. This article offers a systematic review of the literature on hypercompetition by analysing a sample of 125 articles published or presented at a conference between year 1996 and 2019. The objective for this review is threefold: (1) to give an overview of the empirical and conceptual work in the literature of hypercompetition; (2) to identify the components of hypercompetition drawing from a prolific but fragmented body of empirical findings; and (3) to propose a framework model incorporating the causes and presumed consequences of hypercompetition. The review aims to facilitate a broader understanding of hypercompetition that can help advance the knowledge on hypercompetition and give suggestions for future research.

Between Sustainable and Temporary Competitive Advantages in the Unstable Business Environment

Gaining a competitive advantage assumes that a company should build a unique position, but this concept is related to a relatively stable environment. However, it is difficult to predict the consequences of the enterprises’ changes, leading to changes both in the business and natural environment. Therefore, this study’s authors asked a research question: Is it possible to restore a balance between durability and variability of the organization in terms of strategy? The answer to such a question was drawn upon the literature review and survey research. This paper presents a qualitative and quantitative model of competitive advantage in a changing business environment. This article uses an inductive inference method supported by a literature study and a deduction method supported by statistical calculations, based on a survey conducted among 150 Polish companies in different economic sectors. As a result of the research methods, a dualistic competitive advantage model in a changing environment was proposed and discussed. The article’s aim was achieved in the model combining a sustainable (SCA) and temporary competitive advantage (TCA). Understanding the conditions for gaining competitive advantage allowed to formulate general conditions under which sustainable strategic management can be built to consider sustainability objectives and contribute to the green economy. This research has confirmed that building a competitive advantage in unstable conditions requires finding a balance between implementing the planned development strategy and using new opportunities.

Capacidades dinámicas, una fuente de ventaja competitiva

El estudio de las capacidades dinámicas se ha ido posicionando en el campo de la dirección estratégica dada su importancia en la generación de ventajas competitivas temporales y en la generación de desempeños superiores. En este artículo revisamos el origen del concepto en el management, resaltamos su importancia en el enfrentamiento de la turbulencia del entorno, y presentamos una aplicación práctica. Se recurre a la metodología cualitativa del estudio de caso, identificando los cambios realizados por la comercializadora Británica ASOS desde sus orígenes. Se describe el proceso llevado a cabo en su interior para crear y gestionar capacidades dinámicas generadoras de ventaja competitiva.

Peran Strategic Entrepreneurship dalam Membangun Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Strategic entrepreneurship has emerged as a new concept in examining convergence in entrepreneurship studies (opportunity-seeking behavior) and strategic management (advantage-seeking behavior). Studies in the area of strategic management have gradually exposed the relationship betweenstrategic management and entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial strategy making; intrapreneurship; entrepreneurial strategic posture within organizations; entrepreneurial orientation; strategic managementintegration as a context for entrepreneurial actions; and entrepreneurship theory with strategic management and the resource-based view (RBV). A conceptual model of SE that has been developed by Ireland et al.suggested that a firm which linearly and sequentially: employs an entrepreneurial mindset to identify opportunities; manages resources strategically to tackle the opportunity; applies creativity and innovation; andgenerates a competitive advantage is strategic and entrepreneurship operation. Managers must maximize the pursuit of new business opportunities while simultaneously maximize the generation and application of temporary competitive advantages to sustainably create organizational value. This paper develops a conceptual framework that demonstrate the role of strategic entrepreneurship in building sustainable competitiveadvantage.

Temporary Competitive Advantages and Firm Profitability: The Role of Alliance Network Structures

Temporary advantages theory suggests that firms can outperform rivals in hypercompetitive environments by frequently launching competitive, innovative and pioneering actions. However, when firms introduce new actions with increasing frequency, they face acceleration-cost tradeoffs; as action becomes more frequent, the costs for developing actions rise exponentially, negatively affecting profitability. This study shows that action frequency affects firm profitability in a curvilinear, inverted U-shaped pattern; as action frequency increases, profitability diminishes. This pattern can be altered – firms can weaken acceleration-cost tradeoffs and enhance profitability by developing appropriate alliance network structures. For firms pursuing moderate levels of action frequency, both dense and sparse network structures can enhance profitability. For firms pursuing low or very high action frequency, sparse networks are advantageous.

The age of temporary advantage

AbstractThe creation and management of temporary competitive advantages has emerged as an alternative to sustainable models of competitive advantage in the strategy literature. We review the literature and discuss questions related to the antecedents, consequences and the management temporary advantage in the introduction of this special issue. The overall goal is to ask: What would the field of strategic management look like if sustainable advantages did not exist? We summarize the papers published in this special issue and highlight directions for future research. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Revisiting an identity-based view of sustainable competitive advantage

Those of us who contributed to the Journal of Management’s 1991 special issue on a resourcebased view of the firm began with the assumption that it is possible for a firm to gain and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Based on that general premise, we presented various arguments suggesting that a firm’s resources represent a major source of that potential advantage. Ten years later, I begin this revisit of my identity-based view of sustainable advantage by questioning our premise that it is possible to gain a sustainable advantage based on any particular core competency, no matter how inimitable. I then review what we have learned during the past decade about organizational identities and identification and their role in creating and destroying a firm’s temporary competitive advantages.

Revisiting an identity-based view of sustainable competitive advantage

Those of us who contributed to the Journal of Management’s 1991 special issue on a resource-based view of the firm began with the assumption that it is possible for a firm to gain and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Based on that general premise, we presented various arguments suggesting that a firm’s resources represent a major source of that potential advantage. Ten years later, I begin this revisit of my identity-based view of sustainable advantage by questioning our premise that it is possible to gain a sustainable advantage based on any particular core competency, no matter how inimitable. I then review what we have learned during the past decade about organizational identities and identification and their role in creating and destroying a firm’s temporary competitive advantages.

FIRM CAPABILITIES, BUSINESS STRATEGIES, CUSTOMER PREFERENCES, AND HYPERCOMPETITIVE ARENAS: THE SUSTAINABILITY OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR FIRM COMPETITIVENESS

Matching Porter's (1980) three generic strategies appropriately in each of the four arenas of hypercompetition is proposed to offer temporary competitive advantages. The longer‐term sustainability of these competitive advantages is argued to depend on matching the firm's resources/capabilities with the provision of customer value and needs, as well as the presence of isolating mechanisms in the industry/market environment. Stringing together a series of such ephemeral advantages can enhance the firm's competitiveness in the long‐run.

How can Industry Use Television?

The applications that have been discussed above are representative of the more important industrial uses which have been found for industrial television equipment in the first few years since its inception. Undoubtedly many other applications are presently hidden by security requirements and by temporary competitive advantages which the user will not reveal. The broad industrial base gained by television since its pioneering stage, will undoubtedly lead to an increasing number of applications. Particularly in the fields of medicine and education, many additional applications will become available. Technical improvements are also indicated, as the equipment is adapted to meet a growing market in specific industries. An example of a future development which will further increase the usefulness of industrial television to industry is the direct application of the television signal to a specific control or inspection function, without the use of a picture display. This will provide visual inspection for many products while eliminating the tiring task and resulting errors of the inspector. Laboratory tests on bulk products such as chemicals and flour indicate that specks of foreign matter in these materials can be readily detected. Further developments are necessary to perfect a commercially acceptable system. At the present time television signals can only be transmitted over microwave equipment or coaxial cable. Both methods are relatively expensive. The reduction in these costs that would result from adapting television equipment for transmission over ordinary telephone lines, would open many additional applications.