Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Ralph Lauren Strategic Analysis, Baylee Christoffersen

Honors Theses

Ralph Lauren is an apparel company with ownership of many other well-known companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren and Polo Jeans Company. The company specializes in luxury items. Their business model focuses on providing top quality products that are timeless, authentic and inspirational. An analysis of their business strategy will discuss the influential factors on the industry and the company itself using a SWOT analysis. This will identify how Ralph Lauren approaches their opportunities and threats to the company as well as how they address their strengths and weaknesses. Porter’s Five Forces will also be used to determine how Ralph …

Lululemon Athletica Inc. Backhaul Strategic Audit, Hadley Hiatt

Honors Theses

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (Lululemon) is an athletic apparel company headquartered in Canada. Lululemon targets consumers who strive to live a healthy, active lifestyle. Its business model is based on the “Power of Three x 2” focusing on three strategic pillars, product innovation, guest experience, and international expansion. This analysis seeks to understand Lululemon’s face paced growth and unique business strategy through the use of a PESTEL analysis of macro environment, Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the competitive environment of the industry, analyzing the company’s strategy, major strategic objectives, competitive advantages, resources that may lead to a sustainable competitive advantage, and …

Gea Farm Technologies: Building Core Competencies Through Internal And External Growth, Jan-Philipp Büchler Prof Dr, Axel Faix Prof Dr, Gregor Brüggelambert Dr, Anna Weiland

Case Studies

GEA Farm Technologies is a mid-sized world market leader of mechanical equipment and service solutions for milk production and livestock farming. The so-called hidden champion developed a set of capabilities and core competencies to innovate the industry’s established business model through a two-fold strategy balancing internal and external growth. The case study invites students to explore the benefits and limits of this business model innovation and requires them to investigate further strategic options for growth.

Making Sustainability A Core Competency: Consumer Response To Sustainable Innovative Products, Clyde Eiríkur Hull, Jennifer D. Russell, Monika Kukar-Kinney

Articles

Research suggests that sustainability may not be sufficient to yield a competitive advantage. Building on the resource-based view, this research evaluates three questions: (1) Can using sustainability as a differentiator lead to consumers choosing sustainable products? (2) Does product sustainability appeal more to environmentally concerned consumers? (3) Does product sustainability appeal more when paired with innovation? To test the hypotheses, an online survey of 344 US respondents was conducted. Consumers were given a hypothetical budget for an office chair and asked to choose between two products at a time. Hypotheses were tested with frequency and Chisquare tests and logistic regression. …

Studying The Executive Perception Of Investment In Intelligent Systems And The Effect On Firm Performance, Noel Romesh Wijesinha

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was conducted to examine the relationship between investment in intelligent systems resources and capabilities (based on artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms) and the effect on company performance. Despite existing research on the benefits of adopting intelligent systems, companies have been slow to adopt as there is lack of research on intelligent systems use cases that will increase firm performance. This research study used resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities (DCF) theory to investigate firms’ investment in intelligent systems resources that build intelligent systems capabilities and the association to organization performance dimensions, revenue and profits. To answer this …

Segmentation Of Quantity Surveying Professional Services For Focus Strategy And Diversification, Michael Adesi, De-Graft Owusu-Manu, Frank Boateng

Articles

Purpose – Notwithstanding that numerous studies have focused on strategy in quantity surveying (QS) professional service firms, there is a paucity of investigation on the segmentation of QS professional services. The purpose of this study is to investigate the segmentation of QS services for diversification and a focus strategy formation.

Design/methodology/approach – This study adopts the positivist stance and quantitative approach in which a simple random sampling technique was used to select participants. In total, 110 survey questionnaires were administered to registered professional QS, out of which 79 completed questionnaires were returned for analysis.

Findings – The paper identifies three …

Instrumental Stakeholder Theory Makes Ethically Based Relationship Building Palatable To Managers Focused On The Bottom Line, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Will Felps, Thomas M. Jones

Management Faculty Publications

We appreciate the opportunity to engage in this dialogue with Weitzner and Deutsch (2019) to clarify the meaning and intent of some of the arguments found in our article, “How Applying Instrumental Stakeholder Theory Can Provide Sustainable Competitive Advantage” (Jones, Harrison, & Felps, 2018). We are grateful for the high praise from the authors regarding the rigor and logic of our applications of resource-based criteria to instrumental stakeholder theory (IST). We begin this response by highlighting a few areas of agreement, followed by some points where we disagree.

Customer Satisfaction As An Antecedent To Engagement In Co-Creation Of Value In The Hotel Industry, Andrew Babyak, Laurence Bell

Business Educator Scholarship

Purpose - An examination of the existing literature found that no research had been performed examining customer satisfaction as an antecedent to co-creation of value. This is important because organizations have difficulty engaging customers in co-creation of value, which can increase loyalty, trust, innovation, and competitive advantage. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and its constructs, and engagement in co-creation of value.

Design - Six hypotheses were developed regarding the relationship between customer satisfaction, each of its components, and customer engagement in co-creation of value. A survey was distributed to 256 adults who …

How Applying Instrumental Stakeholder Theory Can Provide Sustainable Competitive Advantage, Thomas M. Jones, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Will Felps

Management Faculty Publications

Instrumental stakeholder theory considers the performance consequences for firms of highly ethical relationships with stakeholders, characterized by high levels of trust, cooperation, and information sharing. While research suggests performance benefits, an obvious question remains: If instrumental stakeholder theory-based stakeholder treatment is so valuable, why isn't it the dominant mode of relating to stakeholders? We argue that the existing instrumental stakeholder theory literature has three shortcomings that limit its ability to explain variance in performance. (1) Little theory exists around how instrumental stakeholder theory-based stakeholder management could provide sustainable competitive advantage. (2) The literature has largely neglected the potential downsides (i.e., …

The Impact Of Dynamic Capabilities On Sustainable Competitive Advantage In The Pharmaceutical Sector In Egypt, Albert Naiem Naguib, Eahab Elsaid, Abdel Moneim Elsaid

Odette School of Business Publications

This study examines the relationship between dynamic capabilities (experience, routine, skills, firm characteristics, knowledge and technology) and competitive advantage sustainability in the Egyptian pharmaceutical sector. The data was collected using primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was collected from questionnaires distributed to 160 top managers in 20 pharmaceutical firms. The secondary data about pharmaceutical firms like rankings, revenues and market share was collected from external sources such as Intercontinental Marketing Service (IMS). The questionnaires examine six independent variables based on a five-scale Likert scale. The methodology used in the study is non-probability sampling (judgmental sampling), Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient …

The Geography Of Learning: Ferrari Gestione Sportiva 1929-2008, Mark Jenkins, Stephen Tallman

Management Faculty Publications

This article considers the mechanisms that permit and enhance the movement of highly tacit component (technical) knowledge and geographically sticky architectural knowledge across borders and between clusters and firms. We address a number of critical research questions that relate to intra- and inter-locational knowledge transfer. We use a theory-driven, longitudinal, single case study to develop a conceptual framework to examine and describe how shifting the geography of knowledge sourcing can facilitate architectural change by following the transformation of one business unit within a specialist global organization through a series of evolutionary steps that involved internalizing new component knowledge from other …

The Role Of Home Country Political Resources For Brazilian Multinational Companies, Karina Regina Vieira Bazuch, Suelen Alice Da Silva Zacharias, Laurent Wiliam Broering, Maria Fernanda Arreola, Rodrigo Bandeira De Mello

Strategy and Operations Faculty Publications

This paper aims to analyze the interactions between home country governments and Developing Country Multinational Companies (DMNCs). Drawing on evidence from the Brazilian political environment and Brazilian multinationals we investigate the mechanisms governments use to influence the internationalization process of domestic companies and firms’ political strategic responses to shape the political institutional environment in which they operate. We argue that foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows from developing economies need to be explored given specific country level contextual factors, such as high levels of government involvement. Our main findings support this idea and indicate that home country governments use a series …

Success At The Base Of The Pyramid: A Relational View Of Competitive Advantage, Carol M. Sanchez, Alexandra Schmid

Peer Reviewed Articles

In this paper, we propose a new framework to measure the success of projects at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), based on the relational view of strategy (Dyer and Singh, 1998; Lavie, 2006; Mesquita et al., 2008), and we test the framework using new case studies. We argue that the success of BoP projects depends on relation-specific resources and capabilities resulting from partnerships among participating organizations. Typical partners involved in a BoP project are firms that make a product or a service designed for BoP customers, a public or private agency that has local knowledge and presence, and a …

Managing For Stakeholders, Stakeholder Utility Functions, And Competitive Advantage, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Douglas A. Bosse, Robert A. Phillips

Management Faculty Publications

This paper integrates some of the central concepts of stakeholder theory with the literatures on organizational justice and trust to explain firm competitiveness. It provides a detailed explanation of factors that facilitate acquisition of knowledge about stakeholder utility functions. In addition, it offers a knowledge-based analysis of how firms that manage for stakeholders can enjoy sustainable competitive benefits. These explanations provide a strong rationale for including stakeholder theory in the discussion of firm competitiveness and performance.

Red Lion Hotel Corporation, Yin-Chia Shao

MBA Student Scholarship

This paper is a strategy executing research project of Red Lion Hotels Corporation. The research content includes the nature of the business, environmental analysis, strategy position within the industry, competitive advantage, strategic history, evaluate strategy and a conclusion. The company grew from a focused differentiation strategy to a broad differentiation diversification. Examining the business environment analysis, the external environment has a moderately strong impact on the company and the internal environment has a moderately weak position. The inferior position is a disadvantage to the Red Lion Hotel Corporation's growth. In addition, compared the company with Choice International Hotels, Inc and …

Managing For Stakeholders, Stakeholder Utility Functions, And Competitive Advantage, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Douglas A. Bosse, Robert A. Phillips

Management Faculty Publications

A firm that manages for stakeholders allocates more resources to satisfying the needs and demands of its legitimate stakeholders than what is necessary to simply retain their willful participation in the productive activities of the firm. Firms that exhibit this sort of behavior develop trusting relationships with stakeholders based on principles of distributional, procedural and interactional justice. Under these conditions, stakeholders are more likely to share nuanced information regarding their utility functions, which increases the ability of the firm to allocate its resources to areas that will best satisfy them (thus increasing demand for business transactions with the firm). In …

The Shifting Geography Of Competitive Advantage: Clusters, Networks And Firms, Mark Jenkins, Stephen Tallman

Management Faculty Publications

We consider the dynamics of knowledge-based sources of advantage as they move between geographical locations and multinational and other firm level networks using the specialist context of Formula 1 motor over a fifty nine year period. We suggest that shifts in competitive advantage are underpinned by the movement of both architectural and component knowledge at both the firm and cluster level, and in particular we suggest that isolated firms can both benefit from and add to cluster level knowledge. We conclude by suggesting ways in which MNEs can adapt their approach to both location and knowledge development in order to …

How High Will Russian Aviation Fly?, Tamilla Curtis, Irina Swenson

Management, Marketing and Operations - Daytona Beach

The study provides the historical context of the Russian aviation industry reflecting the periods of its growth and decline. It reveals the competitive advantage strategies that have been implemented by the Russian government in an attempt to revivify an enfeebled nation's aeronautic industry. The paper discusses the newly formed Joint Stock Company (JSC) United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and its strategies to break into global markets, including UAC innovative product offerings. Whether or not, the recent efforts of the Russian government serve as a fulcrum for the Russian aviation industry that will leverage Russia into the global market, remains to be …

Customer Relationship Management: A Theoretical Overview And The High Cost Of Failure (A Case Study), Tamilla Curtis, Donald Barrere, Tom Griffin

Publications

Despite the significant benefits offered by the customer relationship management (CRM) strategy together with advanced technology, there is still a high rate of companies who fail to see results promised by CRM in order to achieve a competitive advantage. A review of the empirical literature together with the case study of the CRM implementation within a midsize financial firm will result in deeper understanding of current CRM practices that could contribute to better planning, selection, and implementation of customer relationship management programs.

Information Systems (Is) Connectivity As A Moderator Of The Effects Of Is Support For Information Interpretation On Firm Performance: An Empirical Study, Michael J. Zhang

WCBT Faculty Publications

This study examined and tested the roles of information systems (IS) connectivity in influencing the performance impacts of IS support for information sharing and IS support for information interpretation. Using data collected from a survey of large U.S. firms and the Research Insight (Compustat) database, the results showed that when IS connectivity was high, IS support for information sharing was positively related to profitability whereas IS support for information interpretation was negatively associated with profitability. These findings suggest that a high level of IS connectivity is a two-end sword for firms which rely on both IS support for information sharing …

Is Support For Top Managers' Dynamic Capabilities, Environmental Dynamism, And Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation, Michael J. Zhang

WCBT Faculty Publications

Despite a continual interest in developing information systems (IS) to support the work of top managers, assessing the impact of IS support for top managers and their capabilities on the bottom-line performance of firms has received little attention in existing literature. Drawing upon the resource based view of competitive advantage, this paper argues that firms that provide IS support for their top managers’ dynamic capabilities may enjoy competitive advantage and superior firm performance. The performance impact of IS support for two key dynamic capabilities of top managers (fast response and mental model building) under different (dynamic vs. stable) external environments …

Entrepreneurial Orientation As A Basis For Classification Within A Service Industry: The Case Of Retail Pharmacy Industry, Thanigavelan Jambulingam, Ravi Kathuria, William R. Doucette

Business Faculty Articles and Research

To date, service classification research has primarily taken a macro view, creating service typologies or taxonomies by using dimensions such as customer contact or degree of labor intensity. Such classification schemes, though helpful in deciphering critical management issues and positioning strategies between service industries, tend to treat an entire industry, such as airlines, as a single homogenous entity. However, organizations in the same industry often use intangible resources, such as entrepreneurial orientation processes, to compete with one another. Resource-advantage theory suggests that organizations utilize intangible resources to build long-term strategies and a sustainable competitive advantage leading to superior performance. We …

B2b E-Marketplace In The Procurement Supply Chain Of Airlines: A Strategic Direction For The Future?, Claudia-Maria Wagner, Austin Smyth, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

With the airline industry experiencing a global economic downturn, B2B e-Business is
becoming more and more the focus of airlines’ strategies. More recently, airlines have studied
intensively the potential of joint-procurement possibilities and have taken measures in creating
consortia-led B2B e-Marketplaces as mediators for aggregating demand and to facilitate transactions.
In academic literature, limited academic research has been undertaken in exploring the value creation of B2B e-Marketplace models in the aviation industry. The aim is to conduct a theoretical analysis to explore whether or not e-Marketplaces have the potential to add value to procurement in the aviation industry. The research …

From 3lsp (Third Party Logistics Service Provider) To 4lsp (Fourth Party Logistics Service Provider). A Case Study From Ireland, John Mee, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

Increased competition, geographically expanded marketplaces, technology replication and an
ever discerning consumer base, are reasons why companies need to regularly reappraise
their competencies in terms of activities and functions they perform themselves. Where viable
alternatives exist, companies should consider outsourcing of non-core activities and functions.
Within SCM (Supply Chain Management) it could be preferable if a “one stop shop” existed
for companies seeking to outsource functions identified as non-core. “Traditionally” structured
LSP’s who have concentrated their service offer around providing warehousing and transport
activities are potentially at a crossroads – clients and potential clients requiring “new” services
which could increase …

The Independent Rep As A Source Of Competitive Advantage: An Actionable Scale For Rep Selection, Kathleen H. Gruben, Barbara J. Coe

Department of Marketing Faculty Publications

This study develops a scale that offers an actionable approach for suppliers’ use in selecting their reps. Rep selection is the critical first step suppliers take in developing profitable, long-term relationships with retailers. Retailers’ loyalties are often bestowed on the rep, rather than the supplier. As identified in the study, the rep needs to be professional, accommodating, ethical, sensitive, and compassionate to satisfy the retailer. The scale provides suppliers a technique for measuring these characteristics. Prior to this scale, no instrument was available to measure these characteristics, which increase the retailer’s likelihood of developing loyalty.

Resource Allocation As An Outcropping Of Strategic Consistency: Performance Implications, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Ernest H. Hall Jr., Rajendra Nargundkar

Management Faculty Publications

Similarities in financial resource allocations across the lines of business of diversified firms may indicate corporate strategic consistency, which may lead to superior corporate performance. In support of this argument, the variance in R&D intensity across the lines of business of 96 diversified firms was found to be inversely related to industry-adjusted return on assets. However, no relationship was found for capital intensity. These results provide partial support for the usefulness of a resource-based approach to the study of diversification strategy.