Maintaining Alignment over the Long-Term: Lessons from the Evolution of an Electronic Point of Sale System

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Boddy ◽  
Robert Paton
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Dynamic Environments ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Point Of Sale ◽  
Sustained Competitive Advantage ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
Core Capabilities ◽  
A Company

Research in both the organizational and information systems areas suggests that aligning information systems and dimensions of the organization improves performance. However, the dynamic nature of both information systems and organizations makes a close alignment more an aspiration than a state. This paper examines alignment from the perspective of the management processes through which companies may achieve and sustain alignment in dynamic environments. In so doing they may also develop core capabilities in managing IS innovation, which enable sustained competitive advantage. The paper traces the evolution of alignment in a company that used information systems to develop the business in new strategic directions, and shows how semi-structures contributed to this.

Relating IS Infrastructure to Core Competencies and Competitive Advantage

2002 ◽  
pp. 53-72
Author(s):  
Terry Anthony Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Time To Market ◽  
The Core ◽  
Sustained Competitive Advantage ◽  
It Resources ◽  
The Relationship

The value of information technology (IT) in today’s organizations is constantly debated. Researchers and practitioners have examined organizations to try to discover causal links between competitive advantage and IT. This paper presents and details a model that depicts a possible connection between competitive advantage and IT. Furthermore, this paper attempts to show how one major component of the overall IT resources, the information systems (IS) infrastructure, might yield sustained competitive advantage for an organization. More precisely, IS infrastructure flexibility is examined as an enabler of “core competencies” that have been closely related to sustained competitive advantage in the research literature. The core competencies enabled by IT that are the focus of this study are mass customization and time-to-market. By showing that IS infrastructure flexibility acts as an enabler of these competencies, the relationship to sustained competitive advantage is demonstrated.

Competitive advantage through innovation: the case of Nespresso

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Brem ◽  
Maximilian Maier ◽  
Christine Wimschneider
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Situation ◽  
Long Time ◽  
A Company

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how Nespresso achieved competitive advantage through innovation by changing the rules of the game in its industry. Design/methodology/approach – Nespresso was analyzed based on public available secondary data, in combination with related academic concepts on innovation and competitive advantage. Findings – The company succeeded by the thorough application of a strategy that, through perfect alignment, allowed the company to reach a unique market position. However, as described in the case, it took a relatively long time and the company came close to failure several times. Before the current situation of the company, it remains challenging in the future as well. Hence, the Nespresso story provides interesting space for discussion and learning about what innovation is, how innovation emerges, and under which circumstances innovation can serve as a source for competitive advantage. Research limitations/implications – Especially given the current market situation, the case offers different starting points for discussion about innovation and long-term company success. Practical implications – Especially before the current market situation, the case offers different starting points for discussion about innovation and the success of a company on the long term. The case is designed to give practitioners a better understanding on what an innovation as, and how competitive advantages can be linked to innovation. Originality/value – This case of Nespresso is a unique combination of the concepts of innovation and competitive advantage. It serves as an example of an innovation, which was not successful from the scratch, but evolved over time and is still developing. As many innovations went through such a non-linear process, this case offers interesting lessons learned for academics as well as for practitioners.

scholarly journals What is Relationship Marketing and How to Use it to Connect with Your Customers

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (46) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Veronika Johanesová ◽  
Jaromíra Vaňová
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Relationship Marketing ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Sales Promotion ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Marketing Costs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
A Company ◽  
Expensive Process

AbstractIn fact, all demands and advances in customer satisfaction are the result of the technology and company developments. The companies that accept this and constantly create value for the customer provide a competitive advantage for themselves and for both sides the business potential. Getting new customers can be a very expensive process. This process includes considerable marketing costs such as advertising costs, sales promotion costs, PR, seller time costs etc. Therefore, every customer represents an investment for company. It has been proven that if a company treats its customers properly and they are loyal for a long time, they will bring more and more profits to the company every year. In this article, we focus on the relationship marketing that focuses on customer loyalty. Effective relationship marketing involves a variety of overlapping strategies and technologies that help foster a deeper, long-term relationship with current and prospective customers.

Intelligent Agents for Competitive Advantage

2011 ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Mahesh Raisinghani ◽  
John H. Nugent
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Cycle Time ◽  
Intelligent Agents ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Telecommunications Networks ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
Level Model ◽  
High Level

This chapter presents a high-level model for employing intelligent agents in business management processes, much like has been successfully accomplished in complex telecommunications networks, in order to gain competitive advantage by timely, rapidly, and effectively using key, unfiltered measurements to improve cycle-time decision making. The importance of automated, timely, unfiltered (versus “end of period” filtered) reports is highlighted, as are some management issues relative to the pressures that may result concerning an organization’s employees who must now take action in near real time. Furthermore, the authors hope that understanding the underlying assumptions and theoretical constructs through the use of employing intelligent agents in business management processes as a sub element of, or tool within Business Intelligence (BI), will not only inform researchers of a better design for studying information systems, but also assist in the understanding of intricate relationships between different factors.

scholarly journals Strategy Design Method Based on Corporate Learning System

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  
A. V. Kavaliou ◽  
A. V. Hromava
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Organizational Capabilities ◽  
Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽  
Corporate Learning ◽  
Strategy Design ◽  
A Company

The paper proposes a method for a strategy design that corresponds to concept of dynamic capabilities. The advan-tages and disadvantages of the methods of strategy design used by various schools of strategic management are demonstrated. The authors postulate inconsistency between a new stage of scientific knowledge and the related technique of strategic analysis and strategy design methods. The purpose of the article is to develop a method for creation a strategy based on a learning system as a key element of a competitive advantage in the concept of dynamic abilities. The method compares favorably with approaches based on the analysis of the external environment, which have a methodological contradiction, since such a stra-tegy is available to all market actors, and it is easy to repeat it. Unlike the methods of the “basic” resource concept, the proposed one allows you to expand an approach to design a strategy precisely from the standpoint of strategic actions in relation to the resources, capabilities, and competencies of the company, which can be combined into clusters that provide a syner-gistic effect. The long-term horizon of the strategy invariably requires the inclusion of corporate learning system as a gene-rator  of  organizational  capabilities into the various clusters.  It has been noted  that the speed of  reaction to changes which is required in a contemporary competitive environment puts forward a corporate learning system as a key competency of a company. The method corresponding to the concept of dynamic capabilities creates the possibility of developing a strategy based on a corporate learning system and provides a dynamic sustainable competitive advantage.

Innovation and Corporate Reputation Innovation and Corporate Reputation

2012 ◽  
pp. 264-277
Author(s):  
Michael Brown ◽  
Paul Turner
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Corporate Reputation ◽  
Intangible Assets ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Innovation Capability ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Good Reputation ◽  
A Company

As much as 75% of a company’s value derives from its intangible assets. One of the most important of these intangible assets is corporate reputation. The Britain’s Most Admired Company surveys into corporate reputation includes nine characteristics, one of these is a company’s ‘capacity to innovate’. Surveys between 1990 and 2009 show that a good reputation for innovation does not guarantee a good overall reputation; nor does a reputation for innovation lead to business success. However, where a company has a reputation for innovation and is able to manage other characteristics, there is a better chance that this company will develop its innovation capability into long-term competitive advantage and profitability. Central to this conclusion is converting innovation into enhanced processes, products or services through effective implementation. The research identifies key attributes of companies that combine a reputation for innovation, with a good corporate reputation overall and business success.

scholarly journals Human Capital Situation in Indian Pharmaceutical Sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 2980-2983
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Workforce Planning ◽  
Human Capital Investment ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
A Company

In the global scenario, the companies are controlled by challenger, despite of industry. The highly aggressive market has made impression on the companies to have competitive advantage. The unique challenging edge is company’s human capital. The human capital play significant role in increasing organizational performance. Now organizations have to take moment to enhance their workforce by imparting training and development program to upgrade skills, talents and knowledge to make their human capital effective. It also examines on the mindset of the employees and gives high attainment in their workforce planning. An employee is most valued resource to a company and provides tangible base needed to build long-term profitability and continuous success. Hence the study determines the significance importance of human capital investment in Indian pharmaceutical sectors. The situation of current human capital investment are explore and conclusion drawn from the study

The Strategic Approaches for a New Typology of Firm Patent Portfolios

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (02) ◽  
pp. 1650012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Yang ◽  
Marcel C. Minutolo
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Dynamic Environments ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Uncertain Environments ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Technological Diversification ◽  
True Values ◽  
Patent Portfolios

Patents play an important role for companies to achieve competitive advantage. There is an increased recognition of the importance of patent portfolios as a key to achieve competitive advantage as opposed to any one patent. Hence, some researchers suggest that the true values of patents lie in the aggregation of some related patents rather than their individual worth. In addition, as firms increase their technological diversification so too do their patent portfolios. On the basis of portfolio theory, we build a typology of four types of patent portfolios characterized on the dimensions of technology coherence and synergistic economic value: black, cloud, star and constellation portfolios. Then, according to the characteristics of each type of portfolio, we propose that different strategic approaches should be applied to manage them to achieve superior performance. Further, we suggest that different types of patent portfolios have different effects on firms’ long-term and short-term performances in dynamic environments. Our paper enriches our understanding of the role that patent portfolios play to achieve superior firm performance by linking the management of firm-level resources to value creation in uncertain environments; and also provides important insights into future trends in the patent portfolios strategy in dynamic environments.

Management Processes

2015 ◽  
pp. 211-225
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Short Term ◽  
General Direction ◽  
Management Processes

On a daily basis small businesses carry out the basic operations of the venture. These management processes must support the general direction set by the small business in its long-term mission statement and goals and objective plans. But the small business must also address the short term functional requirements. As the small business grows and matures the management processes must expand and change to support the larger business. More formal and structured processes will be facilitated through the adoption and use of information systems. These processes are presented in this chapter.

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