International competitive strategies, organizational learning and export performance: a match and mis-match conceptualization

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry F.L. Chung ◽  
Mia Hsiao-Wen Ho
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Export Performance ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Performance ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of international competitive strategies, i.e. cost leadership and differentiation, on export (market share and strategic) performance. This study further explores the roles of exploitative and exploratory organizational learning in the relationships between international competitive strategies and export performances. To fill research gaps, this study intends to provide guidance on how varied exploitative/exploratory organizational learning and cost leadership/differentiation strategy combinations would affect export performance. The outcomes of this study provide a new match and mis-match conceptualization to extant international competitive strategy and organizational learning literature. Design/methodology/approach This study selected New Zealand (NZ) exporting as the research setting because exporting plays such a vital role in NZ’s economy and NZ exporting firms have long been highly competitive in international markets (e.g. meat and dairy exporters), with the primary data collected through surveys conducted in 2010 and 2013. This study adopted a three-year lagged performance approach. Findings Cost leadership strategy has a positive effect on market share performance. This effect is enhanced by exploitative learning but dampened by exploratory learning. Cost leadership also has a positive effect on strategic performance, which is not affected by exploitative and exploratory learning. Differentiation strategy bears no relation to market share and strategic performance, even allowing for exploitative and exploratory learning. Collectively, the contingent role of organizational learning in the international competitive strategies and export performance framework is far more comprehensive than was expected. Research limitations/implications This study reveals that a match between cost leadership strategy and exploitative learning may result in a superior market share. The configuration of differentiation strategy and exploitative learning and the integration of cost leadership strategy and exploratory learning are suggested as mis-matches, as these combinations would not lead to any significant and positive market share and strategic performance. Unexpectedly, the co-alliance of differentiation strategy and explorative learning is not suggested as a match, as it does not result in a superior market share and strategic performance. This latter outcome suggests that the differentiation strategy-export performance link may be stimulated by other moderating factors (e.g. business managerial ties). Practical implications While choosing an appropriate international competitive strategy, managers may use cost leadership over differentiation strategy to achieve successful export performance in both the market share and strategic perspectives. Export managers focusing on cost leadership strategy may further implement exploitative learning instead of explorative learning, when market share is vital. Meanwhile, they may note that explorative learning may not have a moderating effect on enhancing strategic performance through cost leadership. These points signify that exploitation of existing knowledge may be more effective than exploration of new knowledge for market share expansion when cost leadership strategy is devoted to exporting activities. Differentiation strategy, however, does not influence market share and strategic performance in exporting, even with an alignment of exploitative/exploratory learning. Managers are urged to pay attention to the mis-match of differentiation strategy and organizational learning when market share and strategic performance are the priorities in export performance evaluation. Originality/value This study contributes to the organizational learning literature by providing a new match and mis-match conceptualization relating to international competitive strategy and export performance. The new framework provides directions on when firms should use organizational learning to enhance their competitive strategies (a match scenario) and when they should not use it (a mis-match scenario). This study broadens the existing research that has mainly focused on alignment combinations such as organizational learning-internationalization strategy and organizational learning-social network.

Survival of construction SMEs in macroeconomic crises

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 654-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serdar Ulubeyli ◽  
Aynur Kazaz ◽  
Selim Sahin
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Focus Strategies ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

PurposeThis paper aims to present the effect of innovation on implementing competitive strategies (CSs) and to find their relationships on the survival of construction-related small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in macroeconomic crises.Design/methodology/approachData were compiled from construction SMEs in Turkey. The research used structural equation modeling to investigate the relationships between innovation, CSs and firm survival (FS).FindingsInnovative construction SMEs may implement differentiation and focus strategies and survive without CSs, whereas innovation may be obtained through cost leadership strategy. Also, differentiation and focus strategies may play a role to survive. However, the cost leadership strategy may be implemented after survival. Finally, differentiation strategy may be triggered by innovation and focus strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThe model may be applied on other construction organizations. Future studies may also examine the difference in findings concerning other industries and regions. Moreover, different factors may be added to the model. However, a larger group of samples could cause different results.Practical implicationsThis study may be a roadmap for practitioners to plan their firms’ strategies, considering innovation, CSs and FS. In this context, they may pay attention to innovative production processes to survive.Social implicationsSurvived SMEs may sustain their works through the prevention of crisis-based unemployment. Hence, this benefit may bring a wealthier society.Originality/valueThis research is first to propose a model connecting innovation and CSs for SMEs’ survival in macroeconomic crises. This is convenient for rivalry of SMEs planning to be long-lasting enterprises.

FATMOLS lodges of Zambia: reaching international travelers

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Marlene M. Reed ◽  
Steven Sikobela
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
First Century ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Original Intention ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
General Business ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

Study level/applicabilityUndergraduate.Case overviewThis case deals with a Zambian entrepreneur named Frank Ngambi who had developed several lodges in Ndola and Lusaka, Zambia. His original intention had been to build lodges that would provide inexpensive lodging for domestic travelers. That strategy had succeeded, and the lodges had been so successful that Frank had been able to increase the size of his lodges in both cities. However, by the summer of 2015, Frank had decided to seek the patronage of international travelers. He knew that this change in strategy would be difficult to achieve. After analyzing one of his competitors, the Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka, he realized that he needed to increase his product offerings and also offer outstanding customer service. One problem in attaining that goal was the fact that there was very little training for human resources involved in the hospitality industry in Ndola where two of his lodges were located. Another problem he faced was figuring out how to market his lodges to international travelers, as he had never sought that segment of the market before.Expected learning outcomesAt the conclusion of the case discussion, the student should be able to apply Michael Porter’s General Business-Level Strategy to the present and anticipated strategies for the FATMOLS Lodges; to identify tactics that would apply to a low cost leadership strategy; to identify tactics that would apply to a differentiation strategy; to discuss reasons tourism has increased in Zambia in the twenty-first century; to analyze the financial strategy used in developing the FATMOLS Lodges; and to develop a plan for moving a company from a low-cost leadership strategy to one of differentiation.Supplementary materialsTeaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or [email protected] request teaching notes.Subject codeCSS 11: Strategy.

scholarly journals Competitive Strategy Analysis from Entrepreneurship Stories

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Şeyma Gün Eroğlu ◽  
Ayşe İrmiş
Keyword(s):  
Production Process ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Strategy Analysis ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Focus Strategy ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

Organizations apply two basic competitive strategies in general. These are the cost leadership strategy and the differentiation strategy. The application of any of the mentioned strategies by focusing on a smaller field in the market is called a focus strategy. Companies gain value in the eyes of customer with the strategy they choose. The aim of this study is to analyze the competitive strategies applied by the enterprises and the results of these strategies. A semi-configured interview on the entrepreneurs of two firms which open to a wider market from local market in Denizli with their own brands, was conducted. The first enterprise, which has been maintaining its existence for 80 years and has many branches in the different provinces, is a firm producing sugar and sugar products (Firm A). The second, which has been maintaining its existence for 84 years and has branches in close neighbor cities and provinces, is a firm producing soft drinks (Firm B). The common feature of both firms is that they keep their local characteristics and take their competitive power from the local people. In the research, the competitive strategies of entrepreneurs have been defined and analyzed by benefiting from the entrepreneurship stories that have been brought up to the present day. It was concluded that firm A applied differentiation strategy in the product, production process, and market, while firm B differentiated in the production process without any differentiation in the product and used the focus strategy in the market.

Does a differentiation strategy lead to more sustainable financial performance than a cost leadership strategy?

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 872-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajiv D. Banker ◽  
Raj Mashruwala ◽  
Arindam Tripathy
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Strategic Positioning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the strategic positioning of firms and the sustainability of firm performance. The paper argues that pursuing a differentiation strategy leads to more sustainable financial performance compared to following a cost leadership strategy. However, a differentiation strategy may also be associated with greater risk. Design/methodology/approach – To investigate the research questions, the authors utilize publicly available archival data consisting of 12,849 firm-year observations for the period 1989-2003. In the first stage of the analysis, factor analysis is used to determine firms’ strategic positioning. The resulting factor scores are subsequently used in regression analysis to investigate the sustainability of performance based on the strategic positioning of firms. Findings – The results indicate that both cost leadership and differentiation strategies have a positive impact on contemporaneous performance. However, the differentiation strategy allows a firm to sustain its current performance in the future to a greater extent than a cost leadership strategy. The differentiation strategy, though, is also associated with greater systematic risk and more unstable performance. Originality/value – Sustainability of performance refers to how much a firm's current profitability can be sustained in future periods. The main contribution of this study is the comparison of generic strategies based on the sustainability of firm performance. This aspect of the strategy-performance link has not been considered in prior work. Another contribution of the study is that it considers multiple dimensions of firm performance in order to evaluate the trade-offs involved with pursuing different strategies. In particular, the authors contribute to the literature by documenting that while differentiation leads to more sustainable earnings, it also leads to riskier and more unstable earnings.

Aligning supply chains with product variety

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-15
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Alignment Model ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper explores the relationship between product variety, the performance of a business, and their supply chains and proposes a strategic alignment model to separate a low product variety cost leadership strategy from a high product variety differentiation strategy. By clarifying the strategic aims of their supply chains, businesses can portray their market offer in a consistent and operationally sustainable way. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

scholarly journals Competitive Strategies and Performance of Commercial Banks in Mombasa County, Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74
Author(s):  
Joseph Mariga Nyachwaya ◽  
James Maina Rugami
Keyword(s):  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
Focus Strategy ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

Commercial banks in Kenya and especially Mombasa County are facing firm rivalry demanding the use of competitive strategies so as to improve their performance. Most of the commercial banks are deliberating on ways to enhance their performance, with competitive strategies being one of them to arrive a market and afterwards make sense of and ensure its aggressive position. Therefore, this study aimed at establishing the effect of competitive strategies on the performance of commercial banks in Mombasa County. The specific objectives were to determine the effect of cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy and focus strategy on the performance of commercial banks in Mombasa County. The study was anchored on the theory of resource-based view, strategic balancing and game theory. A descriptive research design was employed in this study. The target population of this study was 280 commercial banks staff in Mombasa County. The sample size was eighty-four after adopting a stratified random sampling technique to select 30% of the target population. The study made use of primary data collection using questionnaires. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 24.0 and presented using tables. The study established that despite the challenges in implementation, competitive strategies are very important for banks to remain competitive in the market. The study further concluded that understanding the market structure is a key determinant for the successful implementation of competitive strategies. Banks following a cost leadership strategy realize statistically significant superior performance compared to those that pursue broad differentiation and focus strategy which reports above-average returns. The researcher highly recommends that commercial banks consider shifting more of their focus on the cost leadership strategy in order to realize superior performance. To succeed at offering the lowest price while still achieving profitability and a high return on investment, commercial banks are recommended to operate at a lower cost than its rivals, this could be possible through some fairly unique capabilities to achieve and sustain their low-cost position. The study also recommends strategy planners to integrate and embrace the differentiation strategy which will enable them to differentiate in various methods such as new technology, brand image, design, network customer service or the number of features. Further, commercial banks are recommended to centre on the existing markets and products or services; they can create competitive edge by getting the best mix between existing products and existing markets.

The Impact of Strategic Relevance and Assurance of Sustainability Indicators on Investors' Decisions

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy M. Cheng ◽  
Wendy J. Green ◽  
John Chi Wa Ko
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Alignment ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Company Strategy ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Nonprofessional Investors ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
Strategy Versus ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

SUMMARY In this study, we report two 2 × 2 between-subjects experiments that investigate the effect of strategic relevance of reported sustainability information and its assurance on nonprofessional investors' investment decisions. The first experiment manipulates strategic relevance of reported environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indicators between “high” and “low” by varying the company strategy (sustainability-based differentiation strategy versus cost leadership strategy unrelated to sustainability). The second experiment manipulates the strategic alignment of the ESG indicators (holding strategy constant). We also manipulate the presence (absence) of assurance in both experiments. Results from both experiments document that investors perceive ESG indicators to be more important, and are more willing to invest in the company if ESG indicators have higher strategic relevance. Experiment one also provides evidence that assurance increases investors' willingness to invest to a greater extent when ESG indicators have high relevance to the company strategy. Our findings suggest that the assurance of ESG indicators has a beneficial signaling role in communicating the importance of this reported information to investors.

scholarly journals Generic competitive strategies on organizational performance in Nepalese Commercial Banks

Pravaha ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-94
Author(s):  
Jitendra Pd. Upadhyay ◽  
Pitri Raj Adhikari
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Core Competency ◽  
Multiple Regression Model ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This paper attempts to examine the impact of generic competitive strategy on organizational performance in Nepalese commercial banks. It has employed descriptive and causal comparative research design to estimate the relationship between dependent variable (organizational performance) with independent variables (differentiation strategy, cost leadership strategy, focus strategy, organization’s core competency and bank size). Data has been collected from 384respondents by using structured questionnaire. The multiple regression model has been used to test the relationship. It is found that organizational performance of banks is influenced by cost leadership, differentiation, focus, organization ‘score competency and bank size.

scholarly journals Profiting from Green Innovation: The Moderating Effect of Competitive Strategy

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiawen Chen ◽  
Linlin Liu
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Strategy ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Green Innovation ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
Green Product Innovation ◽  
Green Process Innovation ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

Despite the importance of green innovation, empirical evidence on its relationship with firm performance is mixed. This study endeavors to address this inconsistency in the evidence by investigating the value-capturing role of competitive strategy. It argues that firms tend to choose appropriate a competitive strategy to maximize performance of green innovation, especially in highly competitive contexts. We collected data from 195 firms in China. Our results suggest that the performance implications of green innovation (including green product innovation and green process innovation) are moderated by competitive strategies (including differentiation strategy and cost-leadership strategy), and these moderating effects are more prominent when competitive intensity is high. The findings of this study enrich theoretical understanding both of green innovation and of competitive strategy and have practical implications for green innovation management.

scholarly journals Market Orientation And Performance: Does Organizational Strategy Matter?

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamalesh Kumar ◽  
Ram Subramanian ◽  
Karen Strandholm
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
Customer Orientation ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Leadership ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
Competitor Orientation ◽  
Cost Leadership Strategy

Data from a survey of 159 hospitals was used to test the relationship between market orientation and firm performance for low cost and differentiation strategies. Hospitals pursuing a differentiation strategy had stronger market orientation than those pursuing a cost leadership strategy. Market orientation had a more positive impact on the performance of organizations pursuing a differentiation strategy than on those pursuing a cost leadership strategy. In the cost leader group, the inter-functional coordination component of market orientation significantly affected firm performance, while in the differentiator group the customer orientation and competitor orientation components of market orientation had significant impact on performance. The implications of these findings for managers also are discussed.

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