Development of indigenous enterprise in a contemporary business environment – the Ngāi Tahu Ahikā approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tremane Lindsay Barr ◽  
John Reid ◽  
Pavel Catska ◽  
Golda Varona ◽  
Matt Rout
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Commercial Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indigenous Development ◽  
Business System ◽  
Voluntary Certification ◽  
Tribal Economic Development

Purpose Tribal economic development in post-settlement era Aoteroa/New Zealand has opened up opportunities for Maori to invest in the sustainable commercial utilisation of their traditional economic resources. Mahinga kai (traditional food and food sources) has always been at the heart of the Maori tribe Ngāi Tahu’s spiritual, cultural, social and economic existence. The purpose of this research is to revitalise mahinga kai enterprise through the commercial development of traditional and contemporary food and food resources in a culturally commensurate manner. Design/methodology/approach Participant action research theory and practice were used by researchers from Toitū Te Kāinga (Regional Development Unit of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu) between 2008 and 2012. This was informed by a Kaupapa Maori philosophy of respect and empowerment of the participants’ needs. Findings The development of the Ahikā Kai Indigenous business system shows that competitive advantage can be created for Indigenous businesses and enterprises through a four-pronged strategy based around: first, human rights that empower tribal members; second, product differentiation based on cultural principles; third, an internal accreditation system to help verify the ethical credibility of the products; and fourth, lowering producer costs through website marketing and direct-to-consumer selling. Originality/value This research adds to a growing (yet still evolving) body of literature on Indigenous entrepreneurship and the role of voluntary certification in Indigenous business development. The Ahikā Kai business system is an original world first for this type of Indigenous development based on creating a competitive advantage for multiple independent enterprises while maintaining the core integrity of its cultural brand and its operations.

Centralized decentralization for tribal business development

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tremane Lindsay Barr ◽  
John Reid
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Cultural Patterns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development System ◽  
Indigenous Development ◽  
Development Unit ◽  
Kaupapa Māori ◽  
Tribal Economic Development

Purpose – The purpose of this research was to identify and create a decentralized development system specific for the whanau (family) and hapu/runanga (sub-tribe) members of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. In New Zealand, a number of Maori tribes have negotiated compensation with the New Zealand Government for past injustices. These assets are typically centralized within iwi (tribal) corporate structures to protect and grow the asset base on behalf of tribal constituents. This centralization of assets has caused political tension within tribes. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides a case study of whanau/hapu-level businesses facilitated by the post-settlement iwi – Ngāi Tahu – to demonstrate how each level can work synergistically to encourage multi-level economic development in a way that matches cultural patterns and expectations. Participant action research theory and practice was utilized by researchers from Toitu Te Kainga (Regional Development Unit of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu) between 2008 and 2012. This was informed by an Enterprise Facilitation person-centred perspective and a Kaupapa Māori philosophy of respect and empowerment of the participants needs. Findings – This paper argues that while a certain level of centralization is required, to ring-fence and protect tribal assets at an iwi (tribal) level, the benefits gained by that centralization can then be utilized to provide a springboard for decentralized economic development at the whanau (family) and hapu (sub-tribe) levels. Originality/value – This new indigenous development system is referred to as the symbiotic development model and is an original outcome of this research paper. The paper concludes that tribal economic development in the post-settlement era in New Zealand needs to combine aspects of both centralization and decentralization.

Developing a model for supply chain agility and innovativeness to enhance firms’ competitive advantage

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1511-1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Jou Chen
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Structural Equations ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supply Chain Agility ◽  
It Integration ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Developing agility and innovativeness as dynamic capabilities are important for firms to sustain their competitive advantage in today’s global economy. The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a framework to investigate how the supply chain agility and innovativeness are achieved through IT integration and trust in members of supply chain and how these, in turn, can enhance firms’ competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach This research employs a survey method and data are collected from senior managers working in the supply chain or IT area. The model and hypotheses are tested utilizing data from 204 usable Taiwan manufacturing firms via structural equations modeling methodology. Findings The study demonstrates that both IT integration and trust in supply chain members significantly enhance supply chain agility and innovativeness, which in turn positively affect firm’s competitive advantage. The results indicate that IT integration and trust are antecedents and major joint partnership resources for improving supply chain agility and innovativeness. Research limitations/implications Data are collected from manufacturing industry in Taiwan and single respondent from each firm, the generalizability of current findings to other industries or countries should require additional investigation. Practical implications The study suggests that a firm should focus on IT integration and trust in supply chain members to achieve supply chain agility and innovativeness. To take advantage of supply chain agility and innovativeness, through maximizing firm’s competitive advantage, firms should continually adapt to the fast changing business environment and search for creative ways to satisfy new market needs. Originality/value Given the attention paid to supply chain agility and innovativeness in terms of importance to responding to business uncertainty and competitiveness, and more recently, as important capabilities in managing supply chain management, this paper investigates how IT integration and trust can contribute to supply chain agility and innovativeness. Provide evidence regarding the impact of IT integration and trust on agility of supply chains, innovativeness and competitive advantage.

New Strategy and Thinking in Global Business System

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
M. Sebnem Ensari ◽  
Güner Gürsoy
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Business System ◽  
Building Process ◽  
New Strategy ◽  
Smart Supply Chain Management ◽  
Strategy Building

Because of the necessity of adopting the product and service to the rapidly changing needs of current customers, specialization in each supply chain has become more important. The companies from the same supply chain benefited from the collaboration in order to gain competitive advantage. This chapter first of all explains the current changes in business environment and define the new global business system and summarizes the common strategies to survive in this environment from related literature. It proposes a model of a smart supply chain management including agile organizations and mutual goal achievement of the firms and the members of the same supply chain at the end of the chapter. The aim of this chapter is providing a road map to todays and future organizations to be more competitive. It is believed that the chapter will be helpful for both professionals and academicians who have interest in strategy building process and creating competitive advantage.

Knowledge transfer in family business successions

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britta Boyd ◽  
Susanne Royer ◽  
Rong Pei ◽  
Xiaolei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Environments ◽  
Theoretical Reasoning

Purpose – Knowledge often is the fundament for strategic competitive advantage. Thus, it is highly relevant to understand better how knowledge is transferred from one generation to the next in family businesses. The purpose of this paper is to link the competitive advantage realisation in family businesses to the success of transferring strategically valuable knowledge in different business environments to the next generation. Design/methodology/approach – Building on the contingency model of family business succession (Royer et al., 2008) knowledge transfer in family businesses from different cultures is investigated in this paper. From a resource-oriented and transaction cost inspired perspective two family businesses with a similar industry background from China and Europe are compared regarding knowledge transfer in the context of family firm succession taking into account the respective transaction atmosphere. Findings – Different successions for two long-lived family firms are illustrated in a systematic fashion: based on the theoretical elements suggested both cases are described to get insights into the usefulness of the theoretical reasoning developed. On the basis of these, the cases are compared with each other and conclusions for both cases are drawn. Implications for theory and practice as well as avenues for future research are sketched. Originality/value – The focus of the current study is to gain more insight into long-lived family businesses by comparing two cases over a period of more than 200 years with regard to strategically relevant resources as well as the underlying transaction atmospheres. Implications for family firms depending on the resource types and transaction atmosphere are discussed.

Entrepreneurial decision-making: new conceptual perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (7) ◽  
pp. 1283-1300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaylee De Winnaar ◽  
Frances Scholtz
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Environments ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Entrepreneurial Decision

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to call for inclusion of alternative but complementary conceptual perspectives in entrepreneurial decision-making theory and practice. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual approach, drawing on two sets of theoretical perspectives relating to decision making of entrepreneurs, is adopted. Findings The paper presents a conceptual framework of entrepreneurial decision making utilising the intersection between a metacognitive model of the entrepreneurial mindset and the recognition-primed decision-making theory. The paper argues that the convergence of these theoretical viewpoints provides a selection of decision-making processes for entrepreneurs in an uncertain business environment. Practical implications Decision-making models and tools are available to entrepreneurs; however, the relevance and applicability are restrained by the complexity and uncertainty of business environments in which entrepreneurs operate. New and more inclusive conceptual perspectives are required to improve the accuracy of decision making. Originality/value The study offers a framework that integrates two diverse theoretical dimensions of entrepreneurial decision making. The findings of this study provide direction for practice and for future research on entrepreneurial decision making. The paper intends to encourage researchers to support a new combined theoretical approach and to help practitioners better understand the reasons for entrepreneurial decision failure.

scholarly journals Strategy beyond the business unit level: corporate parenting in focus

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Galpin
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Core Competence ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Core Competency ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Resource Based View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Diversified Firms ◽  
Corporate Parenting ◽  
Practice Literature

Purpose The gap between management theory and practice has been much criticized. To help bridge the divide, a synthesis of empirical, theoretical and practice literature is offered, along with an application of the widely used VRIO framework, to contend that developing a focused corporate parenting approach as a core competence serves as a source of competitive advantage for diversified companies. Design/methodology/approach A synthesis of empirical, theoretical and practice literature is presented, beginning with a discussion of why and how firms diversify; the relative performance of firms that pursue related and unrelated diversification; an application of the resource-based view, core competencies and the VRIO framework; a description of focused corporate parenting as a core competency; a prescription for how diversified firms can implement a focused corporate parenting approach; and implications for research. Findings Developing a focused corporate parenting approach as a core competence serves as a source of competitive advantage for diversified companies. Research limitations/implications The synthesis of empirical, theoretical and practice literature presented provides a foundation for future research into the impact of focused corporate parenting on diversified firm performance. Practical implications The paper includes a prescription for how diversified firms can implement a focused corporate parenting approach. Originality/value The application of the resource-based view and core competency theories to corporate parenting provides managers with the rationale for and methodology to focus their corporate parenting activities.

SMEs’ resilience from continuous improvement lenses

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad Zighan ◽  
Salomée Ruel
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Organizational Resilience ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cyclical Process ◽  
Business Philosophy

Purpose The business environment is increasingly volatile, complex, uncertain and ambiguous. Today, COVID-19 represents a super-disruption situation. This paper aims to explore small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) resilience from continuous improvement lenses. It explores the role of continuous improvement in building organizational resilience across SMEs. Design/methodology/approach A Delphi methodology has been adopted to capture evidence and opinions from 38 experts from several Jordan-based SMEs through three-online rounds. Findings The study finds that continuous improvement enhances SMEs’ resilience in the short term and long term. It can translate the concept of resilience into tangible working constructs for SMEs in visualizing and making decisions about their risks, adapting, absorbing changes and prevailing over time. The role of continuous improvement in building organizational resilience is fourfold; continuous improvement is a cyclical process; it has a vital cultural aspect and can be considered a business philosophy. It also emphasizes a holistic change approach based on small but constant changes. However, SMEs’ leaders must consider several issues for effective continuous improvement, including a continuous improvement culture and a results-focused approach. Originality/value Organizational resilience has been studied across various contexts; however, there are still unanswered questions for SMEs’ resilience. This study contributes to theory and practice by examining the role of continuous improvement in SMEs’ resilience.

Big data and competitive advantage at Nielsen

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Dynamic Capability ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how an international company, Nielsen Holdings, reacted to changes in their highly competitive industry brought about by advances in technology. This case presents the strategic management decisions that enabled Nielsen to regain its competitive advantage. This case further describes the functioning of the resource-based view (RBV) of strategy, dynamic capabilities framework, and digital data genesis (DDG), in a turbulent business environment. Design/methodology/approach – The case study is based primarily upon secondary data to include annual reports, press releases, company web site, as well as articles. Findings – The case study provides an example of the functioning of a once durable competitive advantage that was eroded due to advances in technology, and the steps the company took to regain that advantage. The paper illustrates the functioning of a capability and a dynamic capability in DDG. Practical implications – This case can be used for the teaching of decision making, business strategy, the RBV of strategy, dynamics capabilities, and DDG. Originality/value – This paper provides an example of the functioning of the capability and dynamic capability of DDG.

Catch me if you can!

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-26
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Practical Implications

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 Everyone involved in strategic management – in theory or in practice – knows about competitive advantage. Every company should have one, or at least be identifying and developing one. Unfortunately, like a lot of things that “everybody knows”, competitive advantage means different things to different people. Getting to a single, unambiguous definition of competitive advantage is harder than you might expect – and “I’ll know it when I see it” doesn’t really help anyone to run a successful company in the contemporary business environment. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives 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 Adapting through learning and knowledge acquisition: the cases of four global family firms

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel Duarte Alonso ◽  
Seng Kok
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Future Events

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the importance of knowledge as a tool for adaptation and competitive advantage through qualitative research, exploring the cases of four global family firms; and second, to develop a theoretical framework based on the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm to facilitate understanding of learning and knowledge acquisition among family firms. Design/methodology/approach This investigation focusses on the cases of four family firms, two operating in a developed (Australia), and two in an emerging economy (Uruguay). In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with firm owners, co-owners and one manager. Findings Regardless of firms’ operating environment (OECD, emerging economy), similar outcomes were revealed. Indeed, firm management’s ability to gather, contextualise and synthesise knowledge, including tacit knowledge, emerged as crucial to adapt to new challenges in their business environment. Several tenets of the KBV emerged, including those associated with knowledge to solve emerging problems, specialisation through knowledge acquisition and applying specialised knowledge to produce. Importantly, firms’ ability to anticipate future events through tacit or new knowledge acquisition became evident. Originality/value The study makes two key contributions that represent originality and value. First, the presented theoretical framework facilitates understanding of various dimensions of knowledge, their resulting influence on firms’ preparedness to adapt to events in their business environment, and potential implications on their competitive advantage. Second, by qualitatively examining the participating family firms, the study addresses a recognised research gap, notably, that research investigating this group has been predominantly quantitative.

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