Competitive Advantage

2013 ◽  
pp. 24-45 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
The Cost ◽  
A Company

This chapter defines what competitive advantage means to a company and describes the traditional types of competitive advantage that a company may possess. For cost advantage, the major drivers of cost are explained to provide an understanding of how they, either individually or in combination, cause the cost of a company’s activity. Similarly, for differentiation, the principal drivers of uniqueness are explained, including how they interact to create sustainability of differentiation. The chapter also looks at how advances in Information Technology (IT) affect competition and discusses the sources of competitive advantage. In addition, it covers the strategies that a company needs to pursue to exploit the technology so as to gain an advantage and protect it from rivals. In particular, the attention is shifted to neo-classic competitive advantages, which are generated from business strategies that avoid the classic trade-offs between mass production and invention models, where IT plays a key role by allowing a company to implement improvements more quickly. On the need to sustain a competitive advantage, the chapter reviews Porter’s concept of sustainability and explains the main factors involved. In a construction context, the nature of competition is described. The key sources of competitive advantage for international contractors are reviewed with respect to their distinct abilities to operate in the global markets. It is followed by illustrating how the sources can potentially be converted into critical success factors for the companies using the five cases presented in chapter 1. The chapter concludes with a summary of the main points covered on competitive advantage.

Designing Digital Marketplaces for Competitive Advantage

2011 ◽  
pp. 468-486
Author(s):  
Dinesh Rathi ◽  
Lisa M. Given
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Website Design ◽  
Web Usability ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Effective Design

In today’s digital world the majority of companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms, aim to have an online presence. However, SMEs differ from large-sized companies in terms of financial and staffing resources, which have implications for the development of e-business strategies. Thus, SMEs must not only overcome these barriers but must also take care of critical success factors (CSFs), including developing a good website and ensuring that their websites are listed among the top search engine results. This chapter discusses three elements (i.e., design principles, web usability and search engine optimization), which are vital to the effective design of a successful digital marketplace. The chapter discusses the importance of integrating these three elements in website design especially for SMEs.

Designing Digital Marketplaces for Competitive Advantage

2010 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Dinesh Rathi ◽  
Lisa M. Given
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Website Design ◽  
Web Usability ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Effective Design

In today’s digital world the majority of companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms, aim to have an online presence. However, SMEs differ from large-sized companies in terms of financial and staffing resources, which have implications for the development of e-business strategies. Thus, SMEs must not only overcome these barriers but must also take care of critical success factors (CSFs), including developing a good website and ensuring that their websites are listed among the top search engine results. This chapter discusses three elements (i.e., design principles, web usability and search engine optimization), which are vital to the effective design of a successful digital marketplace. The chapter discusses the importance of integrating these three elements in website design especially for SMEs.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF CITIMART

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 133-148
Author(s):  
Dr. Pham Hung Cuong ◽  
◽  
Nguyen Van Ngan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
World Market ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Living Standard ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Fast Development

According to Porter (1985), in the market of competition, competitive advantage lies in the center of business activities of an enterprise. For this reason, one of the most important factors for any kind of business is to build or construct a good and stable competitive advantage. The wealth of a company cannot be durable if the company does not maintain its competitive advantage. Improving the competitive advantage is one of the first and foremost concerns of every business. In the process of integration, all economies have to try their best to fully compete with each other to gain the best. Among the economy sectors, the retail enterprises are of those who have to apply marketing strategies to strengthen their competitive advantage. With good and suitable marketing strategies, businesses can increase the number of their customer, have goods and products attractive to consumers and finally gain the expected profits. In Vietnam, the market economy started at the end of 1986, much later than the world market economy, so the application of competitive advantages from the macro level to micro level (here the enterprise level) has been slow. For the sector of retailing, especially supermarket retailing, the market scale of Vietnam is much smaller than that of other markets in the region. However, there are basic factors for a fast development in Vietnam such as: big population with the kind of young population, high rate of economic growth rate and non-stop improved living standard. That is the fact that the potential for retailing development in Vietnam is not small and supermarket business in the future is big. In Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh market, there are quite a lot of supermarket chains which are in operation nowadays such as Co-op mart, Citimart, Maximart, B-smart, Shop&Go and so on? These supermarkets are trying their best to gain more customers. For this purpose, the researcher chose Citimart as a case study in this research. Citimart is one of most favorable supermarket in Ho Chi Minh. In this thesis, the researcher studies the factors affecting the competitive advantage of Citimart, and then find out the solutions for the policy makers to have good business strategies of Citimart.

scholarly journals Features of Development and Implementation of Competitive Advantages of Establishments of Restaurant Economy in Modern Market Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-67
Author(s):  
Valentyna V. Postova
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Market Conditions ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Economic Criteria

The relevance of the study of the development of competitive advantages is related to the need to ensure the competitiveness of restaurants, given the current market conditions. The purpose of the study is to investigate the ways of developing a strategy to ensure and implement the competitive advantages of restaurants. Theoretical and methodological framework of the study included general scientific methods (methods of scientific generalisation and comparison), specific methods (methods of analysis and synthesis). The study defines that indirect criteria are used to assess competitiveness, which can be divided into two main groups: consumer and economic criteria. It is analysed that for different categories of consumers and groups of goods competitiveness is provided by different types of prices: purchasing, selling, and consumer. The sources of development of competitive advantages are determined. The study also provides the competitive advantages of restaurant establishments, which have different forms of manifestation. The diagnostics of the competitive environment is carried out, which requires not only the analysis of the state of various methods of competition, but also the study of the image of the product, as well as the image of the enterprise. The main factors of competitive advantage of restaurants were considered. The study analysed the factors of competitive advantage of the organisation, which are divided into external and internal. It is determined that the factors of consumer preferences are divided into four groups: psychological, informational, sales, and economic. It is established that each group has certain measures, the consistent implementation of which, in the end, leads either to the development or maintenance of consumer preferences

The Implementation of IT Business Strategy in the Construction Industry

2013 ◽  
pp. 216-246 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
It Adoption ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Use Of Technology

This chapter begins by describing the common problems associated with implementing IT business strategy that are faced by companies and other organizations, resulting in business planning that is not directly aligned with IT planning and IT investments not clearly supporting business strategies. It is stressed that all organizations should pursue strategic alignment practices to improve organizational performance when using IT-based resources. Case studies specific to the construction industry are presented to illustrate practical problems that companies face. With this background, the critical success factors of implementing IT business strategy are discussed. They mainly center around the goal of enabling businesses to reduce costs while at the same time improve IT’s contribution to their overall performance in terms of overall profit or net earnings. In the discussion, research finding of organizational success in strategic IT and business alignment are used to elaborate on the factors involved, both internal and external to the organization. Overall, the essential traits of successfully aligned organizations are mentioned. This is followed by describing a proposed model that is able to successfully address the alignment of business and IT by adopting a process-driven architecture that focuses on information management. Moving on, there are several aspects of preparing an organization for successful IT business strategy implementation. The next part describes some major steps of implementation like defining the goals and linking them to the performance criterion, focusing on the strategic intentions, adopting an effective plan, quantifying the cost and benefits of IT, measuring and tracking the results, and, last but not least, managing culture. Specifically on the construction industry, the chapter covers the main advantages and disadvantages of adopting IT to increase strategic competitiveness of construction companies. The illustrations from past research focus on links that are established between competitive advantage or project success and the use of technology. As background to proposing a set of recommendations on how IT business strategies can be implemented in design and construction firms, the case of IT adoption in the construction industry of Singapore is presented to serve as an overview of developments in this area. Based on the performance criteria established for these two types of firms in Singapore, appropriate enablers of implementation are suggested, including the kind of business strategy applicable to different firm types, through a process framework. The chapter concludes with a summary of the main points covered on the implementation of IT business strategy in the construction industry.

Critical Success Factors of Innovation and Creativity for Global Entrepreneurs

2018 ◽  
pp. 75-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flevy Lasrado
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Critical Success Factors ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
The Other ◽  
Keen Interest ◽  
Business Innovation ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Essential Components

Innovation, is a subject of considerable interest for entrepreneurs. They share a keen interest in learning how to foster innovation and creativity in ways that help firms to create increasing amounts of wealth. Research on innovation and creativity has increased ever since they were considered to be the key to building a competitive advantage. In fact, it is a challenge for organizations to sustain innovation. In this chapter, we explore the factors that entrepreneurs should address to channel innovation in their organizations. Entrepreneurship, on the other hand, requires the funneling and implementation of creative ideas, leading to innovation. This chapter is particularly relevant to global managers seeking to identify inhibitors of creativity and business innovation and how to combat the roadblocks and create a sustainable innovation environment. The chapter discusses the three essential components that must be considered to spur innovation. We highlight the best practices associated with these factors through a case study of three organizations.

Generating Competitive Advantages for the Polytechnic Universities in Mexico

2019 ◽  
pp. 477-507
Author(s):  
Lizbeth Vargas-Cabrera ◽  
Jesus Manuel Muñoz-Pacheco
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Educational Services ◽  
Opportunity Costs ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Mexican Government

This chapter proposes an analytical framework to understand the trade-offs of a firm dedicated to educational services for creating and sustaining a superior performance respect to its competitors. The proposed approach focuses on polytechnic universities as the firm understudy. Based on a statistical data from Mexican government, the five forces of Porter methodology is applied to found the clients, suppliers, new entrants, substitutes, and rivalry of the Polytechnic University of Puebla (PUP). In this scenario, the existing strengths are detected and the target of the firm to get a sustainable competitive advantage is defined. Finally, the strategies to break the barriers are proposed. The authors argue that by using those strategies the wedge between willing to pay of the clients and the opportunity costs of the suppliers can be improved. Additionally, they argue that the positioning (consolidation and reputation) of the PUP is achieved by applying the proposed strategies.

Determination of the Critical Success Factors (CSF) in the Implementation of Six Sigma (SS) and Its Sustainable Benefits

2020 ◽  
pp. 261-280
Author(s):  
Aida López ◽  
Jesús A. Hernández Gómez ◽  
Karla I. Velázquez Victorica ◽  
Vianey Torres Argüelles ◽  
Salvador Noriega Morales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Environmental Care ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Correct Implementation

Currently, organizations seek to position themselves in the market as the most competitive and profitable in their branch, through the continuous improvement of their processes, products, and/or services, applying various techniques, tools, and methodologies. Particularly in this chapter, focus on Six Sigma (SS) will be shown, a strategy used in companies to achieve competitive objectives, continuously improving processes. In this sense, it is considered important to identify and know the main factors that are involved in its implementation. Likewise, the organizations are presenting a culture towards the sustainability and the environmental care, derived from this, the methodology used to develop a measurement instrument that allows to identify the CSF in the implementation of SS, the sustainable benefits that can be achieve with correct implementation, the procedure used for the validation of the content of the instrument, the validity of internal consistency and the obtained results.

Het Schot en de Roos. Over het Invoeren van Computerondersteund Onderwijs

1994 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Marcel J.A. Mirande
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Implementation Scheme ◽  
Practice Opportunities ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Bull's Eye

In computer-aided learning (CAL) usage in higher education, five stages can be identified: (1) complete unfamiliarity, (2) orientation, (3) introductory, (4) regular, and (5) integrated usage. Many faculties now find themselves somewhere between stages 3 and 4, which is characterised by sorting out or establishing policies, creating budgets, finding a coordinator and developing an implementation scheme or protocol. For help at implementing CAL during stage 4 we use the metaphor, "hitting the bull's-eye", to identify four important impact points. The first is to clearly recognize the critical success factors that normally accompany effective CAL usage. In total we identify 11 factors that can be divided into three hierarchical levels: the strategic, the organisational, and the operational levels of an educational institute. On the basis of an investigation, those responsible can uncover in which part(s) of an organisation conditions are most favourable for successful implementation. The next step would be to place the target, e.g. project type most likely to succeed, in the most appropriate environment. An inquiry can be held among all teaching staff involved in the curriculum that has been identified as most propitious. Questions to be included in the inquiry should address themselves to a portion of a teacher's course and should be rated on six criteria: (1) the basic teaching objective(s), (2) desirability/need for improving education, (3) teaching staff cooperation, (4) stability of learning materials, (5) target group size, and (6) the cost of training. The higher a particular course component scores on these criteria, the more likely it is to become chosen for a CAL solution. The third step is to follow the experience of the master; those who have already made successful usage of CAL. Twenty-one successful applications of CAL have been collected in a book titled, 'The merits of CAL' (De kwaliteiten van computerondersteund onderwijs, Mirande, 1994). Therein it appears that in higher education, CAL is successful in five different ways: (1) removing deficiencies, (2) increasing practice opportunities, (3) substitution for group work, (4) renewal of lab work, and (5) efficient testing and test preparation. The fourth point is to continue trying until the shot has hit the bull's-eye. This can be seen as a form of quality control or fine tuning of a product with special attention to didactic and content needs in the program under development.

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