ESTRATÉGIAS DE CIMENTEIRAS NA ENTRADA DE MERCADOS INTERNACIONAIS: ESTUDO COMPARATIVO

As estratégias em setores produtivos cimenteiro necessitam de investigações que elevem tangencialmente a busca por mercados e a competitividade das empresas. O cimento é uma das principais commodities mundiais, sensível ao mercado e a preço. Este estudo tem como objetivo de compreender e comparar as estratégias implementadas no passado por empresas atuantes no mercado internacional de cimento. Este artigo utiliza uma metodologia de estudos de caso e revisão bibliográfica e tem como foco apontar proposições que envolvam o processo de internacionalização entre empresas que se internacionalizaram em mercados de tipologia “first movers” e empresas de tipologia “late movers”. Habitualmente, empresas multinacionais que são oriundas de países desenvolvidos iniciaram os seus processos de internacionalização antes das empresas de países em desenvolvimento. Estes últimos já possuíam uma melhor infraestrutura e mão de obra mais qualificada, o que não se replicou nos países em desenvolvimento na mesma época. Como resultados desta comparação este artigo contribui para apontar que existem: (1) diferenças no processo de internacionalização entre “first” e “late movers”; (2) Diferenças culturais que influenciam o processo de internacionalização e (3) Oportunidades e vantagens competitivas diferentes nos processos de internacionalização “first mover” ou “late movers”.

Beyond first or late mover advantages: timed mover advantage

Purpose This paper aims to present a new framework that describes the relationship among market entry order and timing, the advantages accruing to first-movers and late-movers, entry timing premium (ETP), marketing strategy and enduring market performance of the firms. The framework, empirically tested using data from 241 business executives, expands extant research into new territory beyond first- and late-mover advantages in an attempt to reconcile a few streams of research in the area and provides an entry related, strategic assessment tool (ETP) for the managers. Contribution to marketing strategy theory and managerial implications are also presented. Design/methodology/approach Participants included informants in a firm’s strategic business unit who were the most familiar with a new product’s commercial launch, market condition at launch, competitor offerings, marketing activities and capabilities and eventual integration into or withdrawal from the product’s portfolio. Therefore, for the survey, the study targeted chief executive officers, vice presidents of marketing or sales, product or sales managers, general managers and regional managers. Both preference bias (Narus, 1984) and survivor biases among the respondents were addressed. Findings The research result of this study reveals two very significant aspects of marketing and marketing strategies. First, the importance of financial, pricing and cost strategies further attests to the fiercely competitive nature of the global market today and the tendency for firms to commoditize most products and services. An effective financial and pricing strategy, coupled with a higher level of ETP, is capable of leading a firm to initial market success in the product-market in which it competes. Both ETP (a positional advantage and resource of the firm) and financial and pricing strategies (a deliberate strategic decision of the management) are important to achieve this goal. Research limitations/implications This study is limited in several ways. The effects of entry order and timing on market performance could be dependent on the types of industries and types of product categories involved. However, as the hypotheses were well supported, the “industry specific” factors would provide “fine-tuning” in the future study. Second, the nature of the product (goods or services) may also present varying effects on the relationship studied (for differences between manufacturing and service firms in pioneering advantages, see Song et al., 1999). Services’ intangible nature, difficulty in protecting property rights, high involvement of boundary-spanning employees and customers, high reliance on delivery and quality, and ease of imitation may alter the proposed relationships in the model and the moderating effects. Third, although this study used a “retrospective” protocol approach in the data collection by encouraging respondents to recall market, product and business information, this study is not longitudinal. Lack of longitudinal data in any study involving strategic planning, strategy execution and the long-term effects is no doubt a weakness. In addition, due to peculiarity and complexity with regard to regulation and other aspects in pharmaceutical and other industries, the theory might be limited to a certain extent. Practical implications In all, the integrated framework contributes to the understanding of the intricate issues surrounding first-mover advantage, late-mover advantage, entry order and timing and the role of marketing strategy. The framework provides practitioners guidance as to when to enter a product-market to gain advantageous positions and how to maintain that advantage. Firms that use a deliberate late-mover strategy could also benefit from the research finding in mapping out their strategic courses of action. Originality/value This study believes that the halo effect surrounding first-mover advantage may have obscured the visions of some researchers and managers, and the pursuit of a silver bullet has led to frenzied interests in becoming a “first-mover” or a deliberate “late-mover”. The theoretical framework, which is substantiated by empirical testing, invalidates the long-held claim that entry of a particular kind (first-movers or late-movers) yields any unique competitive advantage. It is a firms’ careful selection of marketing strategies and careful execution of the strategies through effective operational tactics that would lead to enduring competitive advantage, under an adequate level of ETP.

TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT BY LATE MOVERS

It is widely accepted that the first firm to deploy the latest technology will enjoy monopoly profits. However, research shows that the first mover advantage is quickly eroded by late movers. Technology deployments by late movers remain largely under-explored. This study explores the impact of the technological and market capabilities of late movers on their deployment timing, and how this impact is moderated by the pace of frontier advancement. We find a positive association between a firm’s capabilities and the earliness of its deployment timing. A faster pace of frontier advancement exacerbates the impact of a firm’s capabilities on technology deployment timing. We draw empirical evidence from the thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) industry between 1995 and 2010. This paper contributes to the technology management literature by developing a deeper understanding of the trade-offs involved in the timing of technology deployments.

Evolving user needs and late-mover advantage

We propose a generalized NK-model of late-mover advantage where late-mover firms leapfrog first-mover firms as user needs evolve over time. First movers face severe trade-offs between the provision of functionalities in which their products already excel and the additional functionalities requested by users later on. Late movers, by contrast, start searching when more functionalities are already known and typically come up with superior product designs. We also show that late-mover advantage is more probable for more complex technologies. Managerial implications follow.

Competition in corporate philanthropic disaster giving

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how firms compete with each other in philanthropic giving in the context of a natural disaster. In particular, the authors want to investigate: Which firms act faster in disaster relief giving? How do late movers react? In the end, which firms donate most at the competitive equilibrium, first or late movers? Whether and how firm visibility will affect the relationships proposed based on the former three questions? Design/methodology/approach – The Chinese listed companies that donated to the May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake are taken as a sample. A negative binomial regression analysis is first conducted to identify the first movers. Then, linear regression analysis is conducted to identify the competition between first movers and late movers. Findings – The authors find that large firms and firms with a high financial performance tend to be first movers in disaster relief giving. Late movers donate amounts that are similar to those of first movers in both absolute and relative value. But first movers donate more in absolute value than late movers in the whole process of giving. Firm visibility strengthens the effect of financial performance (return on assets) on giving timing, but weakens the effect of giving timing on both first round and total giving amount. Originality/value – This study provides a dynamic theory of giving and enhances the understanding of the motives and patterns of corporate disaster relief giving. It also illustrates important insights into firms’ strategic and tactical behavior in disaster relief giving.