Generic Competitive Strategies and Organizational Performance in Manufacturing Industries in Rwanda: A Case of Sulfo Industries Ltd

The business models incur high costs, limited uniqueness of feature of products and fewer resources that present the significant negative effect on organization performance. The overall study of this research is to assess generic competitive strategies and organization performance in Rwanda. The specific objectives were to determine the effect of cost leadership strategy on performance of Sulfo Industries Ltd, to examine the effect of differentiation strategy on performance of Sulfo Industries Ltd and to assess the effect of focus strategy on performance of Sulfo Industry Ltd. In research methodology, researcher used a descriptive research in both quantitative and qualitative. The target population was 135 from which a sample of 100 respondents was selected using formula developed by Slovenes. Therefore, researcher used a simple random sampling technique and data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version21. Findings and recommendations for this research provided a clear understanding and guidance for better management of Sulfo Industries Ltd. The information collected from respondents showed that 83.2% strongly agreed that Sulfo Industry applies generic competitive strategies where low costs led to desired performance. This was also agreed or confirmed by 13(12.9) of surveyed respondents. Therefore, differentiation strategy shows the uniqueness and premium price of products. This was as strongly agreed by 37(36.6) and 81(60.4) respectively. The information collected also revealed that 64(63.4) of surveyed respondents strongly agreed that the focus strategy aims at increasing the market share in a niche market to achieve performance. This was also agreed by 33(32.7) of surveyed respondents. However, the magnitude of association is indicated by regression of 1.040, which is statistically significant as the p-value is 0.000 as < 0.05. Moreover, it is highly recommended to maintain generic competitive strategies of Porters, which play a great role on organization performance within competitive market. The industry needs to establish code of conducts, undertake training opportunities, reduce unnecessary cost and encourage quality and quantitative products all these will lead to the desired performance. Keywords: Generic Competitive Strategies, Organizational Performance, Manufacturing Industries, Sulfo Industries, Rwanda

How Competitive Strategies Affect Organizational Structure

Organizational structures can change according to the strategy determined by the businesses. The purpose of this chapter is to extend that research by analyzing the relationship between Porter's competitive strategies and Burns and Stalker's structure types. The authors conduct their research on the enterprises in Technology Development Zones in Istanbul, Turkey. One hundred sixty of 5,506 enterprises participated in the research. Then, to search deeper, the authors conducted a qualitative research on the 25 enterprises in Technology Development Zones. Results show that, while the mechanical structure tendency is observed in the enterprises following the cost leadership strategy, the mechanical or organic structure tendency is not observed in the enterprises following the differentiation and focus strategies. Also, according to the interviews, results show that the organizational structures in the enterprises in Technology Development Zones are affected by the size of the organization or the strategic awareness level of the senior managers rather than the competitive strategies.

A Triad of Uppsala Internationalization of Emerging Markets Firms and Challenges: A Systematic Review

The economic advancement of emerging markets such as China, Brazil, and India has been regarded as one of the benefits of a globalized world. This paper revisits and evaluates the Uppsala model to teases out the process, speed, determinants, and challenges of early internationalization approaches of firms in transition and emerging markets (TEMs). Applying Systematic Literature Review (SLR), this article collects, disintegrates, and categorizes previous studies, synthesizing the theoretical models to shed light on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) characteristics, behaviour, and motives to internationalise, as well as the approaches to internationalisation. This method identified 183 articles published between 2008–2018 from 84 international journals. A triad (a set of three related things) highlights the three main features of the Integrated Uppsala Model including the basic assumptions, influential factors, and competitive strategies of firms. The findings suggest that the institutional–legal environment constitutes key barriers that firms in TEMs must overcome to develop an early internationalization strategy. It appears that internationalization literature focusing on emerging markets is biased towards China. The review identifies a need for future studies to (i) focus on emerging markets firms in Africa and South America; and (ii), provide a cross-country analysis and evaluation of internationalization strategies of TEMs.

СТРАТЕГІЯ РОЗВИТКУ ЯК КЛЮЧОВИЙ ФАКТОР ПІДВИЩЕННЯ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ

The article seeks to search for new pathways to increase the performance efficiency of higher education institutions. In particular, it is argued that the key point in shaping a new role of universities in society, which assumes building a development strategy, is the idea of a "technological mode". The social innovation process paradigm is being realized through technological change accompanied by the emergence of products with new functional properties to meet new demands. The role of higher education institutions within a certain technological mode is not limited to traditional issues of workforce training for the economy, it should be also focused towards developing organizational and economic innovations to reduce the implementation cycle and building an innovation-driven management system in an organization. Modern universities not only maintain but also expand their role in the transition to the sixth technological mode of the economy, as they are viewed as the few institutional societal structures that are capable to build relevant competencies for a successive technological mode in the process of their educational, research and innovative activities. The paradigm to enhance the research potential of universities should rely upon a fundamentally new development strategy for higher education institutions which can ensure their active participation in the new technological mode on a regular, sustainable basis and thus realize the new role of universities in society. Insights into development strategies of domestic universities have revealed that on the whole they are quite typical consisting of following sections: general provisions, mission, strategic goal and objectives of university development, program activities and stages of their implementation, financial support for the program; expected outcomes and program implementation risks. The research findings on higher education practices in Ukraine demonstrate that they are based on competitive strategies which are viewed as a set of actions to meet the overall goals of HEIs with due regard to education and labour market demands. It is argued that a robust development strategy and its consistent implementation might become a driving factor to boost the efficiency of higher education institutions.

СТРАТЕГІЯ РОЗВИТКУ ЯК КЛЮЧОВИЙ ФАКТОР ПІДВИЩЕННЯ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ

The article seeks to search for new pathways to increase the performance efficiency of higher education institutions. In particular, it is argued that the key point in shaping a new role of universities in society, which assumes building a development strategy, is the idea of a "technological mode". The social innovation process paradigm is being realized through technological change accompanied by the emergence of products with new functional properties to meet new demands. The role of higher education institutions within a certain technological mode is not limited to traditional issues of workforce training for the economy, it should be also focused towards developing organizational and economic innovations to reduce the implementation cycle and building an innovation-driven management system in an organization. Modern universities not only maintain but also expand their role in the transition to the sixth technological mode of the economy, as they are viewed as the few institutional societal structures that are capable to build relevant competencies for a successive technological mode in the process of their educational, research and innovative activities. The paradigm to enhance the research potential of universities should rely upon a fundamentally new development strategy for higher education institutions which can ensure their active participation in the new technological mode on a regular, sustainable basis and thus realize the new role of universities in society. Insights into development strategies of domestic universities have revealed that on the whole they are quite typical consisting of following sections: general provisions, mission, strategic goal and objectives of university development, program activities and stages of their implementation, financial support for the program; expected outcomes and program implementation risks. The research findings on higher education practices in Ukraine demonstrate that they are based on competitive strategies which are viewed as a set of actions to meet the overall goals of HEIs with due regard to education and labour market demands. It is argued that a robust development strategy and its consistent implementation might become a driving factor to boost the efficiency of higher education institutions.

Competitive Strategy of Sunan Drajat Islamic Boarding School Business in Lamongan

Pondok Pesantren Sunan Drajat (PPSD) is one of the Islamic boarding schools that has a high spirit of economic independence, by establishing several Institution-Owned Business. This Business Unit seems to be developing its units so that they are spreading domestically and internationally. This is due to strategic management that accommodates business, especially in its competition. The purpose of this study was to determine the competitive strategy of Pondok Pesantren Sunan Drajat Islamic-owned business. This study uses a qualitative approach that aims to explain the competitive advantage strategy of the PPSD business unit and SWOT analysis. The results showed that the PPSD business unit implemented all competitive strategies based on sharia principles, which in carrying out their activities were based on benefit. In conclusion, PPSD Business Unit uses an image of differentiation strategy in marketing for its products to stay ahead in the midst of many similar business.

Proposed Model of Business Retail Continuity Process during Pandemic Covid-19 Based on Risk identification and Response

Recognizing competitive strategies, the retail industry must anticipate business risks. Business risk is related to managerial risk, and it depends on its ability to adapt its policies to unforeseen events and changes. Currently, the whole world is facing the Covid-19 outbreak. In facing the challenges and risks from Covid-19, retail businesses must manage and respond to these risks so that their business can recover and business continuity is realized. This study seeks to identify the risks experienced by retail businesses in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic and what risk management strategies are appropriate for business continuity and retail business recovery. Previous studies have explained the impact of Covid-19 on the retail industry. However, there is still a lack of research that tries to identify the risks and how to overcome them. This research will try to fill that gap. Semi-systematic or narrative review techniques were conducted in this study. The study’s result is a framework related to risk management in retail industries. This study contributes to knowledge and practical implication regarding the risk that the retail industry is experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.