Exploring competitive priorities in the service sector: evidence from India

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explain the components of competitive priorities of Indian service firms, to find out the competitive priorities of different service industries in India and to find out how these competitive priorities change across low- and high-performing service firms. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study of 166 firms from five different service industries is undertaken in New Delhi and its surroundings. Findings The results reveal the presence of three competitive priorities in the services sector in India: cost, flexibility and quality/delivery, with quality/delivery being the most distinctive competitive priority. Hotel and auto-repair industries are found to be focused on controlling costs, while hospitals, banks and private colleges prioritized quality/delivery. For high-performing firms, cost is the top most competitive priority, followed by quality/delivery and flexibility, while for low-performing firms, quality/delivery remains the top most competitive priority, followed by flexibility and cost. Originality/value The paper enhances the understanding of competitive priorities in the Indian services sector. The identification of competitive priorities of different service industries in India and their dynamics across different industries add value to the current literature and fill an important research gap. Additionally, surveying diverse industries in this paper reveals a holistic picture of the Indian service industry and helps achieve some degree of cross-industry perspective.

An exploratory study of the results of the implementation of EFQM in private Spanish firms

PurposeThe implementation of business excellence models is becoming a key competitive priority for companies, but the type of results they obtain by implementing such models and the importance of such results remain open issues. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the results obtained by companies that implement the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model, with a focus on their importance and nature.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was conducted in 68 Spanish firms that were immersed in the process of implementing EFQM. The methodology consists of a descriptive analysis and factor analysis in order to determine which groups of results are the most important. Finally, clusters of firms are analyzed to establish their profile in relation to these groups, using cluster analysis.FindingsThis study shows that the main results of the implementation of EFQM are an improvement in the external image of the company and an increased efficiency of internal processes. In addition, the results can be grouped into internal results, human resources results and economic results, with the first group being the most important. Finally, the results show that there are three groups of firms, categorized according to their results orientation: highly results-oriented, moderately results-oriented and minimally results-oriented.Practical implicationsCompanies are in a better position to anticipate and solve the problems that may arise during the implementation process if they understand the results of the implementation of EFQM, along with the motivations for and barriers to the implementation. Also, this research shows that the bodies promoting and motivating quality should make a special effort to emphasize the importance of non-financial results in companies that implement EFQM.Originality/valueThis paper extends the knowledge in the field of business excellence models by developing an instrument to measure implementation results from the perspective of quality managers who were specifically appointed to lead the implementation of the EFQM excellence model in companies.

Analysis of the internal strategic alignment of the production strategy: case study in an auto parts company of the municipality of Sorocaba/SP

The auto parts sector plays an important role in the national economy and has the need to become more competitive in face of some difficulties in the current context. In this scenario, it is considered of great importance the alignment of the production strategy and its contribution to the competitiveness of the sector in the country. Thus, the research aims to analyze, based on methods proposed in the literature, the degree of internal alignment of the production strategy in two segments of one company in the auto parts sector. The method adopted was the case study, being the research of combined character that makes use of the qualitative and quantitative approach. Among the main results, it can be seen that, although the organization analyzed has more control over the production process technologies for products that serve the commercial vehicle market, there are efforts to reduce the product portfolio and standardize the products offered in the market. with cost as the competitive priority emerging.

Operations Strategy Practices of SMEs

There is a close link between operations strategies and firm performance. Thus, it is paramount to find out what competitive priorities are adhered to by small and medium enterprises when it comes to operational decision making. The sample is drawn from 244 manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operational in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Consistent with the research objective, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is employed to reveal the preference of SMEs in adopting competitive priorities. The results show that the most preferred competitive priority is cost followed by quality and flexibility with delivery priority the least sought-after operations strategy. The paper adds value to a finer and richer understanding of operations strategies in SMEs context and provides insights to practitioners and managers to effectively enhance their firm performance by pursuing right operations strategies.