Product differentiation and process flexibility as base for competitive strategy

Foreign subsidiaries’ competitive strategy: the impact of corporate support and local competition

European Business Review ◽

10.1108/ebr-04-2017-0068 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (6) ◽

pp. 606-627 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Anders Pehrsson

Keyword(s):

Product Differentiation ◽

Competitive Strategy ◽

Positive Association ◽

International Strategy ◽

Competitive Intensity ◽

Content Type ◽

Cost Leadership ◽

The Usa ◽

Corporate Support ◽

The Impact

Purpose The study draws on the resource-based view and the contingency view of strategy. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to international strategy literature by extending the current understanding of foreign subsidiary’s competitive strategy in terms of cost leadership and product differentiation. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses concern associations between corporate support building on product and skills relatedness and subsidiary strategies. Also, it is hypothesized that strategies are due to the type of local competitive intensity. The hypotheses were tested on wholly owned subsidiaries of Swedish industrial firms in Germany, the UK and the USA. Findings Product and skills relatedness between the subsidiary and the corporate core unit are positively associated with the subsidiary’s emphasis on cost leadership. Also, a positive association was found between skills relatedness and product differentiation, and extensive competitive intensity strengthens the relationship. Research limitations/implications The study specifies what business relatedness is needed for a subsidiary’s competitive strategy; skills relatedness is more important than product relatedness; the type of local competitive intensity is important; corporate support and local strategy operate simultaneously. Practical implications Management is advised to implement a foreign subsidiary’s competitive strategy by recognizing the mechanisms identified in this study. Originality/value In a unique way, the study captures the role of corporate support of a foreign subsidiary’s competitive strategy relying on business relatedness and the importance of aligning the strategy with competitive intensity.

Download Full-text

Business Blogging and Enterprise Strategy

International Journal of E-Entrepreneurship and Innovation ◽

10.4018/jeei.2012040101 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Nan Hu ◽

Yun Wan ◽

Chen Ye ◽

Ling Liu

Keyword(s):

Product Differentiation ◽

Competitive Strategy ◽

Lower Cost ◽

Fortune 500 ◽

Public Relation ◽

Enterprise Strategy ◽

Competitive Advantages ◽

Competitive Position ◽

Using Data

Some experts are concerned that blogging may be in conflict with other more controlled public relation activities and suspect that only those companies in bad financial shape would resort to business blogging as a cheap attempt. Using data collected from Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki, the authors demonstrated that business blogging can be used as a new strategic tool for companies to sustain their existing competitive advantages. The authors found business blogging tend to correlated with higher sales, lower cost of goods, and reduced advertising expenses for companies. They also found that those companies use product differentiation as their main competitive strategy could better utilize business blogging to sustain their competitive position, thus maintain or increase their financial performances.

Download Full-text

Game Analysis of Photovoltaic Enterprise Competitive Strategy Based on Technology Innovation

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.380-384.4413 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 380-384 ◽

pp. 4413-4416

Author(s):

He Jiang Geng ◽

Ren Jun Zhang

Keyword(s):

Product Differentiation ◽

Competitive Strategy ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Technology Innovation ◽

Price Sensitivity ◽

Game Analysis ◽

Enterprise Competence ◽

Additional Value

Analysis of model shows that technology innovation provides photovoltaic product additional value, increases photovoltaic product differentiation and reduces consumers price sensitivity, but enterprise profit is decided by the efficiency of technology innovation, only the high efficiency of technology innovation can increase enterprise competence. Finally, the paper gives the strategy advices on technology innovation of photovoltaic enterprise.

Download Full-text