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Knowledge is a critical asset that places contractor organisations at a competitive advantage when they take part in competitive tendering. However, a dearth of literature exists on the mechanisms that contractor organisations can adopt to utilise knowledge to gain competitive advantage and win tenders through competitive tendering.

The study adopted an interpretive stance with a qualitative approach that comprised a literature review, 15 expert interviews and three case studies. The literature review and expert interview findings were used to develop an intermediate framework of knowledge value chain (KVC), while the case study findings were used to develop the final KVC framework with the intermediate framework as the basis.

The study developed, in three distinctive steps, a KVC framework based on Powell's (2001) KVC for use by the tendering divisions/units of contractor organisations employing quantity surveyors (QSs) to handle tendering work and to increase their chances of winning tenders.

The study developed a KVC framework for the use of contractor organisations to maximise their chances of winning tenders in the field of quantity surveying.

This paper seeks to examine the impact of information technology (IT) on the competitive advantages of third‐party logistics (3PL) firms in China.

A questionnaire‐based mail survey was conducted in mainland China. Spline regressions were used to model the relationship between IT and competitive advantages.

This study found that IT could significantly influence a firm's competitive advantage, and the effects are nonlinear.

The modeled relationship between IT and competitive advantages may not hold in different cultural environments and industrial settings. The sample size was small.

A higher IT focus may improve a firm's competitive advantage. To achieve competitive advantages efficiently, it is essential to integrate IT, align IT strategy and business strategy, obtain IT‐related management skills, and achieve IT competency. 3PL managers can expect competitive advantages from their investments in IT to begin showing up when the deployment of IT is higher than the average relative to competitors.

This paper is a pioneering study that investigates the relationship between IT and competitive advantages in 3PL firms; is a pioneering study on IT and its impact on competitive advantages in China's 3PL firms; and provides valuable guidance and insights for 3PL managers to improve competitive advantages using information technology.

The paper presents an investigation into the validity and robustness of the concept of competitive productivity (CP) using linguistic analysis and theory to explore the foundational CP concepts and the relationships between them.

The aim of this paper is to make a theoretical contribution to the conceptualisation of CP in order to inform its understanding, measurement and application.

The investigation indicates the relevance of three dimensions (instantiation, stratification and system) to understand CP as a complex, multidimensional system. Instantiation both clarifies CP as a multilevel system and highlights the need for an additional dimension(s) to understand the relationship between national, firm and individual CP (NCP, FCP and ICP). In combination, the two dimensions of stratification and system model CP as a series of nested strata (theory/models, concepts, constructs, variables and measures) through which marketing and management theory and knowledge is created and demonstrate how the options at each level can be articulated as system networks.

Managing the complexity of CP by mapping different aspects along different dimensions and, in doing so, better understanding the nature of and relationships between different phenomena within the domain can potentially inform future qualitative and quantitative research in business studies and beyond.

The paper uses a novel, interdisciplinary approach to demonstrate the existence of CP as a complex, multidimensional system, where such dimensions inform the understanding, measurement and application of CP, and so is of value to marketing and management researchers and practitioners.

The case will help learners to analyse how effective handling of an extended marketing mix of 7Ps (product, price, place, promotion, physical evidence, participants and processes) makes a startup profitable in its initial years of inception; understand the significance of the online marketing strategies like digital marketing and social media marketing implemented by firms to attain a competitive edge amongst established local and global competitors; examine the strategic challenges faced by a business enterprise while entering an emerging market; analyse the growth strategies of a startup relative to various market constraints; and propose long-term strategies for sustainable growth for a startup operating in the wearables market.

Founded in 2016, Boat Lifestyle is a Delhi-based Indian startup in fashionable consumer electronics. In the past five years, Boat earned remarkable profits and emerged as one of the most promising startups through its innovative products offerings and promotion. Aiming at its target customer segment, the millennials, it promoted its products through social media marketing such as influencer marketing and brand tie-ins with sports teams and music events. The case focuses on the dynamics of the Indian wearables market that is facing tough competition from global and local players. To ensure continued growth prospects, while maintaining a tight focus on product differentiation, quality, and customer satisfaction, there is a greater need for Boat to rethink its market development and growth strategies regarding new innovations and adopting long-term orientation like diversification and global expansion.

The case aims for teaching business management students at the Undergraduate, Postgraduate, and Executive education level. In addition, the case can be related to the Strategic Management course curriculum and Marketing course curriculum.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy

Despite calls for more theoretical and strategically oriented work in logistics, the resource‐based theory of the firm (RBT), and the related capabilities approach ‐ which represent a dominant stream of research in strategic management over the last decade ‐ have not been prominent in the logistics literature. Provides a critical review of the large literature on the RBT and suggests areas where it can be applied to strategically‐oriented logistics research. Describes the resource‐based theory of the firm, its major assumptions, and its implications for strategic actions. Also discusses other areas of research where the RBT have been applied. Illustrates how the RBT represents the underlying theoretical support for one of the central propositions of strategic logistics: that a distinctive logistics capability is a source of sustainable competitive advantage and superior performance. Suggests that strategic logistics research may benefit from combining the RBT with organizational learning theory and evolutionary approaches to competition.

Though resource based view (RBV) has been applied extensively in supply chain studies to examine how firms utilize logistics resources to attain superior performance, relatively little attention has been directed to exploring the effects of operational routines on logistics and supply chain (L&SC) competencies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal linkages between operational routines and L&SC competencies of Chinese logistics service providers (LSPs).

A conceptual model on the relationships between operational routines and L&SC competencies was developed based on RBV. In total, 76 valid responses from a survey of Chinese LSPs provided the empirical data for the testing of the formulated hypotheses. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to develop the constructs for the model and hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypothesized relationships.

Not all operational routines were drivers of L&SC competencies in the Chinese logistics market. Processes for increasing responsiveness are most important in contributing to building positioning, distribution support and agility competencies. Processes for increasing flexibility are only effective in developing positioning competency, while performance benchmarking has little contribution to competency building in the Chinese market. ICT support strengthens the relationship between performance benchmarking and distribution support, but weakens that between processes for increasing flexibility and distribution support as well as that between processes for increasing responsiveness and agility.

This study raises more questions than it attempts to answer, opening up a number of horizons for further research into the logistics market of China. Several follow‐up studies have been suggested, including a multiple case study on how Chinese LSPs contrive their operational routines to respond to the exigencies of market situations.

Findings from this study have significant managerial implications in resource investment and competency building to generate competitive advantage in the Chinese logistics market.

This research sheds new insights on the routine‐capability‐competency building chain in China's fragmentary logistics industry. It indicates that despite over three decades of economic reform, and ascension to the World Trade Organization, China remains a distinctively unique market environment with ingredients for operation success vastly different from those of the developed economies.

Quality assurance is more than mere compliance with customer requirements. It is to assure that product design, production and performance is soundly rooted in modern technology. This means that production is fully rationalised, costs are minimised, and customer satisfaction is maximised. In this article, we analyse the basic relationship of quality assurance and advancing technology in the creation of competitive products and services. The various impacts of modern technology on traditional inspection and quality control at the individual workplace and quality assurance of software will be included.

This paper presents the approach of a one‐to‐one relationship for branding in business‐to‐business markets. With qualitative evidence, the paper seeks to clarify the links between branding, relationship marketing and purchase intention of resellers and to discuss the contribution of brand personified as brand representatives to the brand knowledge of resellers. The aim of this paper is to understand how this transfer of knowledge by brand personified as representatives of the brand is reflected in the selection process of brand for resale by resellers.

The theory is used to develop a testable model. Information from the field was gathered through 12 in‐depth interviews of brand managers of international IT brands. These interviews helped to give a deeper insight into the topic and contributed to the categorization of different themes to be developed into constructs. Components that emerged from the interviews were from different disciplines and were useful in making linkages between these disciplines.

Interviewees associated the role of brand personified (as brand representative) as a conduit between brand and resellers. Given the findings, brand when personified as a human can be used to manage reseller relationships in a business‐to‐business network. The brand personified with its metaphorical properties enables the resellers not only to clearly understand brand‐related information but also to make positive evaluations about the brand. Empirical research would be helpful to establish the indicators of brand personification and to enhance the understanding of the concept.

The study will be useful for senior managers of brands operating in competitive and complex business‐to‐business networks. It will enable them to use the categories and components to ensure that their brand is the preferred brand for resellers operating in the network.

The approach will be helpful in linking different functions of the organization to measure the contribution made by employees representing the brand to resellers in competitive markets by imparting knowledge about the brand to resellers.

To present a multi‐attribute approach for the selection and ranking of the most suitable 3PL service provider.

The approach is based on the TOPSIS technique (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and the fuzzy set theory.

A quantitative methodology based on a structured framework, for the selection of the most appropriate 3PL service provider.

Future research may attempt to compare the results of the methodology proposed with those of other Multi Attribute Group Decision Making methods. In particular, the selection tree could be developed in a multi‐tier hierarchy, trying to punctually address the relationships between the upper tier criteria and the lower level ones. With multi‐tier hierarchies, the performance of AHP could be compared with the one obtained with TOPSIS, not only with respect to “technical suitability” but also in terms of easiness to implement, shortcomings and general managerial viability.

From the application of the methodology to a real case, the approach proposed emerges as an appropriate tool, which makes it possible to easily and effectively rank alternatives. Conversely the most critical issue pointed out by the real case application is the preliminary “request of information” phase, which has to be given critical attention. The availability of a well structured body of knowledge about potential candidates emerged as the true discriminant for an effective analysis.

The originality of the paper is threefold: first, an original framework of criteria for the selection of the most suitable 3PL service provider is presented. Second, an original methodology based on a fuzzy TOPSIS approach is presented. Third, the practical implications and drawbacks are discussed by means of a real case application.