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This research aims to provide new empirical evidence, showing that trivial attributes can exert a significant impact on product evaluation when they help to fulfill non-consumption goals (goal that goes beyond functional benefits).

The research presents two experimental studies that investigate the role of trivial product attributes in various non-consumption contexts.

Trivial attributes can have a significant impact on product evaluation when they help to fulfill non-consumption goals. First, in the non-competitive versus competitive choice settings, a trivial attribute becomes more important when it helps to make a choice (i.e. a non-consumption goal). Second, in the low versus high social risk settings, a trivial attribute becomes more important when it helps to reduce a social risk (i.e. a non-consumption goal). In addition, self-confidence is a moderator, which regulates consumers’ ability to rely on trivial attributes in making product choices.

The social risk manipulations (high vs low) were operationalized by manipulating the impression motive related to social risk. The more important a goal is, the more risk consumers feel in decision making (Lazarus, 1991). Therefore, risk is a proxy of the goal strength or goal relevance. Future research is needed to examine goal strength’s sole influence on the perception of the trivial attribute.

From managerial perspective, trivial attributes can help companies to improve their sales. For example, a way to increase an attribute’s importance is to put the product in a competitive setting. Increasing a social risk further increases the influence of trivial attributes. When less confident consumers perceive the social risk is high, they prefer a brand with a trivial attribute. For consumers, the findings also suggest that consumers should not be tempted to consider trivial attributes in their purchase decisions. Reconsidering attributes and increasing self-confidence could help maintain focus on non-trivial attributes.

The study makes several contributions to theory and practice. This is the first study to systematically propose a framework of how trivial attributes’ role in product evaluation and choice change based on goals. The paper clarifies confusions about the definitions of trivial attributes and reconciles contradictory findings in literature. A trivial attribute can be instrumental in evaluation and choice when it helps to achieve a non-consumption goal. It is also the first study to introduce social risks into trivial attributes research in choices. The findings provide empirical evidence that social risks and self-confidence together drive consumers to prefer for trivial attribute.

The purpose of this paper is to study the competitiveness of the stock markets in ASEAN 5, which are the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), the Singapore Exchange (SGX), Bursa Malaysia (BM), the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

This research applies Porter’s (1990) diamond model to analyze the competitiveness and the data were collected from World Economic Forum, International Institute for Management Development, the World Federation of Exchanges database, and DataStream.

The results show that SGX is the most competitive exchange in ASEAN 5 region. It dominates other exchanges in every dimension. It gains its reputation for being the region’s most prominent exchange, followed by BM, SET, IDX, and the PSE, respectively.

The results of this investigation provide rank for competitiveness of stock exchanges among ASEAN 5 and identify the way to improve its competitive position.

It is useful for public and private sectors involved in the development and policy making to promote funding and investment efficiency of the exchanges. It will be benefit to establish the well-planned development strategy and policy to build up the competitive advantage of the nations.

Identifying and benchmarking the competitiveness of the stock markets in ASEAN economies. By using Diamond Model, the authors propose indicators to assess the competitiveness of the stock markets in ASEAN 5 countries. Assessing the competitiveness of the ASEAN stock markets in this paper will lead us to better understand about each country’s strengths and weaknesses and to promote a mutual collaboration among the region toward ASEAN Economic Community.

This study seeks to present a structured methodology that can be used to develop an operations strategy for the IT service sector in developing countries that would in turn help to increase strategic fit.

In this constructive case study for BTC‐Egypt – an IT service provider, the previous success of the company's sales operations is examined with the prioritized operational strategy during their previous sales to determine the discriminating competitive priorities. Account managers used an AHP model to measure the relative importance ratings given to a comprehensive set of competitive priorities derived from the accumulated literature. Qualitative analysis for individual operations and quantitative analysis including logistic regression and correlations were used to analyze the data.

The proposed structured approach is shown to assist BTC‐Egypt in determining its differentiating competitive priorities and identify the various market segments. Results of the model showed Quality as an operational strategy rated the highest across all sales, and Customer Focus and Service Provision to be the two most discriminating variables for successful sales.

The methodology used here is new to the formulation of operation strategies, and works to enhance internal consistency throughout the organization and external fit with the competitive environment.

While the paper relied on previously developed competitive priorities well grounded in the literature, it used relative ratings to propose a structured methodology for determining the differentiating competitive priorities of a company based on its previous performance.

Portfolio analysis has been subjected to considerable scrutiny in recent years. Describes an attempt to recast it in the light of past criticisms and the unyielding importance of competitive considerations to marketing decision making. It does not introduce another new portfolio matrix. Rather it describes a broadly based approach that gives users more control over portfolio design and analysis. Describes a data‐driven approach to the analysis of competitive position that has its origins in a portfolio‐based methodology previously described by Moutinho in 1987. The Stratlogic approach is not driven by a pre‐specified portfolio model and its derived matrix. Instead it involves users in a procedure that combines multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Inputs include empirical data on the scope and resourcing of marketing strategies as well as the performance of players in a defined competitive set. Describes the proposed methodology. It also draws attention to some technical and managerial issues that arise from the flexibility and control that the stratlogic approach affords the user. This work is part of a programme of funded research into the development of expert systems for areas of strategic marketing decision making.

The purpose of the study is to introduce the idea of arena-relevant marketing capabilities and examine their impact on firm performance. Arena-relevant marketing capabilities are capabilities particularly relevant for success in a specific competitive arena in which rivals from different industries try to satisfy customer needs with alternative products and services. The authors focus on the luxury arena and pose the following research questions: Which are the arena-relevant marketing capabilities in the luxury competitive arena (i.e. luxury-arena-relevant capabilities)? (2) What is the relative importance of luxury-arena-relevant vs general marketing capabilities for firm performance in the luxury competitive arena?

To identify luxury-arena-relevant marketing capabilities, the authors conduct a qualitative study among 21 top managers of luxury brands. A subsequent large-scale managerial survey empirically tests the effects of luxury-arena-relevant vs general marketing capabilities on firm performance.

The study identifies four luxury-arena-relevant marketing capabilities: perfection in product creation, exclusive pricing, luxury-congruent storytelling and luxury brand inspiration. It confirms empirically that they have a higher impact on firm performance within the luxury competitive arena than general marketing capabilities.

The study takes an innovative perspective on marketing capabilities by linking them with the concept of a competitive arena and underlines the academic relevance of the concept of arena-relevant marketing capabilities for explaining firm performance.

States that manufacturing competence in organizations is determined by the competitive priorities of those organizations and the key operating decisions which they make to achieve those competitive priorities. Sets out to investigate whether manufacturing strategy can be applied to an industry which is not traditionally thought of as manufacturing by determining the industry’s competitive priorities and key decision areas and the relationship between them. Finds that there was a set of competitive priorities and key decision areas which apply to the Australian wine industry and that the most important key decision areas (plant capacity, quality assurance, plant and equipment, production planning and control, product design and top management involvement) were similar to those which apply to many other manufacturing industries.

Proposes a model of strategic planning as a basis to overcome the identified shortcomings in the past empirical research. The basic assumption of the proposed model is that an appropriate strategic analysis is necessary in order to ensure appropriate strategic decisions.

Shortcomings related to empirical research in the past were identified with the aim of discussing some possible reasons why the concept of manufacturing strategy had not been more widely adopted in practice and of developing the model of strategic planning. Based on the proposed model and relating to previous research, an empirical study of two relationships has been performed: first, between business strategic competence of an enterprise and business performance, and second, between business strategic competence and manufacturing strategic decision areas.

The goals of analysis in the process of strategic planning have been explained. Empirical findings about a positive relationship between business performance and business strategic competence confirmed the results of previous research. Some empirically significant relationships between strategic decision areas and manufacturing competitive priorities results were identified.

In order to guarantee effective decision making, the role of the analysis in the process of planning has to be understood. This phase of the planning process is not getting enough attention from practitioners. This results in decision making for which quick jumping to solution‐seeking is characteristic, without appropriate determination of problems beforehand.

The paper emphasises the importance of strategic analysis and problem identification to appropriate strategic decision making. This holds true not only of practical strategic decision making inside specific companies, but also of design and implementation of empirical research.

This paper reports research findings on the relationship between competitive methods, generic strategies, and firm performance. It was found that competitive methods in the banking industry correspond to Porter's generic strategy types and that a cost leadership strategy provides a statistically significant performance advantage over banks that are stuck‐in‐the‐middle. Alternatively, firms that used competitive methods to pursue a broad differentiation, customer service differentiation, or focus strategy were unable to realize a performance advantage over firms that are stuck‐in‐the‐middle. This study suggests that in the banking industry it may be difficult to generate superior returns using a differentiation or focus strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology using quality function deployment (QFD) approach for aligning competitive strategy with supply chain strategy.

QFD and utility‐based optimization approach are employed to achieve strategic fit between the competitive and supply chain strategies. The supply chain performance is defined by using the information contained in the House of Quality of QFD and utility functions.

Supply chain performance index is computed for the different sets of supply chain design objectives. An illustrative example is presented in this paper to describe the QFD approach for aligning competitive and supply chain strategies.

Application of QFD approach is a new approach to design a supply chain through aligning competitive and supply chain strategies.

One of the most salient contemporary societal trends is the increasing amount of public–private collaborations. In spite of the increasing awareness of the need to scrutinise the promises of public–private partnership (PPP), there is an important but seldom-asked question: How does the assumed interaction pattern behind PPP correspond with the interaction pattern appearing in empirical studies of the content of business exchange? The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the discrepancy between the expected and actual pattern of interactions in PPPs.

The paper presents a specific PPP concerning the construction of a Nya Karolinska (NKS) hospital building, which ended up as an economic and functional disaster. With an interactive approach as point of departure (Håkansson et al. 2009; Waluszewski, Håkansson, Snehota, 2017), this paper investigates a) the interaction pattern of the business landscape expected by policy/politicians in the NKS construction case and b) how the assumed interaction pattern appears in relation to the interaction pattern of the business landscape outlined in empirical studies of exchange, in the business landscape in general and of the construction setting in particular.

Given that the public side is neglecting the interactivity and interdependency of the private business setting, the disappointment with the NKS PPP project does not appear as an odd deviation. Rather, as a natural consequence of a public side expecting autonomous actors able to deliver innovation, quality and cost control just because they are exposed to competitive forces – but in reality interfacing with private actors which interests are directed to interdependent investments in place; own and related suppliers’.

The investigation of the political expectations behind the NKS PPP case was concentrated on two types of data. Original reports expressing the political view of the interaction pattern of the private setting have been used. Four published studies focussing on different aspects of the NKS process, which discuss the political view of the private setting, was also used.

Be it private–private or public–private, to be beneficial for both sides of the exchange interface, both sides have to engage in the exchange – with representatives with knowledge and experiences of all direct and indirect related social and material resources that will be affected. The need to mobilise and involve representatives with extensive experiences of specific resource combinations of both sides of the exchange interface; the public as well as the private, does not disappear simply because it is assumed away.

The competitive forces of the private setting are by politicians and policy assumed to function in an automatic way; breeding cost efficiency, quality and innovation. Furthermore, there is also an assumption of speed and ease of change. With the trust in these characteristic sof the private setting at hand, politicians have a “cart blanche” to withdraw from direct involvement in the creation of producer-user interfaces.

The paper underlines that as soon as the public-private exchange concerns goods that cannot be transformed to or treated as homogeneous ‘commodities’, as most often is the case of in this type of processes, there are reasons to be extremely careful in the design of the interaction interface. There are differences both in resource and activity structures between the two sides of the exchange interface and these differences have to be actively dealt with.