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1 – 10 of over 148000Lee Li, Gongming Qian and Brian Gaber
In the past decade, Chinese enterprises have achieved superior cost advantages in the labor‐intensive industries. This paper explores the valuable resources that Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
In the past decade, Chinese enterprises have achieved superior cost advantages in the labor‐intensive industries. This paper explores the valuable resources that Chinese enterprises use to develop such advantages and the effective mechanisms they employ to sustain the advantages.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a multiple case design that allows a replication logic, in which a series of cases is treated as a series of experiments with each case serving to confirm or disconfirm the inferences that are drawn from the others. Twenty‐nine cases were collected. The data analysis consisted of three steps (1): within‐case analysis; (2) cross‐case analysis; and (3) proposition‐shaping analysis.
Findings
Evidence from this study indicates that the Chinese enterprises employ a complicated multi‐step framework to develop and sustain their cost advantages. The framework consists of various resources at different levels. Resources at the same level fit, support, and reinforce each other and they work together to achieve certain competitive advantages. The advantages are not constants. They are renewed frequently, and the advantages at previous step serve as the foundation for generating the next round of advantages. The contextual and historical causality between these resources and the advantages result in their sustainability.
Originality/value
The findings of this study make contributions to the existing strategy literature on two fronts. First, the sustainability of a competitive advantage results from the contextual and historical causality between various resources in combination. Second, in addition to physical, human, and organizational resources, valuable resources may also include intangibles, such as culture, norms, large home market size, tough domestic competition, and flexible organizational structures, etc.
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Technological innovations can have Important strategic implications for individual companies and can greatly influence industries as a whole. Yet, not all technological change is…
Abstract
Technological innovations can have Important strategic implications for individual companies and can greatly influence industries as a whole. Yet, not all technological change is strategically beneficial. This article focuses on ways to recognize and exploit the competitive significance of change.
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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This paper aims to clarify the fit of competitive strategies and firm-specific advantages (FSAs) with country-specific advantages (CSAs) in explaining manufacturing location…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify the fit of competitive strategies and firm-specific advantages (FSAs) with country-specific advantages (CSAs) in explaining manufacturing location choices at product category level in the European automotive industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Seven hypotheses are formulated and tested using binomial logistic regression with data from 148 passenger car models (i.e. product category level) that are sold in Europe and manufactured in countries that offer CSAs of either cost advantages or differentiation advantages. The first four hypotheses test manufacturing location choices of product categories pursuing cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, focus strategy and hybrid strategy. The other three hypotheses test whether FSAs of R&D capability, marketing capability and operations capability will impact on the manufacturing location choice. The tests control for the type of passenger cars as well as the manufacturer’s region of origin.
Findings
While pursuing cost leadership strategy leads to manufacturing in countries that offer cost advantages, pursuing differentiation strategy as well as strong R&D capability and marketing capability result in manufacturing in countries that offer differentiation advantages. Focus strategy, hybrid strategy and operations capability do not have an impact on the manufacturing location choice at product category level.
Research limitations/implications
Conducting empirical research at product category level is subject to limitations in the choices of FSAs due to lack of availability of data.
Practical implications
Managers should assess the competitive strategies and FSAs of their product categories and then decide about manufacturing locations based on their fit with host country CSAs. Policymakers should understand the CSAs of their countries and target to attract manufacturing FDI from product categories with matching competitive strategies and FSAs.
Originality/value
The research contributes to discussions in explaining manufacturing location choices. Its originality lies in being the first study to test the fit of competitive strategies and FSAs of product categories with CSAs.
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Empirical evidence suggests that competitive advantage is of considerable importance to organizations as global competition, extensive changes in technology, and customer demands…
Abstract
Empirical evidence suggests that competitive advantage is of considerable importance to organizations as global competition, extensive changes in technology, and customer demands intensify. However, little work has been done in the management accounting arena to identify critical organizational strategies that might facilitate it. Following a literature review, this study assesses the extent to which product life cycle cost analysis, customer involvement, and cost management contribute to the competitive advantage of firms. The findings of this research show that life cycle cost analysis, customer involvement, and cost management enhance an organization's competitive advantage, consistent with the study's theoretical expectations. The provision of empirical evidence on the utility of these three variables to the promotion of competitive advantage underscores the need to conduct further research focusing on them in management accounting.
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By using the dynamic capabilities (DC) theory and the theory of competitive advantage, the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to investigate the role of marketing…
Abstract
Purpose
By using the dynamic capabilities (DC) theory and the theory of competitive advantage, the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to investigate the role of marketing capabilities on the firm’s export performance. Specifically, this framework depicts the consequences of marketing capabilities and focuses on the relationships among marketing capabilities, competitive advantage, and export performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a meta-analysis of the literature on marketing capabilities and use multivariate analyses to test the framework.
Findings
The study revealed that competitive advantage has an important mediating role in the relationship between marketing capabilities and export performance. Specifically, the authors found that two types of competitive advantage (i.e. low-cost advantage and differentiation advantage) positively mediate the effect of marketing capabilities on export performance.
Originality/value
Although research on marketing capabilities is still in its early infancy, the study provides a base from which future work can be developed. The authors also contribute to the literature by examining the mediating role of competitive advantage in the marketing capability-export performance relationship, thereby offering new insights into how and why marketing capabilities play a crucial role in explaining the firm’s export performance.
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Halit Keskin, Hayat Ayar Şentürk, Ekrem Tatoglu, Ismail Gölgeci, Ozan Kalaycioglu and Hatice Tuba Etlioglu
This study aims to determine the simultaneous effect of exporting firms' competitive strategies and capabilities on the achievement of competitive advantages and export…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine the simultaneous effect of exporting firms' competitive strategies and capabilities on the achievement of competitive advantages and export performance under the boundary conditions of competitive intensity. In so doing, the study combines the alternative theoretical lenses of the resource-based view (RBV) and the structure–conduct–performance (SCP) paradigm.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data were obtained from 281 Turkish manufacturer–exporter firms operating in different sectors and located in several regions of the country. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test our conceptual framework, which combined the effects of RBV-based and SCP-based factors on competitive advantages and export performance under the moderating influence of competitive intensity.
Findings
This study reveals that unique firm capabilities, specifically informational, relational, and marketing capabilities, and competitive strategies, including differentiation and cost leadership, provide export firms with a competitive advantage and improve their export performance in foreign markets. Furthermore, competitive advantages partially mediate the effects of competitive strategies and unique firm capabilities on export performance. Finally, unexpectedly, and contrary to most of the existing literature, we find that competitive intensity negatively moderates the link between service advantages and export performance.
Originality/value
This research offers a comprehensive view of manufacturer–exporter firms' export performance by accounting for the overlooked simultaneous effect of firm capabilities and competitive strategies through the mediation of competitive advantages and under the boundary conditions of competitive intensity.
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Vedant Singh, S. Vaibhav and Somesh Kr. Sharma
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between the dimensions of sustainable competitive advantages in the Indian low cost airlines.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between the dimensions of sustainable competitive advantages in the Indian low cost airlines.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used structural equation modelling methods to identify the factors that significantly affect the sustainable competitive advantages enjoyed by Indian low-cost carriers (LCCs). Specifically, this study is based on the data from 208 airline experts that populate multiple structural equation models.
Findings
Results indicate that indigenous efficiency, the LCCs perceptions of threat, dexterity, strategic persuasion and the LCC adopting an enabling role positively affect LCCs’ competitive advantages. These five factors were all correlated with each other. The results also show that relative to an LCC’s dexterity, indigenous efficiency is a stronger predictor of an LCC’s competitive advantages.
Originality/value
This study provides low-cost airlines with valuable information for designing effective strategies for obtaining competitive advantages in the LCC sector. To conclude the paper, the authors offer practical recommendations for managers and suggest some avenues for future research in this area.
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Hamid Moradlou, Hendrik Reefke, Heather Skipworth and Samuel Roscoe
This study investigates the impact of geopolitical disruptions on the manufacturing supply chain (SC) location decision of managers in UK multinational firms. The context of study…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the impact of geopolitical disruptions on the manufacturing supply chain (SC) location decision of managers in UK multinational firms. The context of study is the UK manufacturing sector and its response to the UK's decision to leave the European Union (EU), or Brexit.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts an abductive, theory elaboration approach and expands on Dunning's eclectic paradigm of international production. A Delphi study over four iterative rounds is conducted to gather and assess insights into manufacturing SC location issues related to Brexit. The panel consisted of 30 experts and managers from a range of key industries, consultancies, governmental organisations, and academia. The Delphi findings are triangulated using a focus group with 38 participants.
Findings
The findings indicate that the majority of companies planned or have relocated production facilities from the UK to the EU, and distribution centres (DCs) from the EU to the UK. This was because of market-seeking advantages (being close to major centres of demand, ease of access to local and international markets) and efficiency-seeking advantages (costs related to expected delays at ports, tariff and non-tariff barriers). Ownership and internalisation advantages, also suggested by the eclectic paradigm, did not play a role in the location decision.
Originality/value
The study elaborates on the OLI framework by showing that policy-related uncertainty is a primary influencing factor in the manufacturing location decision, outweighing the importance of uncertainty as an influencer of governance mode choices. The authors find that during geopolitical disruptions managers make location decisions in tight time-frames with incomplete and imperfect information, in situations of high perceived uncertainty. The study elaborates on the eclectic paradigm by explaining how managerial cognition and bounded rationality influence the manufacturing location decision-making process.
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Stephen Korutaro Nkundabanyanga, Brendah Akankunda, Irene Nalukenge and Immaculate Tusiime
The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of financial management practices and competitive advantage on loan performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of financial management practices and competitive advantage on loan performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs).
Design/methodology/approach
In this cross-sectional study, the authors surveyed 70 MFIs in Kampala, Uganda. The authors applied principal component analysis to reduce the number of factors and identify the important elements that capture financial management practices, competitive advantage and loan performance of MFIs. The authors put forward and tested three hypotheses relating to the significance of the relationship between these three variables of MFIs using the statistical software package, SPSS and also apply the normal theory approach developed by Sobel (1982) and Baron and Kenny (1986) in testing the mediation by competitive advantage.
Findings
Robust financial management practices are associated with better loan performance of MFIs. Results also reveal a significant positive relationship between the competitive advantage of the MFIs and their loan performance. Furthermore, a significant positive relationship between competitive advantage and loan performance is found. Moreover results also show a full mediation effect of competitive advantage on the association of financial management practices and loan performance, implying that the association of financial management practices of the MFIs on their loan performance is entirely through their competitive advantage.
Research limitations/implications
Although there is plenty of literature on loan performance, financial management practices and competitive advantage, there is scarce literature on their effective conceptualization. This together with the imprecise definition of competitive advantage may have affected conceptualization of the authors study. Thus, in this study, the authors do not claim highly refined measurement concepts. Moreover, many of the extant studies for instance have measured loan performance quantitatively, yet process factors which are inherently qualitative in nature can better explain variances in loan performance concept. More research is therefore needed to better refine qualitative concepts used in this study.
Practical implications
Efforts by the MFIs management to improve loan performance must be matched with adoption of financial management practices that provide MFIs with sustained competitive advantage over their rivals.
Originality/value
In order to explain loan performance of MFIs, and drawing from social economics, management and accounting strands, this study shows that assessing the role of competitive advantage in the relationship between financial management practices and loan performance is imperative. Also, many of the extant studies have measured loan performance quantitatively, yet process factors or antecedents which are inherently qualitative in nature can better explain variances in loan performance concept. Thus this study calls for the refinement of loan performance concept and accounting for endogeneity.
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