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The purpose of this paper is to further clarify the link between the theoretical and practical/real-life implications of a seminal topic in the strategic operations management field: Wickham Skinner’s strategic trade-offs model. This will help researchers, practitioners and students to realize the “everyday life” consequences of this highly influential model.

A theoretical analysis is made of previous research dealing with the strategic trade-offs model. Building on these investigations, a Popperian approach is used to logically develop the model, and the authors demonstrate how it can be empirically tested.

Previous investigations on Skinner’s model mainly focus on trade-offs between competitive capabilities (e.g. cost, quality, delivery) at the firm level. This paper demonstrates that the implications of this model necessarily should include consideration of the strategic trade-offs between the competitive characteristics of products/services that practitioners, students and the general public can observe.

While previous investigations have provided necessary clarifications, no paper has addressed the issue of the existence of strategic trade-offs between the competitive characteristics of products/services. This paper offers guidelines for researchers and practitioners on the way that the strategic trade-offs model can be conceptualized, understood and tested.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of studies on strategic consensus along manufacturing competitive priorities. Based on this analysis, a new methodology to measure strategic consensus on manufacturing competitive priorities that is more consistent with mainstream operations management theory is proposed. The paper also includes novel proposals for future research.

The new methodology and proposals for research are mainly based on a literature review of previous studies on strategic consensus regarding manufacturing competitive priorities and also on relevant research and works in the field of operations management.

Previous methodologies used to measure strategic consensus regarding manufacturing competitive priorities are mainly based on studies in the business strategy field. Thus, these methodologies are deemed as inadequate in the operations management field. It is also found that there are very few studies that have analysed this topic in the operations management field. Moreover, since the methodologies used in those studies are based on previous research in the field of business strategy, the results of the reviewed papers are considered as questionable.

For academics, the paper and its results imply a change in the methodologies and research used to study the issue of strategic consensus on manufacturing competitive priorities. The lack of research into this topic is also observed. More research and studies on this theme are needed. For practitioners, the methodology proposed in the paper could be utilised in order to assess the employees' knowledge of the relationships between manufacturing capabilities inside manufacturing firms.

To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first review paper into this under‐researched theme in the operations management field. The paper also presents the first methodology that incorporates mainstream theory and research in the field of operations management into the measurement of strategic consensus on manufacturing competitive priorities.

U.S. international marketing practitioners identified the most difficult ethical problems they have encountered in foreign trade. These ethical problems were rated as occurring infrequently and having a moderate impact on a firm′s overseas competitiveness. Conversely, the respondents saw ethical problems as likely to tarnish the firm′s domestic image and to generate much concern for top management. This suggests such problems may have a stronger negative impact upon a firm′s domestic public image but may not be a major factor inhibiting its international trade. The strategic alternatives to, and management implications of, avoiding markets which may pose ethical problems are discussed.

Briefly outlines the development and attraction of the “joint venture” approach to foreign investment in China. Provides a number of in‐depth interviews with top management personnel of five well‐known international joint ventures. Attempts to discover what strategic management knowledge was transferred from the Western partner. Finds only limited evidence to suggest such a transfer was taking place but suggests that these ventures are still relatively new. Points to China’s likely entry into the World Trade Organisation as an opportunity for change.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between strategic manufacturing capabilities, particularly whether they are cumulative or trade‐off in nature.

Uses statistical analyses, particularly structural equation modelling based on data from the third round of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey.

Finds mostly cumulative effects between the strategic capabilities. Shows that “quality” is a basis for “delivery”, which is a basis for “flexibility” and “cost”; between “flexibility” and “cost” an unclear relationship is found. Whether “flexibility” and “cost” are pursued exclusively or simultaneously seems to be connected with the implementation of certain improvement programmes.

Results cannot be interpreted in a prescriptive way, but only as descriptive findings stemming from a large empirical database. Future research in this area needs to be extended by longitudinal analyses and simulation studies because cross‐sectional analyses can only provide indirect empirical measures of dynamic changes of capabilities.

Describes a common pattern of capability accumulation in the industries investigated. This information can be used to estimate potential competitor behaviour or as a way to perform in an innovative manner.

Offers a clear conceptualisation of strategic capabilities with the help of an empirical study.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of the European Journal of Marketing is split into seven sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Marketing, Europe and international business; Marketing strategy; Supply‐chain management; Product management; Services marketing; Marketing in the public sector; and Marketing and information technology.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the complex processes involving state sacrifice of essential values, including a measure of sovereignty, in return for economic benefits which are substantial but not to a point of overshadowing all else.

The research agenda is addressed by reviewing systematically the extensive theoretical and empirical academic literature on China's entry into the World Trade Organization and drawing appropriate conclusions about how the issue at hand should ideally be approached at this juncture.

Useful observations emerge regarding the classification of relevant factors, conceptual integration, analytical responses to problems arising in the context of accelerating economic integration across the globe and realistic model building.

Insights generated may enhance understanding of the interplay between the forces of globalization and nationalism and lead to a more enlightened management of the ensuing tension.

Critical assessment undertaken may pave the way for a less segmented and more grounded academic work on the subject.

This paper seeks to explore the interplay and interdependencies of factory and network capabilities. This issue has become progressively more important as companies seek to manage dispersed networks of plants capable of responding to increasingly competitive and volatile environments. The paper draws on field studies of two international manufacturing networks comprising eight factories in six countries. The research used a case‐based methodology that combined multiple interviews and ethnographic research at each location. Factory and network level capabilities were shown to simultaneously affect a suggested set of dimensions of operational performance and a matrix was proposed to visualise this interdependency. The case studies show that decisions regarding factory and network issues are often taken independently of each other despite the fact that they may be heavily interdependent. The cases also highlight the critical dimension of time in factory and network level capability building as well as the need for developing strategy processes that take into account the interdependency of factory and network capabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to reaffirm the suggestion that there are at least two distinct types of laws of trade-off that affect all firms and, in doing so, to contribute toward resolving the persistent trade-off debate in the literature.

Conceptual study using implicit deductive reasoning.

Two types of trade-offs are identified: “internal” can be understood following the dictates of the law of diminishing returns, while “external” can be modeled using the principle of energy conservation.

New insights are provided by discussing the impact of both laws of trade-off on the resource-based view of the firm, on new capabilities such as sustainability and innovativeness and on key strategic choices.

The study explains why trade-offs occur and outlines contextual factors that determine the “strength” of the trade-offs.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has attempted to investigate the topic of strategic trade-offs on the basis of the principle of energy conservation.

Introduces a decision framework for making strategic competitive choices beyond the product‐brand, business unit, or corporate levels of analysis. It adds a fourth dimension: the multi‐organizational strategic competitive unit which is responsible for planning and implementing competitive strategy in the global marketplace. Long‐range competitive success can no longer be achieved by a single company, and in recent years, the relevant competitive unit has shifted from the company to the larger competitive system of companies aligned in strategic collaborations for competitive advantage. For example, no longer is competition between one auto assembler and another, but between Toyota and its Keiretsu programme of global networking and strategic alliances with suppliers and other competitors against Ford and General Motors and their relative commitment to the more narrowly focused corporate competitive unit.