中印金融服务外包的竞争格局与策略

印度是世界金融服务外包市场中居于领先地位的承接大国,具有人才、基础设施、政策、企业管理等方面的竞争优势,对中国金融服务外包的竞争产生了挤压。面对印度的领先优势,中国应抓住当前时机发挥优势、弥补不足,学习印度的经验,从政策支持、总体战略、比较优势、人才培养四个方面来提高竞争力,改善中国在国际金融服务外包市场上的竞争格局。     

Implanting competitive strategy: A contingency approach

Competitive business strategies are often formulated with little regard given to the articulation format. This paper examines the strategy formulation process from a systems perspective and argues that articulation of a competitive strategy, such that sustained competitive advantage is created, requires consistency along the entire business chain. Internal consistency within the business chain is built through inter‐linkages. The inter‐linkages are made through four inter‐connective elements: human resources, technological resources, information resources and financial resources. It is argued in this paper that the human factor is of major importance since it integrates the other inter‐connective elements and therefore represents a key factor in the process of articulation and implementation. In view of the critical role of the human element in articulation of business strategy for competitive advantage, the paper develops a human‐factor related contingency framework. The developed contingency framework examines Porter's (1980, 1985) generic strategies with respect to congruent requisites necessary for building competitive advantage.     

The Globalization of Furniture Industries/Markets

The globalization of industries and markets represents a key trend of the last decade. This evolutionary process, anticipated to become more prevalent in the future, requires long-term strategies whereby firms, industries and nations utilize competitive advantage to expand beyond domestic borders. In order to remain competitive, manufacturers of industrial and consumer goods must address the threats of both domestic and foreign origin and, increasingly utilize a global context for strategic planning, operations and marketing. Global communications and transportation technologies for electronic data interchange, materials resource planning, international finance, management and marketing have enhanced the ability of firms to operate internationally and offer true world brands. Furniture is an example of a product that naturally lends itself to internationalization in that if performs the same basic function across geographic areas and cultures such as seating, bedding, dining, storage and display. Moreover, the use of international furniture and woodworking machinery shows rapidly diffuses new technologies and designs through the global marketplace. Wood furniture represents a prime example of a U.S. industry that has felt the competitive pressures of market globalization. In 1978, imports claimed only 6.6% of the U.S. consumption of wood household furniture. By 1990, they had reached nearly 25% of consumption. The secondary wood manufacturing industries in the United States, including wooden furniture, have been largely insulated from foreign competition due to their established position within the domestic market, abundant and high quality materials with high consumer acceptance and appeal and certain transportation barriers as associated with relatively high volume to value items. However, as the international competitive arena changes, manufacturers, industries and nations must reevaluate their future strategies in terms of the forces shaping competition. This paper presents a framework based upon a multitude of factors affecting competitive advantage in the global context using a furniture industry example. These considerations may be categorized into six domains: (1)raw material supply; (2) production/technology; (3) design and marketing; (4) related/supplying industries; (5) home country demand; and (6) government influence on trade. Global strategic options are then briefly addressed as they pertain to the wood furniture industry. The synthesis of key strategic inputs combined with a global involvement strategy may provide insight not only to wood furniture, but to many other industries attempting to cope with similar changes as evolutionary momentum builds toward global markets, consumers and competition.     

浅析基于市场营销的企业物流管理

企业取得持续性竞争优势,离不开正确运用市场营销策略。而物流管理是企业获得持续竞争优势的一个关键因素。以市场营销的视角,分析在市场营销系统中企业物流管理的作用,提出通过物流管理优化企业营销的策略,提升企业核心竞争力。     

Accelerated internationalization by emerging markets’ multinationals: The case of the white goods sector

The emergence of a “second wave” of developing country multinational enterprises (MNEs) in a variety of industries is one of the characterizing features of globalization. This paper documents how emerging markets’ MNEs (EM-MNEs) may follow quite different patterns to reach, or at least approach, global competitiveness. In particular, it investigates how three EM-MNEs pursued global growth through accelerated internationalization combined with strategic and organizational innovation. Haier (China), Mabe (Mexico) and Arçelik (Turkey) emerged as multinationals in the large home appliances (so-called “white goods”) industry. The recipe for the success of these firms seems to lie in their ability to treat global competition as an opportunity to build capabilities, move into more profitable industry segments, and adopt strategies that turn latecomer status into a source of competitive advantage. At the same time, their experiences show that there are many strategies and trajectories for going global, consistent with a pluralistic conceptualization of globalization.     

基于波特五力模型分析的旅游餐饮业发展策略探讨

按照迈克尔.波特的企业竞争战略理论,企业竞争优势是由产业结构决定的,是由一个产业中的五种竞争力量所决定的。要对抗这些竞争力量,企业就要采取相应的发展策略,建立自己的竞争优势。应用迈克尔.波特的五种竞争力模型,以我国旅游餐饮行业竞争态势为切入点进行分析,其结论是:我国旅游餐饮企业提升其市场竞争力,应该采取的发展策略是:实施品牌战略,发展连锁经营;加快自主创新,实施标准化战略;准确分析目标市场,积极培育顾客忠诚度;借鉴发达国家经验,探索有效营销策略。     

Small & Medium Gold & Fashion Enterprises (SMEs) in Arezzo,Italy: Competitive Challenges and Strategic Implications

ABSTRACT

This paper provides some empirical evidence on organizational characteristics and strategies of firms in the Italian gold and fashion industries. The analysis is based on a data set of three SME clusters in Arezzo (a city and province in Tuscany, Italy, southeast of Florence) which led us to the identification of two main alternative strategies which can be implemented when facing the new global competition: a firm-centered brand strategy and an outsourcing strategy (a supply alliance with co-branding possibilities with one or more large Italian firms). We analyzed the resources and competencies of firms that adopted different export marketing strategies and further explored the relationship between strategic choices and performance of participating firms (measured in terms of growth, innovation, and export capabilities). The results show that the choice of a strategy is strongly influenced by the ability of SMEs to respond to changes in consumer behavior and competition, and that some variables significantly affect performance. Both strategies can be effective, and in some cases it is suggested to follow the middle of the road competitive approach: combining the two strategies, exporting own brand directly to the end markets and collaborating with a large firm in order to achieve a sustainable and significant competitive advantage.     

跨国公司价值链布局与中国企业

本文认为,跨国公司为了协调在华投资,形成中国市场上的竞争优势,实现其全球战略利益,充分运用价值链理论,力图将价值链“战略环节”紧紧掌握在母公司内,将对产品价值增值不起决定作用的“非战略环节”转移给中国企业。文章提出,中国企业必须认清链入跨国公司全球价值链的必要性与可能性,掌握链入跨国公司全球价值链的关键点,并时刻关注价值链布局的动态变化,努力挤入跨国公司全球制造网,实现增强国际竞争力和国际化经营能力的目标。     

A resource-based analysis of sustainable competitive advantage in a global environment

The extant business literature on global competitive advantage has been dominated by a contingency-based approach, which advocates the attainment of fit between the firm's strategy, structures and processes and its competitive conditions. However, most support for this view has been anecdotal and rigorous empirical evidence has been lacking. This study adopts a more voluntaristic stance, and integrates perspectives from international business and strategic management to propose a resource-based model of global sustainable competitive advantage (GSCA). A series of hypotheses are presented on the nature of global resources and on the relationships between these resources and sustained superior performance. The model is tested on a sample of firms in the global automotive components industry with promising results. Conclusions are drawn and the implications for research and practice are outlined.     

The rise of super-elite law firms: towards global strategies

This paper reviews the pressures towards globalisation reshaping the corporate law sector. It uses Yip's [Yip, G.S. (1996). Total global strategy (2nd ed.). Englewood-Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall] framework of global industry drivers. The dominant view has been that the globalisation potential of the legal industry is low since there are few global legal products and many regulatory differences between markets. However, within the corporate law sector, strong regulatory differences between countries are outweighed by the combined impact of market, competitive and cost drivers. Evidence from this research shows that the balance of industry drivers is towards there being benefits to the pursuit of global strategies within this sector. In practice, a small number of very large corporate law firms are implementing global strategies in pursuit of specific sources of future competitive advantage. Thus a small ‘super-elite’ of globalising firms is emerging.     

企业竞争优势持久性的理论分析

本文认为,企业的竞争优势通常来源于成本优势、差别化优势、集中一点优势、关联与整合优势、技术优势等。成本优势主要源于规模经济、生产能力利用模式及学习模式,其持久性在于竞争者难以复制或模仿;差别化优势的持久性在于企业拥有的核心技能(如技术领先、组织机构优势、质量优势、销售领先等)的可否替代性及其程度,不可替代的核心技能才不容易被复制,多样的差别化优势才更持久;集中一点优势主要来源于成本集中和差别集中,其持久性在于目标市场足够大,可以赢利,具有很好的成长潜力,公司拥有有效服务目标市场的资源和能力及借此建立起来的商誉;关联与整合优势在企业之间形成一种链式结构,有利于减少成本,扩大市场份额,形成规模经济,提高抗风险能力;技术优势的持久性取决于技术模仿的难度、技术持续开发和创新能力、技术专利等。同时,竞争战略的持续性和稳定性、部分战略的随机调整能力、竞争战略向竞争优势的转化能力等,也对企业竞争优势的持久性产生影响。     

Dynamic and Responsive Firm Strategy

Abstract

Since the opening of China in 1980, Hong Kong manufacturing industries collaborated with China manufacturing industries to maintain a low-cost labor intensive strategy. The strategy seems to be sufficient in maintaining the global competitive advantage of Hong Kong for the past two decades. However, with the rapid organizational learning of the Chinese partner and the reluctance of the Hong Kong partner to upgrade technology, Hong Kong manufacturing industries are facing the risk of potential loss of competitive advantages. This article attempts to review this dynamic evolution of HK/China collaborations and suggest some future actions for Hong Kong manufacturing industries to maintain their competitiveness. At the same time, the article also provides some ideas for global investors to rethink their future firm strategies in China.     

Developing strategies for global markets: An evolutionary perspective

As the global landscape becomes populated by an increasingly diverse array of companies of different sizes, from different industries and of varied national origins, developing a strategy to compete effectively in global markets becomes ever more complex. How can companies of all kinds compete effectively in an increasingly diverse global landscape? The authors suggest that the appropriate response depends on a firm's level of involvement in international markets: whether a firm is just entering international markets, is aggressively expanding its international presence or is attempting to rationalize far-flung global operations. Focusing on three different industries, processed foods, automobiles and motor scooters, the authors identify appropriate strategies for leveraging competitive advantage at each phase of international involvement. They show how three paramount tasks, learning, building and leading, must evolve through each phase.     

International marketing strategies in industrial clusters: Insights from the Southern Hemisphere

This paper examines co-operative marketing strategies among clustered-based firms in the most important wine producing and exporting countries in the ‘new world’. The research examines the development of active inter-firm marketing co-operation undertaken by firms to achieve competitive positioning in international markets. The results of a survey of managers located in Argentina, Australia, Chile and New Zealand are presented. The empirical contribution comes from the unique comparative data from regional clusters in four countries which are seen internationally as innovative producers and marketers, all strongly export-oriented, but at different stages of economic development and positioning in the global marketplace. In addition, this study makes a significant contribution to agglomeration theory by confirming the importance of sharing marketing knowledge to build sustainable competitive advantage in international markets. The theoretical contribution builds understanding of international marketing strategies within the Southern Hemisphere group of emerging countries and offers new insights on international marketing practices for emerging firms from both the developed economies in the Pacific Ocean region and Latin American emerging economies.     

Assessing the Impact of Market-Focused and Price-Based Strategies on Performance: A Neural Network Typology

Marketing practitioners operate in a turbulent environment with increased market competition and more discerning customers, which make it a necessity for organisations to constantly re-appraise their competitive strategies. Porter's (1980) typology is one of the most widely cited by academics and practitioners, but it is debatable whether a single strategy will lead to sustainable competitive advantage (Helms, Dibrell and Wright, 1997).Using a systems perspective where the focus is on the interaction between dependent and independent variables, this study shows how SBU managers could use neural networks to help improve the strategy formulation process in the hospitality sector. Findings suggest that market-focused and price-based strategies have contrasting effects upon performance. This study extends the knowledge of strategy formulation and performance by focusing on the service industry, and provides controls for market-level influences by being restricted to the hotel sector.     

Competing on the edge: Implications of network position for internationalizing small- and medium-sized enterprises

Three generic competitive strategies attributed to internationalizing SMEs of targeting niches, differentiating products and leveraging networks fail to adequately explain how SMEs win customers in other countries against both large and small competitors. This study distinguishes competitive strategy (how firms compete) from competitive advantage, and from competitive engagements where firms deploy their competitive advantages to win customers within business network relationships. By abductively reasoning from the competitive engagements entered into by the internationalizing SMEs from the Fleet Management Systems industry segment in New Zealand, we show that these firms often compete with foreign rivals by using their position on the edge of a business network to leverage information asymmetries across structural holes. We contribute by integrating this conception of internationalizing SME competitive strategy with the business network foundations of the Uppsala internationalization process model.     

Mindfulness as a strategy for sustainable competitive advantage

This conceptual article explores how mindfulness can be successfully integrated in the strategy tool kit of organizations. The likely global reconstruction in the aftermath of COVID-19 can be effective if organizations reexamine their existing philosophies and business practices. Against this backdrop, mindfulness is a time-tested practice that has the potential to transcend all functions in a company’s value chain and to create a sustainable competitive advantage. This article uses a strategy lens to examine mindfulness in organizations, which has implications for researchers and practitioners. First, I discuss the theoretical frameworks of mindfulness, the performance improvements that individuals can expect from consistent practice, and how these improvements translate to organization-level performance. Next, I summarize the methods and tools for workplace application and the steps for implementing mindfulness strategies in organizations. Finally, I describe implementation challenges and offer assessment tools for mindfulness.     

Globalization and organizational restructuring: A strategic perspective

The new market opportunities, competitive threats, and diffusion of business models associated with globalization have been key drivers of organizational restructuring over the past decade. Companies have responded to these developments in a variety of ways with the objective of improving their cost and/or revenue structures through reorganizing their vertical, horizontal, and spatial boundaries and governance mechanisms. Major forms of restructuring at the business level have included labor intensification, investment in new technologies, downsizing and reengineering, the formation of strategic alliances and networks, spatial reconfiguration, and a shift from international and multinational to global and transnational strategies. To be most effective, any type of restructuring must be clearly and explicitly aligned with a firm's business‐level strategy in order to maximize the efficient and effective allocation of resources in pursuit of competitive advantage. A strategic use of restructuring which links such efforts to broader competitive strategy, and where possible to a “high‐road” approach to overall competitiveness, should result in more sustainable benefits which generate increased value‐added to shareholders as well as greater well being in the broader stakeholder community. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Impact of the home country on internationalization

We analyze how a firm’s home country influences its internationalization. We propose two complementary types of influence. First, we conceptualize a firm’s international trade as shaped by four drivers: comparative advantage, comparative disadvantage, country-of-origin advantage, and country-of-origin liability. Second, we conceptualize the firm’s foreign direct investment as shaped by four other drivers: institutional learning, competitive learning, institutional escape, and competitive escape. Taken together, these eight drivers help pull together recent theoretical advances on topics such as emerging-market multinationals, investment in tax havens, and cross-border acquisitions of firms in advanced countries. We also highlight other home-country related issues, such as strategic responses and home-host country links, in the spirit of fostering future research on home-country effects that warrant a more nuanced understanding.