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SILVA, MARTIM FRANCISCO DE OLIVEIRA E. "THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF NATIONS AND THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF COMPANIES: DOES LOCATION MATTER?" PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2009. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=13434@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROHá dois pontos de vista dominantes no campo da Administração Estratégica para explicar o desempenho das empresas: a visão da Organização Industrial, que destaca o papel do ambiente industrial e a Visão Baseada em Recursos, que salienta a importância das características individuais das empresas, ambos extensamente estudados. Entretanto, a associação entre o desempenho das empresas e a competitividade das nações, em termos de seus ambientes institucionais, culturais, políticos e econômicos é um campo do conhecimento que continua a ser pouco explorado. Este estudo buscou comprovar que o desempenho das empresas varia não apenas em função das indústrias a que elas pertencem ou de suas características individuais, mas também em função do ambiente mais geral dos países em que elas operam. A partir dos relatórios anuais de competitividade do World Economic Forum e dos indicadores de desempenho obtidos a partir da base de dados do MSCI Inc., foram testadas as hipóteses formuladas associando o ambiente mais geral dos países ao desempenho de suas empresas, sendo encontradas evidências da existência do relacionamento entre os indicadores de competitividade dos países e o desempenho sustentável de suas empresas. O estudo tratou de maneira pioneira o relacionamento entre o conceito da vantagem competitiva das nações, através de seus indicadores de competitividade e a vantagem competitiva das empresas, por meio de seu desempenho; testou empiricamente o modelo do Diamante Competitivo do Professor Michael Porter; destacou três variáveis, habitualmente negligenciadas na linha de pesquisas das fontes de desempenho de empresas: a Sofisticação dos Compradores, o PIB e as Compras Governamentais; e criou um novo indicador de desempenho que também traduz a sua sustentabilidade, o qual se relaciona à linha da pesquisa da persistência dos retornos anormais.
There are two dominant points of view in the field of Strategic Management to explain the firm performance: the Industrial Organization view, which highlights the role of the industrial environment, and the Resource Based View, which emphasizes the importance of the idiosyncratic characteristics of firms, both extensively studied. However, the association between the firm performance and the competitiveness of nations in terms of their institutional, cultural, political and economical environment is a field of knowledge still insufficiently explored. This study shows that firm performance depends not only on the industries to which they belong or to their individual characteristics, but also to the wider environment of the countries where they operate. From the Annual Competitiveness Reports of the World Economic Forum and the financial performance indicators obtained from the database of MSCI Inc., the hypothesis made relating the wider environment of the countries to the performance of their firms were tested. Evidences of the relationship between the nation´s competitiveness indicators and the sustainable performance of their firms were found. The study pioneered the approach relating the concept of competitive advantage of nations, through its indicators of competitiveness, to the competitive advantage of companies, through their performance; empirically tested the model of Michael Porter´s Competitive Diamond; highlighted three variables, usually neglected in the line of research of the sources of firm performance: Buyers Sophistication, GDP and Government Purchases; and created a new indicator of performance that also reflects its sustainability, which relates to the line of research on the persistence of abnormal returns.
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Berzengi, Raz, and Anna Linbom. "Competitive Advantage of Environmental Sustainability." Thesis, Halmstad University, School of Business and Engineering (SET), 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-1342.
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More and more companies are trying to adopt a sustainability strategy, because of a growing awareness among people about a need for better environment in the future. It has been noticed that a balance between economic, social and environmental aspects is of great significance. The benefits of a strategy to become more balanced are said to be competitive advantage and stakeholder satisfaction besides the economic, social and environmental benefits.
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Runge, D. A. "Using telecommunications for competitive advantage." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.235120.
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Gloudemans, Colin A. "A Competitive Advantage: Disaggregated Judgments." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1625688234060059.
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Bellak, Christian. "Gaining and losing competitive advantage." Inst. für Volkswirtschaftstheorie und -politik, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, 2003. http://epub.wu.ac.at/1414/1/document.pdf.
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Efficient policies to stimulate the competitiveness of firms require knowledge of future firm-strategies and a proper assessment of the location advantages of a country or region. Therefore, industry comparative advantage analysis needs to be complemented by firm competitive advantage analysis. This yields four hypotheses of firm strategies on the basis of the existing advantage combination. Detailed empirical analysis of a representative sample of Austrian manufacturing firms during 1990- 2000 shows that changes in employment, value-added and exports are in line with the suggested development. Three of the 3-digit industries lost their advantages while seven industries gained advantages, yet overall industry distribution has been remarkable stable over the four advantage combinations. In terms of number of firms, however, a large share (30%) of the total population shifts between advantage combinations even during short periods of time. The firm strategies outlined suggest a differentiated policy approach, yet the short-term dynamics revealed empirically imply a high potential for policy failure.Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"
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Asija, Aman. "Leveraging knowledge for competitive advantage." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Ramon Llull, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/672240.
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Explotar el coneixement és fonamental per aconseguir un avantatge competitiu. No obstant això, ha estat un repte persistent per a les empreses. Segons la visió de l'empresa basada en el coneixement, l'apropiació i la reproducció efectiva de el coneixement són pertinents per a l'explotació de el coneixement dins de l'empresa. Per tant, les empreses utilitzen diferents estratègies per millorar la apropiabilitat i replicabilitat dels seus coneixements. Aquesta tesi se centra en les barreres específiques a l'explotació de el coneixement que tenen implicacions per a l'apropiació i la reproducció de el coneixement dins de l'empresa i proposa estratègies per abordar-les. La tesi examina com les empreses responen a les amenaces de apropiabilitat que suposen els mercats fragmentats de tecnologia i la mobilitat prevista dels treballadors de el coneixement, i com les empreses aconsegueixen replicar amb precisió les pràctiques mentre s'expandeixen. Les hipòtesis derivades en aquesta tesi es comproven empíricament utilitzant conjunts de dades originals. Aquesta tesi contribueix, en general, a la investigació sobre l'explotació de el coneixement i, específicament, a la investigació sobre les amenaces a l'apropiació de el coneixement i els determinants de la seva replicació efectiva.Explotar el conocimiento es fundamental para conseguir una ventaja competitiva. Sin embargo, ha sido un reto persistente para las empresas. Según la visión de la empresa basada en el conocimiento, la apropiación y la reproducción efectiva del conocimiento son pertinentes para la explotación del conocimiento dentro de la empresa. Por lo tanto, las empresas utilizan diferentes estrategias para mejorar la apropiabilidad y replicabilidad de sus conocimientos. Esta tesis se centra en las barreras específicas a la explotación del conocimiento que tienen implicaciones para la apropiación y la reproducción del conocimiento dentro de la empresa y propone estrategias para abordarlas. La tesis examina cómo las empresas responden a las amenazas de apropiabilidad que suponen los mercados fragmentados de tecnología y la movilidad prevista de los trabajadores del conocimiento, y cómo las empresas consiguen replicar con precisión las prácticas mientras se expanden. Las hipótesis derivadas en esta tesis se comprueban empíricamente utilizando conjuntos de datos originales. Esta tesis contribuye, en general, a la investigación sobre la explotación del conocimiento y, específicamente, a la investigación sobre las amenazas a la apropiación del conocimiento y los determinantes de su replicación efectiva.
Exploiting knowledge is fundamental to realizing competitive advantage, yet it has been a persistent challenge for firms. According to the knowledge-based view of the firm, appropriation and effective replication of knowledge are pertinent to the exploitation of knowledge within the firm. So, firms use different strategies to improve the appropriability and replicability of their knowledge. This thesis focuses on the specific deterrents to knowledge exploitation that have implications for knowledge appropriation and replication within the firm and proposes strategies to deal with them. It examines how firms respond to appropriability threats posed by fragmented markets for technology and anticipated knowledge worker mobility, and how firms achieve accurate replication of practices while expanding. The hypotheses derived in this thesis are tested empirically using novel datasets. This thesis contributes, overall, to the research on knowledge exploitation and, specifically, to the research on the threats to knowledge appropriation and determinants of replication performance.
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Crassous, Thibault, and Jeremy Gassmann. "GAINING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH GREEN MARKETING : How green marketing is used as a competitive advantage?" Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Sektionen för ekonomi och teknik (SET), 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-18257.
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The research question how green marketing is used as a competitive advantage was answered by the analysis of the multiple case-study of two organizations of the boardsports industry, Jade and Notox. The comparison between theories and interviews revealed that, by doing green branding, having eco-labels, and implementing the five I’s, Jade and Notox are differentiating. This differentiation provides them a competitive advantage. In addition, Jade and Notox innovate in green materials and processes which, coupled with eco-labels, maintain the differentiation and generate a sustainable advantage.
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Bowen, George. "Competitive advantage, political advantage and shelter in the textile industry." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2004. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5af357b8-d2e4-49f3-b8d4-52f2dbed354b.
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The effect of government on competitive advantage theory has only been covered superficially in strategic management literature. This thesis incorporates government into competitive advantage and multinational enterprise (MNE) theory by demonstrating how politically derived firmspecific advantages (FSAs) and competitive advantages may accrue from noncommercial, political sources, to be manifested in commercial enterprises as 'political competitive advantages (PCAs)'. The empirical background to this thesis is a study of the global textile industry and the complexity, multidimensional and multi-level nature of the relationship between the wider textile complex and governments. Examples demonstrate the significant impact of governments upon the textile industry, across the globe and over a wide variety of time horizons. A review of the relevant strategic management and international business core theory forms a base on which the PCA concept is developed. A synthesis of the strategic positioning view (SPV) of competitive advantage, the resource-based view (RBV) and transaction cost/internalization theories is used to develop the PCA concept. MNEs can derive superior operator surpluses (rents) from complex government externalities that, due to their asymmetrical impact, enable some profit-centres to gain PCAs. PCAs are non-market-related, chiefly government-derived, political competitive advantages and form a new subset of firm-specific advantages (FSAs). The international business concept of nonefficiency, shelter-based advantages form a subset of PCAs. An eight-cell PCA analytical framework is developed and operationalized using case studies selected from the world-wide operations of Coats PLC, the world's largest producer and distributor of sewing thread, and one of Britain's oldest MNEs. This analytical framework enables firms to better understand the significant and dynamic nature of those government externalities that have a major impact upon firm efficiency. The framework can be used to assist practitioners in the search for sustainable reactive and/or proactive (endogenizing) strategies that can enhance PC As and reduce political competitive disadvantages (PCDs).
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Rosenblad, Grönlund Caroline, and Lejla Poricanin. "Competitive Advantage within Accounting Firms : - A framework of how managers create competitive advantage through their organizational resources and competitive strategy." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för ekonomi, teknik och naturvetenskap, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-29482.
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Kermanshah, A. "Information systems strategy for competitive advantage." Thesis, University of Manchester, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.488362.
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Information Systems (IS) strategy for competitive advantage has been one of the dominant concerns in the literature of strategic management of Information Technology. Despite this, the processes and methodologies suggested in the literature for understanding and describing how, why and under what circumstances IS strategy may bring about sustainable competitive advantage are incomplete and unsatisfactory. The main objective of this thesis is to provide a critical analysis of the received theory of IS strategy and to suggest an integrative framework (Resource-Based Perspective) for the analysis of IS strategy for competitive advantage. The thesis uses a detailed case study to serve as an empirical reference for testing the efficacy of the received IS theory and for developing an improved theoretical perspective. Such a Resource-Based Perspective integrates some aspects of the received theory with other insights taken from the literature of strategy and organisation outside the IS field. In the literature review chapters, the thesis attempts to challenge the often hidden assumptions behind the mainstream approaches to IS strategy (with regard to three inter-related concepts: technology, strategy and organisation) and offers alternative (complementary) mind-sets for these three concepts. In terms of empirical analysis, the results of an in-depth, qualitative, longitudinal and contextual case study over a period of 30 months within one of the large utility companies in the UK, demonstrate that there was a partial fit between the received approaches. to IS strategy and parts of the case study. But there were some areas of mis-match. These were: a lack of adequate alignment between the content and process of IS strategy; adoption of unitary perspective of the organisation and lack of appreciation of firm-specific context, and insufficient attention paid to the focus of IS strategy, in particular to core competencies. The Resource-Based analysis of the case study evidence, however, provides a better fit between theory and practice. The integrative perspective better explains the dynamic alignment of the content, process and context of IS strategy, and the evolution of the strategic resources and core competencies which confer competitive advantage
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Ryan, Cynthia A. (Cynthia Anne) 1961. "Sustainable competitive advantage through information technology." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9193.
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Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2000.Also available online on DSpace at MIT.
Includes bibliographical references (leaf 48).
This paper discusses the difficulty of achieving sustainable competitive advantage through information technology. While information technology proliferates and innovations arise frequently, few companies have been able to use IT to remain leaders in their industries. Using a framework proposed by Michael Scott Morton, this paper examines how one firm, Capital One Financial, has created sustainable competitive advantage through a powerful combination of its information technology, strategic planning, and organizational design. The first section provides an introduction and information about the Scott Morton framework. Section two provides background information about the credit card industry and Capital One;s history. The third section analyzes why Capital One's advantage has been sustainable to date and includes discussion of strategic, economic, organizational and technical reasons. Section four analyzes the risks to Capital One's advantage in the future and includes discussion of technicalogical risks, organizational risks and customer risks. The final section includes a summary and some conclusions.
by Cynthia A. Ryan.
M.B.A.
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Nel, Petrus Abel. "A competitive advantage through information management." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49667.
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Raciti, Robert C. "Creating Competitive Advantage With Internet Technology." NSUWorks, 1998. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/784.
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This study resulted in a paradigm which will enable Fortune 1000 companies to quantify the competitive advantage derived from their Web-based applications. With this model, Information Technology (IT) managers are better equipped to understand the strategic importance of the Web within their business. This author used an instrument called CAPITA (Competitive Advantage Provided by an Information Technology Application) to quantify the Web's effect on the competitive advantage of a company. The CAPITA is an instrument that measures the effect of an IT application on the numerous aspects of competitive advantage (Sethi & King, 1994; Sethi & King, 1991; Sethi, 1988). The CAPITA was used to determine the Web's strategic role in business by analyzing the data collected in this investigation and by comparing this author's research data with data from a previous study conducted by Sethi (1988). The instrument was issued to 1000 senior Information Technology (IT) executives in Fortune 1000 firms. 50 valid responses were received and analyzed.
The data collected in this investigation were analyzed by comparing the Web applications that were developed specifically to create a competitive advantage to those applications that were developed for other purposes. The two group unpaired t test was used to quantify the difference between the two groups. This comparison empirically supports the statement that Web applications can be used to create aspects of competitive advantage. When comparing strategic Web applications to non-strategic Web applications, strategic Web applications were measured to have a greater alignment with organizations' business strategy (12 = .01, one-tailed), a lower cost of marketing the companies' final product (12 = .03, one-tailed), a lower cost of recruiting, hiring, training, development, and compensation of personnel (12 = .05 , one-tailed), a lower cost of interacting and coordinating activities with suppliers (12 = .04, one-tailed), and an improved ability of the primary users to order resources (12 = .02, one-tailed).
A comparison of the data collected in this investigation with data collected from Sethi (1988) in a previous study does not support the statement that Web applications are as strategic as traditional strategic applications. The one group t test was the statistical test used to quantify the difference between the two groups. When compared to web-based applications, traditional strategic applications were determined to have a greater alignment with the organizations' business strategy (12 = .02, one-tailed), and greater top management support for the application (11 = .02, one-tailed). This supports the research literature that suggests that Fortune 1000 firms do not fully understand the strategic importance of Web-based applications (pant & Hsu, 1996; Cronin, 1996a).
The data collected in this author's investigation also provide a benchmark that quantifies the competitive profile for Web applications within Fortune 1000 companies. This benchmark can be used to determine the competitive implications of Web applications within a company by administering the CAPITA instrumentation and comparing the results to the benchmark.
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Nouraei, Bahram, and Duarte Ferreira Angela Filipa. "Enterprise Modeling As a Competitive Advantage." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-413764.
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This paper investigates the contribution of enterprise modeling to the emergence and sustainability of the firm’s competitive advantage using the theoretical model developed by Chandra S. Mishra (2017). Agility, alertness, knowledge integration and business model mechanisms have been identified as the main sources of competitive advantage. Four semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts and senior enterprise modeling consultants with diverse national and international experiences, based on which a qualitative content analysis was done. The study shows that enterprise modeling has an enhancing effect on corporate agility stimulating collaboration and effective communication among organizational members as well as enabling the company to exploit turbulence in the business environment through systematizing and facilitating change management. Enterprise models were also found to be effective for strengthening the firm’s structural capital through stimulating constant problematization of the business model, streamlining the organizational processes and increasing alertness about the procedural inefficiencies and automation potential. However, the understandability of the business model is found to be increased through enterprise modeling at the expense of reducing tacitness. Therefore, more research is needed to confirm the influence of enterprise modeling on the firm’s isolating mechanisms to investigate to what extent enterprise models should be considered as company secrets.
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Petcavage, Sheila. "Applying Costing Models for Competitive Advantage." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1915.
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Making good supply management decisions is essential to competing in the global market, as these decisions often account for more than 60% of the average company's total costs. The purpose for this single case study was to explore the strategy that a large manufacturing firm in northeast Ohio used to identify costs when making effective purchasing decisions. The total cost of ownership (TCO) theory was the conceptual framework for the study. The data collection included a semistructured interview with a senior level supply manager and a focus group consisting of mid-level supply managers. Member checking provided verification of the interpreted participants' responses. Methodological triangulation included 2 company documents pertinent to the supply management department that resulted in 4 emerging themes: identifying total costs, tools for implementing TCO, supplier rating and management, and detailed recordkeeping. The findings of this study revealed a simpler approach to capturing and organizing data than was acknowledged in the literature reviewed. The findings showed TCO supported purchasing decisions that often resulted in domestically or regionally purchased products rather than offshore buys. Therefore, reassessment of true total costs by senior manufacturing supply managers might impact social change as more procurement decisions forego sourcing offshore and bring manufacturing of products back to local communities.
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Sciotto, Carlotta <1995>. "Design Thinking for Sustainable Competitive Advantage." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/16566.
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Design thinking has gained a lot of importance and visibility in the last decades. Its increasing importance is due to the variety of applications that it has and the variety of fields in which it can be applied. Design thinking is an approach for creative problem-solving and for the opening up of paths that had been previously unexplored. It is defined as a ‘systematic and collaborative approach for identifying and creatively solving problems’. (Luchs, 2015) Throughout the thesis, I will describe the foundations and origins of design thinking in the first place. I will continue describing it as a factor to create innovation and I will dig deep in explaining how it can lead to competitive advantage. I will further discuss how it is employed within companies and how it can be employed to design original and new, tangible and intangible solutions. The focus will be on competitive advantage achieved through design thinking and its sustainability over time, and in relation to other companies.
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Devlin, James Francis. "Single competitive markets and competitive advantage in retail financial services." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.320024.
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Yates, George C. (George Cochrane). "A Comprehensive Competitive Advantage Construct: Its Theory and Operationalization." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1991. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332834/.
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Competitive advantage (CA) is an intuitively evident concept which has been widely used in theoretical research in strategy. But CA's diffuse image and its dynamic nature make it a difficult concept to apply. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive (or macro) CA construct capable of being applied in an empirical manner across a broad spectrum of business situations. This objective required both an adequate grounding of the CA concept within its nomological- net of theories and a new operationalization approach.
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Kuan, Chan Hong. "Management of information technology for competitive advantage." Thesis, University of Macau, 1996. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1636729.
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Magnusson, Jonas, and Johan Nilsson. "Designing Innovation of Meanings - A Competitive Advantage." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, ESOL (Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Organization, Leadership), 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-15967.
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Design is a resource that could be better utilized by companies in order to create growth and sustainable innovation in the future. Numerous scholars have therefore stressed the importance of forward-looking executives and designers in today’s organizations that realize the importance of design as a differentiator. This research intends to illustrate how innovation of meanings is a future competitive advantage and to show how companies can benefit from design as an innovation tool. New product meanings can be pushed upon the market through proposals, something that is being compared to the traditional user-centred methods where user needs are being scrutinized. The theoretical framework identifies four factors that can be set in relation to any company in order to investigate its stance towards innovation of new meanings. The research is limited to focus on two case companies and complemented by information from Jönköping School of Engineering, being their mutual external source of novel design ideas. The case studies show how the four factors all rely on a vision that supports design and affects the firms’ ability to capitalize on novel ideas found among external sources. This study concludes that a co-occurring search of novel design interpretations and market pull innovations is of highest importance. It further discusses how to interact with external sources in a way that does not block their potential to explore new product meanings.
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Dai, Zong. "IT infrastructure flexibility and sustainable competitive advantage." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.631663.
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This thesis is a study of antecedent and consequent relationship between information technology infrastructure flexibility and competitive advantage in the organizational context, using a case study approach that combines quantitative and qualitative methods. Four American companies were selected for the case study. The companies' IT infrastructures development and implementation of enterprise systems were examined at the firm-level. This study makes three significant contributions. First, it is the first case study of relationship between IT infrastructure flexibility and corporate performance in the MIS literature, and thus it provides some meaningful insights to researchers and managers in the IT areas about the causality that has significant impacts on business performance at the present time and in the future. Second, it provides examples of what and how firms can do to significantly improve their corporate performance by implementing an enterprise information system that typically contains the IT infrastructure flexibility, from strategic. operational and tactical perspectives. The findings impel IT managers to recognize that the enterprise system is much more than a technology issue. Third, the research highlights the future research issues in the field. and particularly the need for managerial IT capacity, ERP implementation competence and learning capacity to become parts of the IT infrastructure capability. There are two major lessons from this study. First, the IT infrastructure is a dynamic and evolving concept. That is, it is business-and-application driven and changing with time, and the same is true for the IT infrastructure flexibility. Second, an enterprise information system is not stand-alone technology, nor the IT infrastructure; they must be integrated with the overall business processes and value chain. Thus, sheer enterprise information system per se can not be a competitive advantage and that IT managers must pay ongoing attention to the strategic direction and details of business requirements and make efforts to implement cross-functional and/or cross-activity integration. A firm will be most successful when it implements ERP system with a well-defined business strategic purpose, or deploys the ERP technology to reconfigure traditional activities and/or processes, or develops its organizational learning capacity to build and/upgrade its employees' knowledge and skills.
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Adam, Hassan Ali. "The ethics programme : a new competitive advantage." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/21433.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the world of business today, the reputation of an organisation matters tremendously. After the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, it has never been more difficult for organisations to maintain a positive reputation. The past decade differs from previous ones, as rules and regulations enforced by regulatory bodies are more rigid, public criticism and expectations are greater and the emotional contracts between employees and leadership are not as strong as they once were. The financial services industry, in South Africa and abroad, has been inundated by unethical behaviour and the global downturn has exacerbated this problem. In light of the revelations that have come to pass worldwide, the magnifying glass has been firmly fixed on companies operating within the financial services sector. The crisis has led to numerous companies questioning and reviewing their own compliance and organisational practices to establish whether they are ethical. In the South African financial services industry there has been a war raging among organisations fighting for market share. With the increased competition levels among businesses, there is a desire to find new and creative ways of achieving competitive advantage. Business ethics, therefore, has become essential in the conducting of any type of business. The competitive advantage of business ethics revolves around the building of relationships with organisational stakeholders based on its integrity, which will maintain these relationships. By establishing an ethics programme, an organisation could enable the management of business ethics in the workplace. Ethics programmes often convey the values of the organisation, making use of policies and codes to guide behaviour and the decision-making process of stakeholders. These programmes could be used, during turbulent times, to maintain a moral path, especially when leaders require a clear moral compass for guidance. This moral compass function is also very helpful for new employees, as they may need to be familiarised with ethically correct behaviour within the organisation that aligns with its values. If employees are satisfied with the ethics programme, it could work as a mechanism to stimulate productivity, teamwork and to motivate personnel. A study was conducted within a private sector organisation in the South African financial services industry with a focus on evaluating the effectiveness of their ethics programme. The findings from the fieldwork established that the ethics programme of the organisation was found to be highly effective, as perceived by both employees and directors. An effective ethics programme means that the ethical culture of the organisation is strong. The findings serve to confirm that, by monitoring the key variables that play an important role in predicting the effectiveness of ethics programmes, organisations can achieve a positive result by knowing what the impact of potentially harmful behaviour can have on the ethical climate and culture. The findings also serve to confirm that an effective ethics programme can become a source of competitive advantage if engaged correctly by the entire organisation. This study may be used to argue that sound business ethics and ethics programmes can be viewed as a new competitive advantage that organisations require for long-term sustainability and business success.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In vandag se sakewêreld is die reputasie van ’n organisasie geweldig belangrik. Sedert die globale finansiële krisis in 2008-2009 is dit vir organisasies moeiliker as ooit om ’n positiewe reputasie te handhaaf. Die afgelope dekade is anders as die voriges omdat reëls en regulasies wat deur reguleringsliggame afgedwing word, meer rigied is, openbare kritiek en verwagtinge groter is, en die emosionele kontrakte tussen werknemers en leierskap nie meer so sterk is as vroeër nie. Die bedryf van finansiële dienste – in Suid-Afrika en in die buiteland – is erg geteister deur onetiese gedrag, en die globale insinking het dié probleem vererger. In die lig van onthullings wat wêreldwyd plaasvind, word die vergrootglas ferm gerig op maatskappye wat binne-in die finansiëledienste-sektor sake doen. Die krisis het tot gevolg gehad dat talle maatskappye hul eie reëlnakoming en organisatoriese praktyke bevraagteken en hersien om vas te stel of hulle wel eties is. In die Suid-Afrikaanse (SA) finansiëledienste-bedryf het daar onder organisasies ’n oorlog om markaandeel gewoed Met die toenemende vlakke van mededinging onder sake-ondernemings, is daar ’n begeerte om nuwe en kreatiewe maniere te vind om mededingende voordeel te bereik. Sake-etiek het dus noodsaaklik geword om enige soort besigheid te bedryf. Die mededingende voordeel van sake-etiek draai om die bou van verhoudings met organisatoriese aandeelhouers, gebaseer op hul integriteit wat hierdie verhoudings in stand gaan hou. Deur die vestiging van etiese programme kan ’n organisasie die bestuur van sake-etiek in die werkplek moontlik maak. ’n Etiese program dra dikwels die waardes van die organisasie oor met die gebruik van beleid en kodes as riglyne vir gedrag en die besluitnemingsproses van aandeelhouers. Hierdie programme kan in onstuimige tye gebruik word om ’n morele weg te handhaaf, veral wanneer leiers ’n helder morele kompas nodig het vir leiding. Die funksie van hierdie morele kompas is ook baie nuttig vir nuwe werknemers omdat hulle vertroud wil raak met eties korrekte gedrag binne-in die organisasie wat in lyn is met sy waardes. As werknemers tevrede is met die etiese program, kan dit dien as meganisme om produktiwiteit en spanwerk te stimuleer, asook om hulle te motiveer. ’n Studie wat binne-in ’n organisasie in die private sektor van die Suid-Afrikaanse finansiëledienste-bedryf gedoen is, het gefokus op evaluering van die doeltreffendheid van hul etiese program. Die bevindings van die veldwerk het gestaaf dat die etiese program van die organisasie hoogs doeltreffend was, soos waargeneem deur die werknemers en direkteure. ’n Doeltreffende etiese program beteken dat die etiese kultuur van die organisasie sterk is. Die bevindings dien as bevestiging dat, deur die monitering van die belangrikste veranderlikes wat ’n belangrike rol speel in die voorspelling van die doeltreffendheid van etiese programme, organisasies ’n positiewe uitslag kan bereik indien hulle weet wat die impak van potensieel skadelike gedrag op die etiese klimaat en kultuur kan hê. Die bevindings bevestig ook dat ’n doeltreffende etiese program ’n bron van mededingende voordeel kan word as dit korrek deur die hele organisasie omarm word. Hierdie studie kan gebruik word in ’n betoog dat gesonde sake-etiek en etiese programme beskou kan word as ’n nuwe mededingende voordeel wat organisasies benodig vir langtermynvolhoubaarheid en sake-sukses.
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Polancic, G., P. V. Brin, and T. I. Kravtsova. "Diversification as a tool of competitive advantage." Thesis, Національний технічний університет "Харківський політехнічний інститут", 2017. http://repository.kpi.kharkov.ua/handle/KhPI-Press/47841.
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Adkins, Michael Louis. "The internet : strategic implications for competitive advantage /." Thesis, Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1995. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B14041327.
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Svensson, Martina. "Competition within the staffing industry : A study of competition forces, competition strategies and competitive advantage." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-15543.
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Jung, Sabrina. "A Cross-Cultural Merger as a Competitive Advantage." St. Gallen, 2005. http://www.biblio.unisg.ch/org/biblio/edoc.nsf/wwwDisplayIdentifier/01651413002/$FILE/01651413002.pdf.
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Tam, Regina Maria. "An evaluation of competitive advantage of Macau banks." Thesis, University of Macau, 1997. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1636256.
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Chan, Christopher Ching Ann. "Individual team and organizational learning:underpinnings of competitive advantage." Murdoch University, 2002. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20061122.124600.
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Many academicians and practitioners have recognized that organizational learning is a
viable paradigm for contemporary organizations aspiring to attain competitive
advantage in an increasingly turbulent business environment. Despite tremendous
interest in endeavoring to understand the nature of learning organizations, there is a
dearth of empirical evidence to support the anecdotal claims that learning in
organizations results in positive outcomes such as team performance, service quality,
job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Most studies either focus on the
antecedents and obstacles to learning or speculate how learning produces positive
outcomes. Consequently, the purpose of this research was to examine the interactions
of individual, team and organizational learning and to examine how learning at the three
levels contributed to competitive advantage. In the framework of this study competitive
advantage was conceptualized to be made up of team performance, service quality, job
satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
Accordingly, a cross-sectional study was conducted at a 230-bed capacity Australian
hospital. The study respondents were drawn from all fill time hospital workers -
nurses, executives, managers, professions allied to health, administration and clerical
workers. As the doctors are contracted, they were not surveyed. All respondents
completed a complex questionnaire. In addition to demographic information, the
instruments used in the questionnaire included the Individual Learning Scale (Arnes and
Archer, 1988), Team Learning Survey (Edrnondson, 1996), Organizational Learning Survey (Goh and Richards, 1997), Team Performance Survey (Edmondson, 1996),
SERVQUAL (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1991), job satisfaction section of the
Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman and Oldham, 1979, and Organizational Commitment
Questionnaire (Porter, Steers, Mowday, and Boulian, 1976). These instruments were
deliberately chosen because of their previously recorded acceptable psychometric
properties (i.e. validity and reliability) in similar assessments, and hence, they were
considered appropriate for the purpose of this study.
A comprehensive methodology was used to assess the hypotheses. Relevant literature
pertaining to the variables examined in this study was reviewed. In light of the
literature review, a number of hypotheses and a conceptual model were developed. A
quantitative methodology was used to test the proposed hypotheses and qualitative
information was sought to provide some explanation of the results. This pluralist
approach is gaining recognition in contemporary research because of the
complementary nature of qualitative to quantitative methodology (Edmondson, 1996;
Shaffer and Harrison, 2001). In total 700 questionnaires were administered for
completion during a period of two weeks. A total of 189 questionnaires were returned,
generating an overall response rate of 27.0 percent. The lower-than-expected response
rate was a concern, as biasness in results could occur (Churchill, 1991; Hunt, 1990), so
a non-response bias assessment was conducted by comparing early and late respondents
(Rulke, Zaheer, and Anderson, 2000; Wright, 1997). The results indicated no grave
problem with non-response bias, and therefore, the data was deemed suitable for
analyses.
Several statistical procedures were employed to evaluate the data. For example, factor
analyses and reliability analyses were used to assess the psychometric properties of the
scales. The results of psychometric assessments indicated that the scales had good
validities and reliabilities, and the data was robust. Then, path analysis was used to test
the hypotheses, which were developed in Chapter Two. The results of path analysis
indicated that individual learning was negatively related to team learning, two service
quality facets, and two organizational learning facets. Also, the predictions that team
learning would enhance organizational learning and team performance were fully
supported. Furthermore, the relationships between organizational learning and three
relevant outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and service quality)
received some support. Finally, it was found that three job satisfaction facets were
related to organizational commitment. Implications for these findings are
comprehensively discussed in the implications section of Chapter Five.
A feature of this study is the use of informal focus groups to improve the understanding
of statistical results. The Quality Coordinator of the hospital organized seven sessions
and every employee was invited to attend. Each session lasted fifteen to twenty
minutes. The Chief Executive Officer, who attended most the sessions, displayed
tremendous interest and support for the study. There were two objectives for the
informal discussions. Firstly, this strategy allowed a better interpretation of the results
from the mindsets of some employees. During the sessions, attendees were asked to
recall instances that support the findings. Secondly, the session allowed staff members
to discuss any job-related issues with the Quality Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer. Indeed, as suggested by contemporary management researchers (Bond, Fu, and
Pasa, 2001; de Ruyter, Moorman, and Lemrnink, 2001; Teagarden, Von Glinow,
Bowen, Frayne, Nason, Huo, Milliman, Arias, Butler, Geringer, Kim, Scullion, Lowe,
and Drost, 1995), this informal qualitative approach was complementary to the
statistical method.
The study represents an original attempt to empirically examine the individual, team
and organizational learning constructs and their outcomes. Discussion of results is
preceded by a review of the outcomes of individual learning, which include team
learning, organizational learning, and service quality. Next, the outcomes of team
learning, such as organizational learning, team performance and service quality, are
discussed. Subsequently, the effects of organizational learning on job satisfaction,
organizational commitment and service quality are discussed. The discussion is
concluded with explanations for the reciprocal relationship between the affective
variables of job satisfaction and organizational commitment as well as the effects of the
two variables on service quality. Following the discussion of results, the limitations and
strengths of the study are presented. Finally, suggestions for future research are
provided.
A number of theoretical and practical contributions have resulted from this study.
These can be broadly summarized to include four features. The first contribution of
this study is an advancement of the currently available knowledge about individual,
team and organizational learning by empirically examining the linkages. A second contribution of the study is an assessment of the appropriateness of the Individual
Learning Survey, Team Learning Survey, Organizational Learning Survey, and the
SERVQUAL instrument in assessing learning capabilities and service quality in the
context of an Australian hospital, with the potential of a wider application across the
health care industry. Next, evidence supporting the organizational learning facets that
have contributed to employee attitude and behavior, such as job satisfaction and
organizational commitment, may help bolster arguments for initiatives to improve the
quality of life of health care staff. Finally, identifying the organizational learning facets
that have contributed to service quality has the potential to encourage hospital
management to incorporate human resource policies into operational plans to improve
service quality. Implications of the findings for managers and theory developments are
discussed comprehensively in Chapter Five.
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Dolde, Walter. "US Banks, Competitive Advantage, and the Volcker Rule." Universität Potsdam, 2013. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2013/6875/.
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1. Porter strategic competitive analysis
2. A Porter analysis of the competitive advantage of banks in business lending and proprietary trading
3. Summary, competitive advantage of banks in business lending and proprietary trading
4. JPMorgan’s “London Whale” speculation
5. A common misapprehension about hedged positions in corporate debt
6. Conclusion
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Allan, Andrew C. "The determinants of competitive advantage : a critical appraisal." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/2887.
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The thesis deals with the means whereby a firm can gain a competitive advantage over its rivals. After considering how this issue is dealt with in the management literature, the thesis focuses on two possible routes to competitive advantage. The first is largely internal to the firm, and concerns the design of managerial contracts to provide managers with the incentives to act in the best interests of shareholders. The second route is external, involving strategic market moves in relation to rival firms. These two possible routes to competitive advantage are appraised in light of recent theoretical developments in 1principal-agent analysis the internal route, and the new industrial economics the external route. The final section of the thesis is empirical and deals with the share price experience of the top 100 U. K. companies since 1970. The econometric notion of cointegration is employed to test for the existence of sustained competitive advantage. The tentative conclusion reached is that while companies may be able to achieve a sustained competitive advantage, the compensation contracts employed have not been a successful means of obtaining such advantage. The suggestion is that external routes to competitive advantage might be more effective.
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Ambrosini, Veronique. "Tacit routines as a source of competitive advantage." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.391573.
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Adelstrand, Carl, and Emil Brostedt. "Creating Competitive Advantage by Rethinking B2B Software Pricing." Thesis, KTH, Industriell marknadsföring, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-188510.
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The choice of pricing model for software products is a complex procedure due to the different characteristics compared to physical products. This thesis investigates and compares software pricing models in a B2B setting, and describes how KAM plays a role in executing a pricing model. The research has been conducted as an opportunist case study on Adebro, a technology company in the B2B sector. The thesis have come to the following conclusions, with data from interviews and literature: Perpetual license is, and will continue to be, an attractive pricing model for Adebro. However, a subscription-based usage independent pricing model is also attractive for the future. Implications of switching pricing model would be largest when changing between a perpetual and subscription model, where revenue will have the most visual impact. The most important task for KAM is to communicate the change to current and new customers. KAM and the pricing model must also be structured to support each other to be successful. The thesis contributes to science by providing research on pricing models for manufacturing related software. However, studies concerning the weighting of importance for different pricing parameters would be of interest for the future.
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Hayler, Dennis. "Exploring outsourcing as a source of competitive advantage." Thesis, Kingston University, 2015. http://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/37500/.
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This research explores how a firm in the electronics industry may achieve competitive advantage through the relationship created with a manufacturing partner when outsourcing manufacturing operations. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with senior decision makers with responsibility for outsourcing in a cross section of companies in the European electronics industry, and with senior executives in contract manufacturing companies based in South-East Asia, to investigate the decision making process and the amount of strategic choice available, and then to investigate what benefits were perceived to have been achieved by the outsourcing firm. The research questions what extent do decision makers consider competitive advantage when deciding to outsource, what competitive advantages, or partnership value, can be created by and can be attributed to the outsourcing partnership and to what degree competitive advantage has been achieved through outsourcing and how sustainable is it likely to be. The research found that the decision to outsource was normally made in order to save costs and/or to enable a firm to focus on core competencies. It was also found that expected cost savings were often not achieved and that some key capabilities were irretrievably lost. What some firms did find, however, was that they achieved some level of competitive advantage from working with their manufacturing partner that they did not expect when they made the decision to outsource, these advantages evolved over time and are grouped into three areas, classified as ‘values’: - Sourcing value - Technology value - Market value Collectively the researcher has termed these as ‘Partnership Value’. Partnership value is the competitive advantage a firm achieves in the marketplace through outsourcing manufacturing and working with its manufacturing partner. The research concludes with a framework that can assist decision makers considering to outsource manufacturing so that they may achieve greater value from the relationship with their chosen manufacturing partner by evaluating factors related to the external and competitive environment and achieving Partnership Value.
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Pretto, Karina. "Revisiting competitive advantage: existence, dynamics, and new dimensions." reponame:Repositório Institucional do FGV, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10438/11565.
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Despite the fact that Competitive Advantage is a cornerstone concept in Management, this theme is still an origin of debates about its meaning, measurement, manifestation, and relationship with financial performance. This work contributes with this debate advancing in conceptual, methodological and empirical aspects. Using a sequence of three papers, the concept of competitive advantage is revisited, proposing new dimensions, its existence is quantified using a Bayesian model, its dynamism is characterized, and, in the end, the new dimensions are empirically tested. The first paper contributes theoretically with the discussion of competitive advantage concept and its relationship with the financial performance based on the economic value creation approach. This paper offers a methodological contribution with the proposition of a Bayesian hierarchical bi-dimensional model to measure the existence of competitive advantage from financial performance data. It also offers a conceptual contribution with the proposition of two new dimensions (momentum and consistency). The second paper applies the model proposed in the first paper to a North American database covering the historical period from 1995 to 2011. This paper offers empirical contributions to the quantification of existence and dynamics of competitive advantage, describing its topography in a real world. Results indicate that the competitive advantage occurrence is not as rare as found in early studies, and rarity is dependent on the industry. The theoretical and practical implications relate to reviewing the industry’s relevance when compared to theories that are focused on internal firms’ resources, as the resourced-based view. Results also demonstrate and characterize how profitability and growth are conjointly necessary to evaluate the presence of competitive advantage, and influence in its dynamic in different ways. The third paper operationalizes the new dimensions of competitive advantage proposed initially in the first paper. It describes the pattern of occurrence of these new dimensions and tests its capability in foresee the competitive statuses mobility on a longitudinal view. Results indicate that the inclusion of new dimensions increase the capacity of prediction of firms future competitive status.
Apesar da centralidade e relevância do conceito de Vantagem Competitiva em Administração de Empresas, o tema ainda é fonte de debate quanto ao seu significado, mensuração, manifestação e relação com o desempenho financeiro. Este trabalho contribui com esse debate avançando em vários pontos conceituais, metodológicos e empíricos. Por meio de uma sequência de três artigos, o conceito de vantagem competitiva é revisitado propondo-se novas dimensões, sua existência é quantificada usando um modelo Bayesiano, seu dinamismo caracterizado e, por fim, as novas dimensões propostas são testadas empiricamente. O primeiro artigo contribui teoricamente com a discussão do conceito de vantagem competitiva e sua relação com o desempenho financeiro a partir de uma abordagem de criação de valor econômico. Este artigo traz uma contribuição metodológica ao elaborar um modelo hierárquico Bayesiano bidimensional para medir a existência da vantagem competitiva a partir do desempenho financeiro e uma contribuição conceitual ao propor duas novas dimensões do conceito (momentum e consistência). O segundo artigo aplica o modelo proposto no primeiro a uma base de dados de empresas norte americana, cobrindo o período de 1995 a 2011. Esse artigo traz contribuições empíricas ao quantificar a existência e a dinâmica da vantagem competitiva oferecendo uma topografia do tema no mundo real. Os resultados indicam que a manifestação da vantagem competitiva não é tão rara quanto apontada em estudos anteriores e que o grau de raridade depende fortemente do setor. A implicação para a teoria e para a prática é uma revisão da importância do setor frente às teorias que focam os recursos internos da empresa, como a visão baseada em recursos. Os resultados também demonstram e caracterizam como lucratividade e crescimento são conjuntamente necessários para avaliar a presença da vantagem competitiva e influem na sua dinâmica de forma diferenciada. O terceiro artigo operacionaliza as novas dimensões do conceito de vantagem competitiva propostas no primeiro artigo e testa sua ocorrência e capacidade de prever a mobilidade do estado competitivo numa visão longitudinal. Os resultados indicam que a inclusão das novas dimensões potencializa a predição do status competitivo futuro das empresas.
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Williams, Ryan Scott. "Lean Manufacturing as a Source of Competitive Advantage." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2010. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2333.
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The productivity advances generated from lean manufacturing are self-evident. Plants that adopt lean are more capable of achieving high levels of quality, shorter lead times, and less waste in the system. While it seems logical that higher levels of productivity and quality, as is common in lean companies, should result in positive financial performance, the research community has failed to establish the financial profitability of lean. Those researchers who have studied the financial returns issue report varying results. The goal of this research was to determine if a connection exists between lean and financial success and to discover why so many researchers are finding mixed results. Information Velocity (IV) was theorized to provide the solidifying link between lean and financial performance. Measured by combining the environmental volatility with a company's leanness, IV measures how fast a company can transmit information from the market into a customer-satisfying product in the hands of the consumer. This study analyzed over 530 publicly-traded manufacturing companies to validate the following hypotheses: 1) there is a positive relationship between leanness and financial returns, 2) there is a negative relationship between environmental volatility and financial returns, and 3) there is a positive relationship between IV and financial returns. Regression models were run in various combinations to determine the effect of lean, environmental instability, environmental unpredictability, and IV on financial performance indicators such as return on sales (ROS), return on assets (ROA), and quarter-closing stock price. The outcome of this study showed that financial rewards do result from lean, which positively affected financial performance in almost all scenarios. Environmental instability always negatively correlated with financial returns, and IV mostly shows a positive effect, but with mixed results. Lastly, IV does not explain why researchers find mixed results on the profitability measures of lean. The results of this thesis highlight the significance of implementing lean manufacturing, especially in a dynamic environment. As the instability in the environment increases, profitability decreases. Therefore, an increase in leanness by boosting inventory turns can compensate for the volatility and create enhanced productivity measures and financial results.
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Lahoz, Marco Maria del Carmen. "CO-CREATION OF BRAND VALUE. The new source for competitive advantage." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Ramon Llull, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/404740.
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En vista de la novetat i la creixent importància del concepte de cocreació de marca, aquesta tesi pretén desenvolupar un marc de referència que ajudi els professionals del branding a utilitzar la cocreació de marca com a font d’avantatge competitiu per a les seves empreses.
El marc de la creació de marca s’ha construït a partir d’una extensa anàlisi de la literatura existent i cobreix una àmplia gamma de conceptes, entre els quals el valor, l’avantatge competitiu i la marca, des de les perspectives de la teoria de gestió i cultura de consum.
La investigació es basa en enquestes qualitatives a professionals del branding per validar el marc de referència i proporcionar insights sobre com es poden enfrontar les empreses al procés de cocreació del valor de marca.
El valor d’aquesta tesi rau en la descripció holística del procés de cocreació del valor de marca, la creació d’un marc de referència per guiar els professionals en la seva feina diària i la validació d’aquest marc amb una mostra rellevant d’experts en branding.A la luz de la novedad y la creciente importancia del concepto de cocreación de marca, esta tesis pretende desarrollar un marco de referencia que ayude a los profesionales del branding a utilizar la cocreación de marca como fuente de ventaja competitiva para sus empresas. El marco de la creación de marca se ha construido a partir de un extenso análisis de la literatura existente y cubre una amplia gama de conceptos, entre ellos el valor, la ventaja competitiva y la marca, desde las perspectivas de la teoría de gestión y cultura de consumo. La investigación está basada en encuestas cualitativas a profesionales del branding para validar el marco de referencia y proporcionar insights sobre cómo pueden enfrentarse las empresas al proceso de cocreación del valor de marca. El valor de esta tesis radica en la descripción holística del proceso de cocreación del valor de marca, la creación de un marco de referencia para guiar a los profesionales en su trabajo diario y la validación de este marco con una relevante muestra de expertos en branding.
In light of the novelty and increasing importance of the concept of brand co-creation, this thesis aims to develop a framework that helps practitioners to use brand co-creation as a source of competitive advantage for companies. The framework of brand co-creation is derived from current literature covering a wide range of concepts related to value, branding and competitive advantage from management and consumer culture theory. Qualitative research with practitioners has been undertaken to validate the framework and to provide insights on how companies can approach the brand value co-creation process. The research identifies important differences between the academic research on brand value co-creation and its applicability to current branding strategies. The value of this thesis lies in the holistic overview of the brand value co-creation process, the creation of a framework to guide practitioners in their daily work and the validation of this framework through a relevant sample of branding experts.
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Jamart, Thierry, and Stefanie Kupka. "The achievement of sustainable competitive advantage through relationship marketing." Thesis, Halmstad University, School of Business and Engineering (SET), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-2510.
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Nowadays, the European airline market is characterized by two major different airline business models; the full service airlines and the low cost airlines. Secondary, appeared for the first time in 1985 in form of the Irish low cost carrier Ryanair. In recent days, the European low cost market stands out through its growth potential and high competitiveness. Therefore, startup companies aiming to join the wave of success as well as insolvency of newly established airlines are part of the daily occurrence. The challenge, that established low cost airlines are faced with, is to create competitive advantages against new entrants and direct competitors under the circumstances of environmental changes. In addition to the described problem a model was developed in order to picture the situation. This paper aims to provide an answer to the specific question: How do low cost airlines use relationship marketing in order to enhance, maintain and attract new customers? The second step is to figure out how those tools affect the airlines generic strategy. The purpose of this study is to find out how low cost airlines in Europe deal with tools of relationship marketing and what are the effects those tools have on generic strategies. This thesis is based on a case study within the European low cost airlines market, with a special focus on three airlines: Ryanair, EasyJet and Air Berlin. These questions are addressed using information obtained in interviews with respondents from the airlines that were recently conducted in Brussels and Bremen by personal interviews and additionally by telephone interviews and email contact. The results show that relationship marketing tools are used in a different extent by the airlines. The authors could not find evidence that using relationship marketing tools is the single solution to compete more successfully than without. It is further argued by the authors that RM is just one aspect strengthening the generic strategy in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage.
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li, zhi. "The competitive advantage of IKEA and IKEA in China." Thesis, University of Gävle, Ämnesavdelningen för industriell ekonomi, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-7024.
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Abstract
Title: The competitive advantage of IKEA and IKEA in China
Author: Zhi Li
Supervisor: Lars Steiner
Purpose: The main purpose of this master thesis is to describe the IKEA concept and discuss the application in China. After research the history of IKEA, interview with the manager of IKEA store, and find the information from the web and thesis, use the theory of competitive advantage to describe the IKEA concept and the competitive advantage which is the way that IKEA used to get the success. Secondly, discuss the application in China and give IKEA the suggestions to develop the competitive advantage in China market.
Methods: Because IKEA is not a public company, I cannot get too much data. I browsed the official website of IKEA to get much information about the introduction of IKEA’ corporate culture, strategies, copartner, history and the data of IKEA financial and work group. I find some English and Chinese books, thesis and reports try to find more data and more good ideas of Chinese scholars. Visit and observe the IKEA store and note my questions. I tried to have an interview with IKEA store in china, but failed. Fortunately, I got an interview with Hans Karlsson which is the logics manager of IKEA store in Gavle. He explained the competitive strategy of logistics, the competitive advantage about IKEA and the next step IKEA may do in china. Try to analysis the different culture and other problem that IKEA have to face. Analyze all the data and the idea I have got and use the theory of Michael Porter to finish this thesis.
Conclusions: IKEA should have many innovations to adapt to the China market. “At IKEA our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Our business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”(Our vision and business idea, http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/the_ikea_way/our_business_idea/index.html) It seems not achieved in China market yet. Firstly, IKEA should have greater cooperation with local suppliers to get more competitive advantage of cost leadership. Secondly, according to the specialty of China market, IKEA should have some more adjustment to satisfy so many China picky customers. Thirdly, IKEA should intensify propaganda work to let more customers understand and accommodate the IKEA model. As an outcomer, there is a long way to be the winner in this huge and potential market. After a long time to research the China market, IKEA already understand the China market more than before. With accelerating the speed of expand, the success of IKEA in China market is only the problem of time.
Key words: IKEA, competitive advantage, IKEA model, China market
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Roy, Soumya. "Competitive Advantage of KIBS Providers: Influence of Knowledge Processes." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/37027.
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KIBS providers are organizations that perform knowledge intensive business activities mainly for other organizations and in the present age have become key components of industrialized economies. The primary purpose of KIBS providers is to deliver customized solutions to clients through the implementation of three core knowledge processes: knowledge acquisition, knowledge recombination, and knowledge diffusion. Existing research has predominantly focused on understanding the importance of these providers in creating a competitive edge for their clients. However, little is known in terms of how such providers can create an improved competitive position for themselves. This research helps to understand whether the use of knowledge processes influences the competitive advantage¬ of KIBS providers. A guiding framework developed from literature posits that such generic knowledge processes may provide competitive advantage for a given provider if they are transformed into valuable, rare, inimitable, and well-exploited resources (VRIO). The study follows a holistic multiple case research design of three IT service providers to refine the existing theory on the influence of knowledge processes on the competitive advantage of KIBS providers. Data was collected through interviews of employees occupying different roles in a company to provide their perspectives on the various parts of the framework. The findings of this study reveal that participants perceive knowledge processes to provide competitive advantage to their companies. However, data analysis using the VRIO framework indicates that knowledge processes do not confer competitive advantage by themselves, but rather through an emerging theme called delivery. Findings also indicate that delivery influences other factors of competitive advantage. The study contributes to the existing literature as it leads to a refined understanding of the relationship between knowledge processes and competitive advantage by highlighting the importance of delivery as a dynamic capability. The study has practical implications for managers as it informs them that delivery improves brand name, reduces costs, and helps to achieve client satisfaction.
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Ross-Denroche, Barbara. "Finding the flow, what infrastructure supports sustainable competitive advantage?" Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ59513.pdf.
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Konsolas, Ioannis. "The competitive advantage of nations : the case of Greece." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 1999. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2514/.
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The present study applies Porter's diamond framework, which identifies the sources of international competitive advantage for particular industries in a country, to the case of Greece. The diamond framework and Porter's work on the development of competitive economies are first summarised, their main applications are presented and a critical evaluation is attempted using the various criticisms and comments made by other researchers. Then, a short economic history of Greece since its liberation and a brief description of Greece's past and present economic environment are followed by 'a review of the Greek literature on industrial competitiveness. The competitive structure of Greek industrial clusters is further explored with the help of trade and other relevant data. Using Porter's methodology, the competitive Greek industries are identified and categorised in clusters. A large part of the study is devoted to five case-studies of particular Greek industries, namely the cement, rolled aluminium products, tourism, men's outerwear, and dairy industries. The conclusions from the case studies, and the data analysis, are positive for the applicability of the framework to Greece. Areas of concern, nevertheless, are apparent, related to domestic rivalry, customer sophistication, as well as, the relationship between firm strategy and structure, and rivalry. On the other hand, Porter's emphasis on geographic concentration, on the industry level of competitiveness, and especially on the cluster concept are found to be justified. These conclusions also provide the basis for the presentation of some suggestions concerning the Greek State's policies and the strategies of Greek companies.
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Cuccaro, Gianfranco. "The struggle for competitive advantage in the airline industry." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2002. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/6920.
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The aim of this thesis is to examine the way in which civil airlines exploit their resources in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage. This is done within the framework of the resource-basedv iew, rather than using the market basedv iew, thought without of cause presuming to test that paradigm. The first chapter offers a fairly detailed account of the airline industry. This is felt to be necessary to render the thesis accessible to readers who may not be industry experts. The second chapter examines the literature on and overall merits of the resource based and market based view, reformulates the research objectives and outlines the methodology, primarily the use of data published in specialist sources, supported by personal industry knowledge. The subsequent chapters develop the thesis with regard to cross airlines ownership stakes and occasional merger and acquisition, the leverage exercised by bigger airlines at airports, and the issue of strategic alliances. The findings that emerge from this exercise are that in a sense checked via a series of interviews with key informants, and some qualifications to the resource based view are offered before proceeding to a summary statement of the conclusion.
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Barber, Claire Elaine. "CRS information and competitive advantage in the airline industry." Thesis, Northumbria University, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.245260.
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Huotari, Maiija-Leena. "Information management and competitive advantage : a case study approach." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.319480.
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Oz, Ozlem. "The competitive advantage of nations : the case of Turkey." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.406539.
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Tsuboya, Hisakazu 1967. "Migration strategies for competitive advantage of mobile network operators." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16991.
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Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-149).
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Innovation in platform industries, including mobile telecommunications, has a great impact on societies and economies; hence a migration from an existing platform to the subsequent one should be progressed under careful forecasting, weighed scenarios and strategies that encompass a broad view. This thesis analyzes why mobile network operators are struggling to move from the second generation (2G) and its derivatives to the third generation (3G) technologies and proposes migration strategies, which allow them to sustain their competitive advantage. First, a migration model is proposed as a reinforcing loop model composed of two dynamics, "Platform Migration" caused by a shortage of network capacity, and "Service Innovation" triggered by a decline in ARPU (Average Revenue Per User). Platform migration is an implementation process for new platform technologies and can be categorized into Revolution-type and Evolution-type. After these two schemes have been evaluated through case studies, Collaboration-type migration, an enhanced Evolution-type, is proposed for future, technically diversified situations. Service Innovation is a process for creating new profitable services to give further revenue growth. Empirical analysis clarifies that mental breakthrough management is a common approach in the mobile industry and proposes that a mixture of corporate, partner and market initiatives be adopted for diversified customer preference. This thesis then proposes the following strategies for future successful migration: first, mobile network operators should drive the migration cycle powerfully, concentrating on successive service innovation dynamics for their revenue growth and the next platform migration. Second, they should choose migration schemes carefully according to their level of technology leadership, value chain leadership and investment capability. Finally, service platform should be considered for realization of innovative services with Partnership Dynamics.
by Hisakazu Tsuboya.
S.M.M.O.T.
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Ueno, Yoshinobu 1965. "Information technology as competitive advantage in supply chain management." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9981.
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Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-77).
by Yoshinobu Ueno.
S.M.M.O.T.
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Gjonnes, Grim S. (Grim Steinar). "Creating sustainable competitive advantage in the Norwegian defense industry." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11363.
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Storm, Andrew P. (Andrew Phillip). "Leveraging global operations innovation to create sustainable competitive advantage." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/44297.
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Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-91).
High fixed costs and the emergence of globalization have forced traditional domestic automotive mass producers to the brink of bankruptcy. This thesis focuses on the global growth strategy of a Tier 1 automotive supplier and examines causal relationships between that strategy and the system stakeholders who execute and support it. The literature review examines current research to illustrate the benefit of approaching globalization with a process-driven, systems-based mindset. Current literature offers insight into improved financial measures that traditional mass producing firms can employ to streamline decision making and shift the mindset of leaders to engage employees, suppliers, and customers around a long-term systems based operating strategy. The thesis is based upon three core experiences the author had at American Axle to illustrate the importance of systems-based operations innovation. The literature review in conjunction with the internship experience is used to illustrate opportunities for American Axle to improve its operating strategy. The paper highlights traditional approaches currently used inside the company and offers solutions to change employee behavior throughout American Axle's global manufacturing system. The thesis examines behaviors, metrics, and results often seen in an absorption cost environment where there are weak operational controls and non-standard corporate scorecards. Using current research and professional industry experience, I will argue robust operational controls and metrics, aligned with an overarching systems approach that considers the long term implications of today's decisions, are essential components to the viable, long term success of any global enterprise.
Andrew P. Storm.
S.M.
M.B.A.
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Weitsz, Marijke (Marijke Adriana). "Learning & knowledge : critical elements to sustained competitive advantage." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53485.
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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The increased rate of competitive challenges imposed on organisations by global economy, technological product changes, processes (Dixon, 1992; Dodgson, 1993), and abundance of information available (Huber 1991) necessitate organisations to unlearn, learn and relearn faster than others to survive. The development of sustainable competitive advantages is a vital management function and an important organisational requirement is to nurture learning and create new knowledge enabling organisations to exploit, develop and utilise resources better than rivals do. This paper originated from the need identified in my company that learning and use of new knowledge are essential elements to sustain competitive advantage. At the moment this is not the case and the challenges imposed on the organisation regarding technological advancements and rapid local and global environmental changes, has already negatively impacted the organisation's competitive position. Today learning is being experiences as just another expense and the use of new knowledge is not visible, as a matter of fact knowledge is being confused with information. Information is being "recycled"; in other words more of the same is shared and used within the organisation. Hardly any new knowledge is generated as the same minds that created problems are being used to solve them. In my opinion both learning and knowledge are strategic organisational requirements which must be nurtured and managed to (i) ensure return on investments, and (ii) strengthen the organisations future competitive position. The focus of the paper is to contribute to a deeper understanding of learning and knowledge, the linkage between individuals, organisations and learning loop approaches. Barriers preventing learning and use of knowledge will be identified as well as how the use of knowledge forms the foundation to achieve sustained competitive advantages to outsmart, outmaneuver and outwit the competition. Keywords: Knowledge; learning; organisational learning; competitive advantage; learning approaches, organisational barriers.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die snel veranderende kompeterende uitdagings waaraan maatskappy vandag blootgestel word, bv globalisering, ekonomiese impak, tegnologiese produk en proses veranderinge asook die oorvloed inligting wat beskikbaar is, vereis dat maatskappye hul leerprosesse mbt "unlearn, learn and relearn" vinniger moet toepas om kompterend te bly. Die ontwikkeling van kompeterende voordele is 'n kern bestuursfunksie en 'n belangrike voorvereiste tov die organisatoriese leerproses en skepping van nuwe kennis om 'n voorsprong bo die konkurrente te bewerkstellig. Die oorspronklike idee vir die skripsie het binne my eie maatskappy ontstaan, waar die tekortkominge mbt die gefokusde daarstelling en gebruik van nuwe kennis, vir die behoud van 'n mark leierskap posisie, tans nie sigbaar is nie. Die snel veranderende tegnologiese en ekonomiese eksterne omgewing het reeds 'n negatiewe en detrimentele impak op die maatskappy gehad. Vandag is die leerkurwe en gebruik van nuwe kennis binne die maatskappy nie 'n fokus area nie. Kennis word tans met inligting verwar en dieselfde persone verantwoordelik vir die oorsaak/skep van probleme word gebruik om probleme op te los, maw inligting word "gehersirkuleer" binne die maatskappy. Die doel van die skripsie is om 'n bydrae te maak mbt die raakvlakke tussen die onderskeie leer benaderings, kennis, individue en die maatskappy en hoe die onderskeie benaderings by die leerproses inpas. Hindernisse wat die gebruik van kennis kan inhibeer en beperk word ge-identifiseer en laastens word die fokus op hoe die gebruik van kennis en kundigheid die basis kan vorm vir die verkryging van onderhoudende kompeterende voordele, geplaas.