Purpose - In this research, hospitals with varying type, size and operational characteristics are grouped into distinct strategic groups. The competitive methods emphasised by these groups are studied. Also, the extent of effective implementation of quality improvement tools is examined. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - Utilizing a sample of 109 hospitals, cluster analysis is used to accomplish the objective of this study. Findings - Four strategic groups of hospitals were identified. These groups tended to emphasize different competitive methods and quality improvement efforts implementation profiles. Research limitations/implications - The findings of this study have important implications for the relationship between operational performance and strategic effectiveness in a hospital operational environment. Practical implications - The findings of this research tend to emphasize the importance of patient's service and satisfaction to strategic effectiveness. Also, the findings stress the importance of clinical effectiveness at the operational level. Originality/value - This study empirically examines operational and strategic performance-related issues in a hospital operational environment.

Research has shown that restaurant-goers don't book a table simply because they are hungry, rather they go out for an experience. An experience that has been shown to be most affected by the design choices in the restaurant; interior design, sound, and scent, all contribute to the consumers perceived value of service. In the interest of filling a perceived gap in the research, this study aims to explore how vegan bistros work with design and in doing so, exploring how they use design strategically.  Using a qualitative case-study research design this study explores and compares two different vegan bistros in Stockholm, Sweden. Through interviews, observations, and the study of artifacts the study examines how these bistros have used design when developing the concept. Our study found that the two bistros have used different approaches to achieving differentiation, in relation to design. One used a literal approach to the concept of veganism, associating it with nature and greens, while the other used an ironic approach where they decorated the dining room to look like a butcher. Our study concluded that the way in which the two vegan bistros have worked with design have provided them with a strategic competitive advantage through differentiation.

Yes / This article examines the impact of small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) proactive environmental strategy on market performance through the mediating mechanism of environmental reputation. In addition, we investigate the potential moderating role of competitive strategies on the environmental reputation-market performance nexus. Data were collected from 223 SMEs. Using the hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the results show that a proactive environmental strategy positively enhances environmental reputation. Also, the influence of proactively environmental strategy on market performance is mediated by environmental reputation. In addition, our findings show the relationship between environmental reputation and market performance is greater for firms that adopt the differentiation strategy but not significant for firms adopting the low-cost and integrated strategies. Our study offers several theoretical and practical implications.

China has become both South Korea’s largest trading partner and one of the largest destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI). The display industry, which is one of the major export industries for Korea and extremely important for the Korean economy, has a particularly high level of dependence on China – the industry’s largest market. The Korean LCD panel industry has grown into a global leader and major industry of the Korean economy over the past ten years through its preemptive, aggressive investment and its development of innovative products. This was helped by the diverse strategies for aggressive investment in China that were implemented since the early 2000s as the companies faced unlimited competition in the global era. However, the rise of the Chinese LCD industry, which was spurred by the rapid growth of the domestic market and government support policies in the mid-2000s, has impacted the investment strategies of the Korean LCD panel industry in China. This research focuses on an analysis of the investment strategies of Korean TFT-LCD panel industry businesses’ investments in China in terms of their corporate and business strategies. It also assesses the status of the LCD industry and market, reviews the Korean LCD panel industry’s development, and analyzes its competitive strategy using Porter’s five forces model, industry life cycle, and the value chain. Based on the findings and the forecast for the Korean LCD panel industry, it then concludes by providing suggestions for the major industry players and the Korean government.

Competitive strategies are an essential tool for sustainable competitive advantage. Particularly in the service industry, strategy has its significance as it plays a vital role in achieving customer satisfaction. This study investigates alignment of four service characteristics i.e. servicescape, service quality, quality and value with the firms’ strategy and how this alignment achieves customer satisfaction. A set of hypotheses were formulated to portray the significance of each of the four service characteristics and customer satisfaction in accordance with the firms’ competitive strategy. The investigations were done particularly within the fast-food industry, comparing two well-known fast-food chain restaurants namely, McDonalds and Max. A survey questionnaire covering the four service characteristics was prepared and distributed among the possible respondents. The analysis of the results was done with the help of SPSS. The results do not show any significant difference in McDonald’s or Max’s strategy in alignment of the four service characteristics. This thesis helps to understand the strategy dynamics of the service industry firms and what is or is not significant to them when customer satisfaction is to achieved; particularly for the fast-food industry.

The goal of the master thesis is to conduct strategic analysis of an enterprise Soma spol. s r.o. and suggest possible recommendation for further development based on the knowledge acquired from the analysis. Theoretical part is focused on information referring to the topic of the thesis. Method and techniques of the strategic analysis are described and afterwards applied in the practical part. Practical section contains environment analysis using PESTEL analysis and Porter's Five Forces analysis. Onward the internal analysis is performed including identification of company's assets, financial analysis, Value Chain analysis and Portfolio analysis. In conclusion the results of all performed analysis are summarized using the SWOT matrix and the recommendation are suggested based on detected opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of the company.

In what ways do companies within an industry converge? We address this by combining theory on competitive strategy and supply chain strategy to understand how companies can be differentiated in these dimensions. As competitive strategies are affected by internal and external factors, these affect strategy design and resource management of a company in order to remain competitive. Convergence occurs when an industry matures, and several regulatory or non-regulatory norms arise that firms move toward and, in the process, become more similar. Through developing a framework that addresses intra-industry convergence and taking the case of the European airline industry, we aim to demonstrate the application of using competitive strategy and supply chain strategy analyses to analyze and evaluate intra-industry convergence through a standardized model.

Este trabalho traz como objeto o fenômeno da concentração geográfica e setorial de empresas, cuja importância na criação de vantagens competitivas para as empresas e para o desenvolvimento regional tem sido estudada e relatada na literatura. Considerando-se a importância dos agronegócios no contexto socioeconômico nacional, associado à importância crescente da floricultura neste setor e a lacuna na literatura no que concerne a esse tipo de arranjo empresarial no contexto dos agronegócios, optou-se pelo desenvolvimento deste estudo em duas localidades paulistas caracterizadas pela concentração de empresas relacionadas aos agronegócios de flores e plantas: Holambra e Mogi das Cruzes. Os principais objetivos desta tese são: elaborar uma estrutura (framework) teórico-conceitual para estudos das concentrações geográficas de empresas do agronegócio de flores e plantas ornamentais; identificar os principais fatores indutores para o estabelecimento de ações conjuntas entre os atores da cadeia e identificar os principais fatores indutores da inovação e da formação das competências coletivas locais. Dada a complexidade do fenômeno estudado, optou-se por mesclar estratégias de pesquisa de caráter qualitativo e quantitativo (survey). Os principais resultados encontrados mostram: a adequação da estrutura de análise proposta; a influencia do fator étnico nas questões relativas a cooperação para a construção das vantagens competitivas locais; que as ações cooperativas entre os atores da localidade não dependeram de uma ação coordenadora do poder público; que as concentrações geográficas estudadas criam condições para promover maior número de ações conjuntas entre os produtores rurais; que essas ações conjuntas são catalizadas pelas associações de produtores rurais e pelas cooperativas. / This thesis aims to understand the phenomenon of geographical and sectional concentration of companies (clusters), whose importance in the creation of competitive advantages and also in the regional development have been studied and reported in specialized literature. Considering the importance of agribusiness in the Brazilian social-economic context and the lack of academic studies concerning with, agribusiness clusters, the present research was performed in two localities of State of São Paulo: Holambra and Mogi das Cruzes, both characterized by the flowers and ornamental plants agribusiness concentration. The main objectives of this thesis are the following: elaborate a theoretic-conceptual structure for flowers agribusiness cluster; identify the main inductive factors inducing for the establishment joint action between the actors of the productive chain; and, verify the inductive factors in innovation and in local collective competences building. Due to the complexity of the studied phenomenon, the field research design encompasses both qualitative and quantitative (survey) approaches. The main results founded show that: the adequacy of the framework analysis proposed; the ethnic factor influences in the cooperation and local competitive advantages building related issues; the joint actions among the actors of the locality, specially agricultural producers, did not depended on the public power coordination; the studied geographical cluster allows to increase joint actions, specifically among the agricultural producers, stimulated by the agricultural producers associations and by the cooperative societies.

O objetivo do presente estudo é analisar a importância do marketing de relacionamento para a estratégia competitiva de orientação para mercado, com foco em organizações business to business. Para atingir tal objetivo, foram estudados aspectos do processo de formação estratégica nas empresas, assim como os aspectos das estratégias de crescimento e competitiva. Alinhado ao estudo das estratégias competitivas, foi estudada a teoria de orientação para mercado e a importância do desenvolvimento do marketing de relacionamento em mercados altamente competitivos, para a obtenção de desempenho superior de uma empresa em relação a seus concorrentes. Para complementar e enriquecer o estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo por meio de um estudo de caso no mercado empresarial de inseminação animal, com foco no mercado de bovinos. A empresa estudada foi a IVP do Brasil, empresa líder de mercado que detém 90% de participação comercializando produtos para inseminação animal da IMV Technologies, multinacional francesa. A pesquisa de campo foi conduzida junto à empresa e a um grupo de clientes. Os principais resultados indicam que a liderança da empresa se dá em função de seu alto desempenho no principal fator-chave de sucesso do mercado em que atua. A crescente concorrência, tanto em quantidade quanto em valor ofertado, exige que a empresa desenvolva ações de intimidade com seus clientes, se desejar continuar na liderança deste mercado. / The purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of relationship marketing for competitive strategy of market orientation, with focus on business to business organizations. To achieve this goal, some topics were investigated in detail, such as the strategic building process in companies and the growth and competitive strategies. Subsequent to the study of competitive strategy the market orientation theory was also studied as the importance of the development of relationship marketing in high competitive markets, to achieve superior performance. As a complementary study that enriches the investigations, a field research was conducted as a case study in the animal insemination business market, with focus on the cow market. The company studied was IVP of Brazil, leader in this market with 90% market share, trading animal insemination products from IMV Technologies, a French multinational company. The field research was conducted in collaboration with the company and involving a group of their customers. The main results point to the fact that the company leadership is a result of its high performance in the major key success factor of the market, under consideration. As the competition with quality grows more efficiently, the company must develop customer intimacy strategies, if it would like to keep its leadership in this market.

Some firms focus on few products with broad appeal, whereas others leverage variety as an important part of their offering. This study investigates the conditions under which each of these product line length strategies is optimal in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. It does so by focusing on the relationship between product line length strategy and firm top-line performance, in the light of a discrete framework derived from the strategic fit paradigm and the strategic triangle. Results show that customer factors (i.e., variety per household and value per purchase) and competitor factors (i.e., concentration and proliferation) drive the strategic fit of a firm's product line length strategy to the market in which it competes, so that firms deploying market-fitting strategies face higher odds of market share growth than firms deploying contrarian strategies. Firms with certain company factors (i.e., innovativeness and brand equity), however, face higher odds of market share growth by challenging the market fit and deploying contrarian strategies than by deploying market-fitting strategies. This study offers a stepping stone towards addressing product line length strategy as a discrete choice on product line positioning, an innovative approach with potential to generate concrete business impact.