The Relationship of Firm Resources and Competitive Strategy:Local Public Relation Corporations of Kaoshiung

As one of the top four IC revenue contributed countries, Taiwan is getting higher and higher weight in the world. With the highest density of 12-inch factory per area in the world, Taiwan is in the first tier of semiconductor equipment buyers. In year 2006, for an example, there was about eight billion US dollars spent in this island for her semiconductor manufacturing capacity expansion, which weighted 18.7% in the worldwide semiconductor equipment capital spending in 2006. It was only second to Japan. For a 12-inch fab, that will cost it 75% more in its whole capital spending. However, it is less than 1% spent in local equipment companies. That is no doubt we should pay more attention on this missing part of Taiwan semiconductor supply chain. After millennium, the center of semiconductor manufacturing has been migrating toward to Great Asia, the most promising and emerging area in the world. For the semiconductor equipment capital expense, according to Gartner Dataquest survey results, great Asia including Japan is the number one expense area in more than 50% weight in the world after year 2000. And the great Asia except Japan has been becoming the highest growing area in the expense of semiconductor equipment. Furthermore, its CAGR from 2005 to 2011 is estimated more than 11% which is 3% higher than the worldwide average at the same period. In the trend of this migration of semiconductor equipment market to Great Asia, especially the great China area, it¡¦s definitely a good opportunity for Taiwan to be prepared and ready to this era and try to play an important role in it. In this study, with the analysis of industrial environment in Porter¡¦s five competitive forces structure, a case study of company X is carried out as a successful example of global competitive strategy practice based on the methodology of Yip (2003) Global Strategy Levels. From a higher perspective on corporate strategy level, it intends to demonstrate the possibility to enhance the competitive advantage of Taiwan semiconductor industry in leverage of global strategy.

Recently years environmental protect conscious have raised and the people who concern the healthy issue. Lead to the organic food industry has been developing rapidly in Taiwan. Owing to the organic food industry are getting more acceptable and lovely by customers, therefore, organic food industry direct residence channel enter into the market, due to the organic food selling increasingly to be the current developing in the future, and the brand mark of organic of the stores have increasing rapidly in recently years. The system of producing and selling of the organic industry, different from the general industry, the persons who engage in organic food industry at present promote idea mainly, therefore, the purpose of the study is to study the organic food industry development status, and try to adopt in-depth interview to study the motivation of the organic food industry and business model framework. For view point of the theory of the industry analysis and competitive strategy, intend to study the feature of the case company practical operation, and submit business model suggestion for researchers and managers reference. The study results as follows¡G ¡]1¡^Under the uncertain environment, the case company will modify the organization framework and the other functions in order to construct suitable business model. ¡]2¡^The case company adopts prospectors strategy to suitable for enter into new industry or business model. ¡]3¡^The case company adopts both of emergent strategy and intended strategy to modify business model and competitive strategy continuously and in order to response non-forecast environment.

The analysis of Lithuanian and foreign authors scientific literature related to the competitive strategy are laid in thesis of Master work. In this final work are analyzed theoretical presumptions of gaining competitive advantage. Based on strategy formation methodic suggested by scientists, have been prepared virtual services competitive strategy formation model, which includes stages of analyze of interior and exterior environment, competitive strategy preparation, estimation and realization. According to the prepared virtual services competitive strategy formation model and based on the done research of services popularity and the level of quality, was formed virtual services competitive strategy of enterprise providing virtual services.

In this dissertation, we model and provide insights to some of the main challenges the world of online marketing currently faces. In the first chapter, we study the role of information asymmetry introduced by the presence of experts in online marketplaces and how it affects the strategic decisions of different parties in these markets. In the second chapter, we study the attribution problem in online advertising and examine optimal ways for advertisers to allocate their marketing budget across channels. In the third chapter, we explore the effects of modern ad blockers on users and online platforms. In the first chapter, we examine the effect of the presence of expert buyers on other buyers, the platform, and the sellers in online markets. We model buyer expertise as the ability to accurately predict the quality, or condition, of an item, modeled as its common value. We show that nonexperts may bid more aggressively, even above their expected valuation, to compensate for their lack of information. As a consequence, we obtain two interesting implications. First, auctions with a “hard close” may generate higher revenue than those with a “soft close”. Second, contrary to the linkage principle, an auction platform may obtain a higher revenue by hiding the item’s common-value information from the buyers. We also consider markets where both auctions and posted prices are available and show that the presence of experts allows the sellers of high quality items to signal their quality by choosing to sell via auctions. In the second chapter, we study the problem of attributing credit for customer acquisition to different components of a digital marketing campaign using an analytical model. We investigate attribution contracts through which an advertiser tries to incentivize two publishers that affect customer acquisition. We situate such contracts in a two-stage marketing funnel, where the publishers should coordinate their efforts to drive conversions. First, we analyze the popular class of multi-touch contracts where the principal splits the attribution among publishers using fixed weights depending on their position. Our first result shows the following counterintuitive property of optimal multi-touch contracts: higher credit is given to the portion of the funnel where the existing baseline conversion rate is higher. Next, we show that social welfare maximizing contracts can sometimes have even higher conversion rate than optimal multi-touch contracts, highlighting a prisoners’ dilemma effect in the equilibrium for the multi-touch contract. While multi-touch attribution is not globally optimal, there are linear contracts that “coordinate the funnel” to achieve optimal revenue. However, such optimal-revenue contracts require knowledge of the baseline conversion rates by the principal. When this information is not available, we propose a new class of ‘reinforcement’ contracts and show that for a large range of model parameters these contracts yield better revenue than multi-touch. In the third chapter, we study the effects of ad blockers in online advertising. While online advertising is the lifeline of many internet content platforms, the usage of ad blockers has surged in recent years presenting a challenge to platforms dependent on ad revenue. In this chapter, using a simple analytical model with two competing platforms, we show that the presence of ad blockers can actually benefit platforms. In particular, there are conditions under which the optimal equilibrium strategy for the platforms is to allow the use of ad blockers (rather than using an adblock wall, or charging a fee for viewing ad-free content). The key insight is that allowing ad blockers serves to differentiate platform users based on their disutility to viewing ads. This allows platforms to increase their ad intensity on those that do not use the ad blockers and achieve higher returns than in a world without ad blockers. We show robustness of these results when we allow a larger combination of platform strategies, as well as by explaining how ad whitelisting schemes offered by modern ad blockers can add value. Our study provides general guidelines for what strategy a platform should follow based on the heterogeneity in the ad sensitivity of their user base.

The competition today has many faces and it has persuaded all kinds of organizations to prepare for the unknown. To broaden your capacity for quick changes or come up with effective and creative initiatives became imperative. Therefore, the choice of strategy and the making of decisions can implicate in the survival of these companies. Our objective is to propose marketing strategies to be used by small bakeries, with a goal to obtain competitive advantages. We emphasize also the study of the strategies adopted by these companies, the comparison of these companyâs strategic actions with the theories advocated by the referred authors and the evaluation of these actions in accordance with the companyâs positioning. The themes of the theoretical referential that substantiated the field research along with the bakeryâs businessmen and managers are associated to the following thematics: strategy and concepts, competitive advantages, strategic positioning and marketing strategy. The characteristics of the local bakeries and the profile of this sector were themes also studied for the better understanding on the subject. The researched companies are traditional bakeries and are of great economical importance for the region where they are installed. The research allowed us to confirm the unawareness of marketing. It was also verified, that the competition between companies of this sector is very aggressive, and that the companies which adopts marketing strategies do so with competitive advantages in mind. In a general way, it was observed that the elevated growth of the economy makes the changes in strategical behavior of the companies mandatory, which suggests a deeper look in to these questions. / A concorrÃncia hoje se apresenta com mÃltiplas faces e tÃm persuadido todo tipo de organizaÃÃo a se preparar para o desconhecido. Ampliar sua capacidade de mudanÃas rÃpidas ou para tomar iniciativas criativas e eficazes se tornou imperativo. Diante disto, a escolha de estratÃgias e as tomadas de decisÃes podem implicar na sobrevivÃncia destas empresas. Temos como objetivo propor estratÃgias de marketing a serem utilizadas por empresas panificadoras de pequeno porte, com a finalidade de obter vantagens competitivas. Enfatizamos tambÃm o estudo das estratÃgias adotadas pelas empresas em questÃo, a comparaÃÃo das aÃÃes estratÃgicas destas com as teorias preconizadas pelos autores referenciados e a avaliaÃÃo destas aÃÃes de acordo com o posicionamento de cada empresa. Os temas do referencial teÃrico que fundamentaram a pesquisa de campo junto aos empresÃrios e gerentes das panificadoras estÃo associados Ãs seguintes temÃticas: estratÃgias e conceitos, vantagens competitivas, posicionamento estratÃgico e as estratÃgias de marketing. As caracterÃsticas das empresas locais de panificaÃÃo e o perfil do setor de panificaÃÃo, tambÃm foram temas estudados para melhor embasamento sobre o assunto. As empresas pesquisadas sÃo panificadoras tradicionais que representam grande importÃncia econÃmica para a regiÃo onde estÃo instaladas. A pesquisa permitiu constatar o desconhecimento de tÃcnicas de marketing. Verificou-se, tambÃm, que a competiÃÃo entre as empresas do setor à bastante acirrada, e que as empresas que adotam as estratÃgias de marketing procuram fazÃ-lo visando vantagens competitivas. De forma geral, observou-se que o elevado crescimento da economia, torna obrigatÃria a mudanÃa de comportamento estratÃgico das empresas o que sugere um aprofundamento destas questÃes.

O ambiente dos distribuidores de combustíveis vem sofrendo profundas mudanças nos últimos anos; e este processo pode ser confirmado após análise ambiental utilizando-se do modelo proposto por Almeida (2010). Diante dessa análise, observou-se também que o ambiente dos distribuidores de combustíveis vem avançando para o que D´aveni (1995) denomina como hipercompetitivo. Ademais, a adoção dos carros flex fuel implicou em uma nova dinâmica no setor, exigindo que os distribuidores de combustíveis busquem aplicar novas estratégias competitivas condizentes com a nova realidade ambiental. Com o intuito de explorar as possíveis estratégias competitivas adotadas pelos distribuidores de combustíveis utilizou-se o modelo elaborado por Zaccarelli e Fischmann (1994) por este oferecer maior flexibilidade e ser mais ajustado aos objetivos desta pesquisa. Nesse sentido, o objetivo geral desta pesquisa permeia a identificação das estratégias competitivas adotadas pelos distribuidores de combustíveis para enfrentar as mudanças ambientais influenciadas pela introdução dos carros flex fuel. E para cumprir o objetivo de pesquisa foram entrevistados os gerentes das quatro maiores organizações do setor (BR Distribuidora, Ipiranga, Shell e Esso/Cosan). Juntas, essas empresas perfazem, de acordo com a Agência Nacional de Petróleo Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis (ANP), quase 70% de todo o volume de combustível automotivo comercializado no país. Como ferramenta de coleta de dados foi utilizada a abordagem de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com o objetivo de ter maior flexibilidade e até mesmo aprofundar informações que poderiam ser relevantes ao tema, mas antes não pensadas ou elaboradas conforme Hair et al (2005). Durante as entrevistas, buscou-se também explorar a percepção e atitudes dos distribuidores sobre a sustentabilidade, tema indispensável ao contexto competitivo atual. Através dos resultados obtidos, pode-se concluir que, de fato, a introdução do veículo flex fuel vem promovendo mudanças na estratégia competitiva dos distribuidores de combustíveis no Brasil. / The fuel distribution environment has been facing drastic changes in Brazil in the past years. This fact may be affirmed after having carried out an environmental analysis through the employment of a model proposed by Almeida (2010). This analysis also allows one to assert that the environment of fuel distribution has been turning into what D\'aveni (1995) denominates hypercompetitive environment. Moreover, the adoption of flex fuel vehicles has imposed new dynamics within the sector. These dynamics have forced fuel distributors to seek new competitive strategies that are in line with the new environmental reality. The model designed by Zaccarelli and Fischmann (1994) was used in this research with the intention to explore the possible competitive strategies adopted by fuel distributors. This model was chosen due to its higher flexibility and to its deeper alignment with the objective of the present research. In this sense, the general objective of this research is to identify the competitive strategies that fuel distributors adopt in order to face and cope with the new environmental changes that have emerged due to the introduction of flex fuel vehicles. In order to achieve this objective, managers of the four largest organizations in the sector have been interviewed. According to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), altogether, these organizations (BR Distribuidora, Ipiranga, Shell and Esso/Cosan) are responsible for nearly 70% of the volume of automotive fuel traded in the country. As to the data collection tool employed in this thesis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with those managers; this type of interview was selected because it allows for higher flexibility and even for the possibility to investigate issues that could be relevant to the topic but had not been previously thought of or established according to the guidelines given by Hair et al (2005). The interaction during the interviews also aimed at exploring the managers\' perception of and attitude towards sustainability, a crucial issue within the competitive current context. The results of the present research allow one to conclude that the introduction of flex fuel vehicles has indeed been promoting major changes in the competitive strategies of fuel distributors in Brazil.

The aim of the diploma thesis is a proposal of competitive strategy for the Nanograph, Ltd. Thesis is divided into four main parts. The first of wich deals with assessing the current state of the company and problem detection, the second theoretical base to solve the problem identified. The third part contains the strategic analysis of the company and the fourth section offers a proposal to resolve the problem.

Asserts that competitive pressures make careful applications of marketing management tools imperative for the survival of time-dependent non-profit organizations. Illustrates a pragmatic tool which a volunteer-dependent organization can use to determine its strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis the competition. This tool is used to assess the competitive weaknesses and strengths of Big Brothers/Big Sisters vis-à-vis Special Olympics. Concludes by offering constructive advice as to how Big Brothers/Big Sisters can turn a “latent competitive advantage” into a “solid competitive advantage”.

This cross-sectional study of Portuguese service organizations seeks to determine the level of alignment of competitive methods with strategy typologies covered in the business literature. Surveyed firms were asked to indicate their level of utilization of several competitive methods. The results of factor analysis of the survey data indicate that 30 of the 33 competitive methods covered in this study represent seven underlying strategy dimensions. Further analysis revealed that there is some congruence between the derived strategy dimensions and established strategy typologies in the literature. Cluster analysis revealed that each of the responding firms could be classified into one of four hybrid or mixed strategy orientations. However, differences in strategy orientation were not statistically significant in explaining differences in the financial performance of these organizations. These findings are discussed in the light of their implications for strategy development, strategy choices and performance evaluation in the Portuguese service sector.