This master’s thesis deals with project of company’s Eisberg, a.s. business strategy. The master’s thesis describes and analyzes particular sections of company’s business in that the company works. I’m finding imperfections in these sections and sequentially I’m processing proposals and disposals that can enable to better the position of the company in the market.

The master’s thesis describes current situation on the market and its competition. It contains the proposal of an optimal competitive strategy for market segment „door fittings“ for the Czech Republic which should lead to maintenance of the position of the company or to reinforce its position on the market.

Master’s thesis deals with chart of competitive neighbourhood in K plasty s.r.o. business framework in Nové Město nad Metují. It covers competing firms, potencional and current clients and company’s internal structure and processes.

The master’s thesis concerns with a theme of strengthening competitiveness of a travel agency, which makes tours to abroad. Theoretical part of the work includes knowledge about competitiveness and strengthening of the competitiveness. In practical part are knowledge used in a practice. The main part of the work is analysis of the travel agency and microeconomics and macroeconomics environment, which influences the company. These analysis are made because of raise proposal for strengthening competitiveness of the travel agency.

The master’s thesis concerns with a theme of increasing competitiveness of a foreign exchange company. The theoretical part of the work includes knowledge about competitiveness of the company and service specifications. In the practical part knowledge are applied to a specific company. Based on the analysis of the company and her environment are created proposals for increasing competitiveness of the company.

This thesis examines reactions of German manufacturing firms to emerging market competitors while operating in the institutional conditions of the Russian market. Although the literature on internationalization of emerging market firms is rapidly growing, research in the Russian institutional context remains scarce. At the same time, rivals from emerging economies already hold strong positions in this major market, especially in the mature manufacturing industries. Against this background, the theoretical framework of this dissertation stems from theories of industrial organization, strategic management, marketing, and international business. To address the novelty and complexity of this inquiry, the thesis adopts interpretivism paradigm, primary inductive logic, and qualitative research strategy. The study was conducted in two stages among 34 managers representing 28 German automotive and mobile machinery suppliers operating in Russia. The process of data collection and analysis was enhanced by combining key procedures of the grounded theory with several other common qualitative techniques. The analysis showed that despite hostile activities of emerging market firms, the German managers primarily focused on competition with rivals from other developed countries. The emerging market competitors were perceived as benefiting from cost-leadership strategy and local market proximity. Consequently, the managers frequently ignored their activities and considered that their firms were protected from competition by several entry barriers. Those companies, which responded to these competitors, mainly combined strategies of differentiation, localization, retreat, and a narrow set of tactical retaliations. This study also determined the direct and mostly deteriorative influence of the Russian institutional environment on the competitive advantage of the German companies. Furthermore, the longitudinal research design revealed a largely adverse impact, which the occurred institutional changes had on the competitiveness of the German firms. The findings provide a novel synthesis of competitive reactions to entrants from emerging markets. Moreover, this research is the first one to describe an aggregated impact of Russian institutional environment on the competitiveness of Western firms related to emerging market companies. In this way, it supports the institution-based view of strategy, and synthesizes a practically applicable decision framework for competitive reaction. Considering the importance of the Russian market and increasing competitiveness of emerging market firms, this thesis makes an important contribution to competition research in emerging economies.

Strategy and IT research has been extensively discussed during the past 40 years. Two scientific disciplines Management Science (MS) and Management Information Science (MIS) investigate the importance of IT as a competitive factor. However, although much research is available in both disciplines, it is still difficult to explain how to manage IT to enable competitive advantages. One reason is that MS research focuses on strategies and competitive environments but avoids the analysis of IT. Another reason is that MIS research focuses on IT as a competitive factor but avoids the analysis of the competitive environment. Consequently, there is a gap of knowledge in the understanding of the strategic management of information technology (SMIT). The strategic analysis of IT as a competitive factor is important for achieving the competitive advantages of IT. This thesis explores factors related to strategy and IT that should be considered for the strategic analysis of IT as a competitive factor, and proposes a framework for SMIT. The research is conducted by means of a qualitative analysis of theoretical data from the disciplines of MS and MIS. Data is explored to find factors related to SMIT. The results of the analysis show that the strategic management of information technology is a continuous process of evaluation, change, and alignment between factors such as competitive environment, competitive strategies (business and IT strategies), competitive outcome, and competitive factors (IT). Therefore, the understanding of the relationships between these factors is essential in order to achieve the competitive advantages of using IT. This thesis contributes to strategic management research by clarifying the relationships between strategic management, competitive environment, and IT as competitive factor into a holistic framework for strategic analysis. The framework proposed is valuable not only for business managers and for IT managers, but also for academics. The framework is designed to understand the relationship between competitive elements during the process of strategic analysis prior to the formulation of competitive strategies. Moreover, it can also be used as a communication tool between managers, in order to achieve alignment among company strategies. To academics, this thesis presents the state-of-the-art related to strategic management research; it can also be a valuable reference for strategic managers, as well as researchers interested in the strategic management of IT. / <p>Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic.2006:53.</p>

The resource-based view (RBV) of competitive strategy emphasises the importance of unique firm resources and associated capabilities to the formulation of competitive strategy. This cross-sectional study seeks to determine whether or not the pattern of usage of competitive methods related to marketing, information technology and flexibility in the Portuguese service sector aligns with the resource-based view. Fifteen service-related competitive methods are identified. Surveyed firms were asked to indicate the degree of relevance of these competitive methods to their competitive strategy. Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling indicates that these methods represent four underlying strategy dimensions that reflect some of the dynamic capabilities suggested by the resource-based view. In addition, cluster analysis revealed that each of the responding firms could be classified into one of three capability orientations. Some implications of these findings for strategy development in the Portuguese service sector are discussed. Limitations of the study and areas for future research are also presented.

This research mainly examines the relationship among competitive methods, performance measures, and strategic orientations utilised by 68 Portuguese manufacturing organisations from different industries. The findings reveal that the surveyed organisations appear to be following a hybrid-mixed strategy. The group with the best results adopted the most balanced strategic approach, as it emphasised most of the different strategic dimensions. The examination of the strategic orientations, performance dimensions, and most utilised performance measures reveals inconsistencies among the surveyed organisations, which clearly indicates that the strategic choices and performance measures and measurements are misaligned. This study has direct practical implications to executives of manufacturing organisations, as they attempt to integrate their organisational systems in pursuit of effective strategic competitive performance. Based on the results of this study, a conceptual framework is proposed to facilitate the alignment among the competitive methods, performance measurement, and selected strategy.

Small businesses make up about 90% of all business entities and employ about 60% of the total workforce, yet 50% of small businesses fail within their first 5 years. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how SBOs use the appropriate product diversification strategies to remain sustainable. The sample population were 3 small retail business owners in a large-sized county in the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area who employed fewer than 19 people and have successfully used product diversification strategies to remain sustainable beyond 5 years. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and company document reviews. Data analysis entailed using an alphabetic coding process to identify the frequency and importance of themes. Grounded in the conceptual framework of the model of market orientation, this study revealed 4 themes that could help small business owners use the appropriate product diversification strategies to remain sustainable: customer-centric decision-making, market-trend orientation, resource orientation, and complementary products and services. The implications for positive social change include the potential to give small business owners a decision-making framework to achieve sustainability and growth, which would contribute to healthy economic conditions through consumerism, higher employment rates, and a reduction in poverty. The findings of this study could benefit local, small businesses and communities.