Is Sustainable Competitive Advantage Possible, And How Can Technology Be Used As Catalyst?

The original business strategy, which is still not fully implemented or thought out, is still intact and being somewhat utilized. Part of getting from where we are now to where we want to go, is to put together a comprehensive business and growth strategy plan that, brings about the most results. The original business strategy resembled that of a small business that had the most growth with the least risk. With little risk also means little or no technology. The company has changed, the competition is more intense and the economy is weakened. A new strategy that aligns with technology is essential in order to be successful. As business and technology have become increasingly intertwined, the strategic alignment of the two has emerged as a major corporate issue. With the emergence of IT from the back room to the forefront of business brings the alignment issue under the spotlight like never before. And as

Strategy is about seeking new edges in a market while slowing the erosion of present advantages. Effective strategy nnoves are grounded in valid and insightful monitoring of the current competitive position coupled with evidence that reveals the skiHs and resources affording the most leverage on future cost and differentiation advantages. Too often the available measures and methods do not satisfy these requirements. Only a limited set of measures may be used, depending on whether the business starts with the market and uses a customer-focused approach or alternatively adopts a competitor-centered perspective. To overcome possible

Due to the growing competition and diminishing market share, companies are opting for different strategies to achieve their survival objectives as well as growth. Companies are thus executing grand strategies to provide their businesses with a clear direction for its strategic actions. These strategies, therefore, aim at both short term and long term sustainability and growth, and they include innovation, market development, product development, and concentration.

Fields’ Chocolate Chippery. The business got off to a slow start and she was forced to deploy a different strategy. Fields kick started her store by handing out free samples in the food court. She showed perseverance and resourcefulness. Her success since sparked over 600 stores worldwide. Debbi Fields founded Mrs. Fields Bakeries. In addition to her hugely successful company, Fields has written several cookbooks and largely involved in philanthropy.

The company “Blue Chip Cookies” isn’t particularly big with 4 stores in the USA. (Cookie Locations, 2016). One of them being the store I went to (in the food court)

Volkswagen goal is to become the ecological and economical leader in the automotive industry and to be the world’s leading automaker by 2018. Volkswagen has four main objectives through which they will achieve their goals.

The article “Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility” by Michael E. Porter and Mark E. Kramer advocates that there is a link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and competitive advantage, and there is an opportunity for innovation that benefits both the company and society that can result in a win-win positive sum game. Ultimately if your firm does not integrate a CSR program into your business core your competitors will.

With the quick pace of technology development, companies become harder to enjoy competitive advantages throughout its industry. According to Michael Porter Three Generic Strategies (1985), competitive advantage allows the companies to create the superior value towards their consumers. Competitive advantage can be defined into two types: lower cost or differentiation relative to its rivals. Competitive advantage exists when a firm can deliver the same benefits at a lower cost in comparing with its competitors, in this case, the cost advantage. In addition, firm delivers benefits that exceed those of competing products, which is differentiation advantage. However, the world changing fast, and so does consumers,

“In the earliest phases of its build out; however, an infrastructural technology can take the form of a proprietary technology. As long as access to the technology is restricted—through physical limitations, intellectual property rights, high costs, or a lack of standards—a company can use it to gain advantages over rivals.” As Laura Acevedo notates in her article Business Benefits of Information Technology, “Companies using a first-movers strategy can use information technology to create new products, distance their products from the existing market or enhance their customer services. Companies that follow a low-cost product strategy can look to information technology solutions to reduce their costs through increased productivity and reduced need for employee overhead.” The contention is that once a technology has evolved from being considered a proprietary technology into an infrastructural technology then the differentiation from one company to the next is inevitably lost.

Competition is a significant factor, which influences strategic planning of Seth GmbH. Knowing the competitors and their strategically poises is a significant key to the success of Seth GmbH. The company should evaluate various factors related to the competitors, such as their size, share in the market, branding strategies and quality, which allows it to feasibly conduct business in the market. In order to achieve competitive advantage, Seth GmbH should look towards strategic planning in terms of marketing its products better than the competitors. Employing quality marketing research would help Seth GmbH in formulating an inherent customer profile and understanding its consumers. Through strategic planning, Seth GmbH could build personal motivation among the management and use proven systems to develop them into the core competencies of the organization, thereby achieving competitive advantage. Other factors that help Seth GmbH in achieving competitive advantage are customer service

In this report It will identify and analyze the sustainable competitive advantage of the three following organization. Panera Bread Company, Harley-Davidson Inc. and Walt Disney Company. In the report it will analysis the three organizations using theoretic analysis of the reasons for the achievement of sustained competitive advantage (SCA).

“Strategy is concerned with matching a firm’s resources and capabilities to the opportunities that arise in the external environment.” (Grant, p. 114, 2016). In basic sense, a firm is a place where a product or service originates. A firm is a place where a group of people co-operate and co-ordinate with each other to frame a product or services as per the taste of the customers to reach the organizational goal of profitability. There is mixture of a lot stakeholders like, suppliers, customers, manufacturers, distributers, etc. in a firm. “A firm is a legal entity - one that signs contracts with its suppliers, distributors, employees and often customers.” (Chandler, 1992).

| ST Strategies: * Make innovations for being over the potential competitors. * Use their financial position for acquire new technology.

To start with, strategy is a procedure for a predicted future. It is the planning of raw materials to use them in their most efficient ways for the longest time possible. Using these resources in different and cheaper ways are the competitive advantages of a certain company. For example, having the same products but in lower prices and providing differentiated products in higher prices are competitive advantages. Today’s threats to companies are the sustainability of competitive advantage among competitors. Samsung is one of the companies that followed the strategy of design in order to achieve competitive advantage. Strategy by design is the decision making. “It is not only modifying a product in order to be easier to use; it is the creation of new markets by adding value to products or services.” (Tony Blair). Design is the implementation of styling to products or services so that a company can have high creative ability to compete against other companies. (Andrews, K.R. and Ronald, C., 1987). The main purpose of design isn’t only based on sales and production. However, it is based on the experiences and satisfactions of consumers with the products or services they are utilizing. As a successful business, one must think about the right things to do. Designers should work along with engineers in order to maintain products which help motivate customers. That’s what Samsung did to achieve its success by design. The group chairman, Kun-Hee Lee, did his visits to

Companies live and breathe innovation; or, at the terribly least, notice it basic to their success. Such companies are those that others ought to emulate for they recognize that to do business, as Peter Drucker prompt in an exceedingly recent Harvard Business review article, “Every firm—not simply businesses—needs one core competence: innovation.”