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Competing for ADVANTAGE
1
Chapter 5Business-Level Strategy
PART IIICREATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
The Strategic Management Process
Business-Level Strategy
Key Terms
Business-level strategy
Integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions the firm uses to gain a competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in specific product markets
Five Elements of Strategy
Types of Business-Level Strategy
Business-Level Strategy Dimensions
Competitive advantageSuperior value
Competitive scopeTarget market
Competitive Advantage Dimension
Low CostEfficiency
DifferentiationDistinctiveness
IntegrationCombined approach
Competitive Scope Dimension
Broad marketIndustry-wide customer base
Narrow marketNiche customer baseFocus strategies
Serving Customers
Who will be served
- market segmentation What customer needs will be
satisfied
- low cost vs. differentiation How those needs will be satisfied
- core competencies
Who: Determining the Customers to Serve
Key Terms
Market segmentation
Process of clustering people with similar needs into individual and identifiable groups to determine which customer segments to target
Basis for Customer Segmentation
Strategy and Structure
Key Terms
Organizational structure
Specifies the firm's formal reporting relationships, procedures, controls, and authority and decision-making processes
Strategy and Structure Key Terms (cont.)
Simple structure
Structure in which the owner-manager makes all major decisions and monitors all activities while the staff serves as an extension of the manager's supervisory authority
Functional structure
Structure consisting of a chief executive officer and a limited corporate staff, with functional line managers in dominant organizational areas
Multidivisional structure
Structure consisting of operating divisions, each representing a separate business or profit center in which the top corporate officer delegates responsibilities for day-to-day operations and business-unit strategy to division managers
Cost Leadership Strategy
Key Terms
Cost leadership strategy
Integrated set of actions designed to produce or deliver goods or services with features that are acceptable to customers at the lowest cost, relative to competitors
Cost Leadership Strategy – Implementation
No-frills, standardized goods Acceptable qualities and
features Emphasis on production
efficiency Continuously reduce costs of
value chain activities
Value-Creating Activities Associated with the Cost Leadership Strategy
Cost Leadership Strategy and the Five Forces of Competition
Low cost position is a valuable defense against rivals.
Powerful customers can demand reduced prices. Costs leaders can absorb supplier price
increases or force suppliers to hold down their prices.
Ever-improving levels of efficiency and cost reduction can be difficult to replicate and serve as a significant entry barrier.
Cost leaders hold an attractive position in terms of product substitutes, with the flexibility to lower prices to retain customers.
Using the Functional Organizational Structure to
Implement Strategy
Specialization
Centralization
Formalization
Functional Structure for the Cost Leadership Strategy
Functional Structure for the Cost Leadership Strategy
Simple reporting relationships Few decision-making and authority
layers Centralized corporate staff Strong operational focus on process
improvements Low-cost culture Centralized staff decision-making
authority Job specialization Highly formalized rules and procedures
Competitive Risks of Cost Leadership Strategy
Processes can become obsoleteFocus on cost reductions can be at the expense of understanding customer perceptions and needs
Strategy can be imitatedCost leaders can cut prices too low
Differentiation Strategy
Key Terms
Differentiation strategy
Integrated set of actions designed by a firm to produce or deliver goods or services at an acceptable cost that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them
Differentiation Strategy – Implementation
Target customers who perceive and value differentiated features
Customize products, differentiating on as many features as possible
Ways to Differentiate
Unusual features
Responsive customer service
Rapid product innovations
Technological leadership
Perceived prestige and status
Different tastes
Engineering design
Performance
Value-Creating Activities Associated with the Differentiation Strategy
Differentiation Strategy and the Five Forces of
Competition Customer loyalty provides the most valuable
defense against rivals. Uniqueness reduces customer sensitivity to
higher prices. High margins can absorb high supplier costs
or price increases can be passed on to willing customers.
Customer loyalty and product uniqueness serve as significant entry barriers.
Firms with customers loyal to their products are positioned effectively against product substitutes.
Functional Structure for the Differentiation Strategy
Functional Structure for the Differentiation Strategy
Complex and flexible reporting relationships
Cross-functional product development teams
Strong focus on marketing and product R&D
Development-oriented culture De-centralized decision-making
authority Broad job descriptions Informal rules and procedures
Competitive Risks of Differentiation Strategy
Price differential seen as too large
Differentiation no longer provides value for which customers will pay
Narrowing perceptions of the value of differentiated features
Counterfeiting
Focus Strategy
Key Terms
Focus strategy
Integrated set of actions designed to produce or deliver goods or services to satisfy the specific needs of a particular competitive segment
Specific Market Segments
Buyer group
Product line segment
Geographic market
Focus Strategy Drivers Large firms may overlook or poorly serve
small niches. Firms may lack resources to compete in
the broader market. Niche firms may be able to better satisfy
the specialized needs of a narrow market segment.
Focus may allow the firm to direct resources to certain value chain activities that deliver a competitive advantage.
Focus Strategies
Focused Cost Leadership Strategy
Focused Differentiation Strategy
Simple Structure for the Focus Strategy
A simple structure is appropriate for focus strategies for firms offering a single product line in a single geographic market.
Functional Structure for the Focus Strategy
A functional structure is appropriate for focus strategies for firms that have grown and expanded beyond offering a single product line in a single geographic market.
Competitive Risks of Focus Strategy
Being “outfocused” Entry of large industry-wide companies into an attractive market segment
Merging of niche customer needs with those of the broader industry
Integrated Cost Leadership/Differentiation Strategy
Key Terms
Integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy
Integrated set of actions designed by a firm to produce or deliver goods or services at an acceptable cost that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them
Integration Strategy Advantages
Quick adaptation to environmental changes
Quick learning of new skills and technologies
Efficient leveraging of core competencies
Integration Strategy Difficulties
The integration strategy is difficult to implement.
Difficulty stems from the need to emphasize and balance different value chain activities and support functions to succeed.
Flexible Structure for the Integration Strategy
Commitment to strategic flexibility
Flexible decision-making patterns Partial centralization Less structured jobs Sensitivity to balance of
objectives Modular structures
Tools for Strategic Flexibility
Flexible manufacturing systems
Information networks
Total quality management (TQM) systems
Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Computer controlled Capable of producing multiple products
in moderate, flexible quantities with minimal manual intervention
Enable quick and easy product adjustments
Increase the flexibility of resources needed to produce differentiated products at low costs
Allow quick response to changes in customer needs, while retaining low costs and consistent quality
Information Networks
Facilitate efforts to satisfy quality and speed expectations of customers
Include Customer Relationship Management systems
Include Enterprise Resource Planning systems
Total Quality Management Systems
Focus on doing things right through increased efficiency
Incorporate customer definitions of quality
Guide the firm to the root causes of problems
Customized to fit the firm’s resources and the external environmental context
Competitive Risks of Integration Strategy
Failure to establish a leadership position can result in a firm being "stuck in the middle" and unable to create value or earn above-average returns.
ETHICAL QUESTION
Can a commitment to ethical conduct on issues such as the environment,
product quality, and fulfilling contractual agreements affect a
firm’s competitive advantage? If so, how?
ETHICAL QUESTION
Is there more incentive for differentiators or cost leaders to pursue stronger ethical conduct?
ETHICAL QUESTION
Can an overemphasis on cost leadership or differentiation lead
to ethical challenges?
ETHICAL QUESTION
Creating brand image is one way a firm can differentiate its good or service. However, many questions are now being raised about the effect brand images have on consumer
behavior. For example, considerable concern has arisen about brand images that are
managed by tobacco firms and their effect on the smoking habits of teenagers. Should
firms be concerned about how they form and use brand images? Why or why not?
ETHICAL QUESTION
To what extent should an individual manager be concerned about the
accuracy of the claims the company makes about its products in its
advertisements?