Strategic Elements of Competitive

Advantage
Session 5-6

By
Dr. Jitarani Udgata
Ph.D. IIFT-D
 Strategic Elements of Competitive
Advantage
 Competitive Advantage (Michael Porter’s Diamond
Model)
 Industry Analysis: Forces Influencing Competition
 Global Competition and National Competitive
Advantage
Michael Porter’s Diamond Model
 4 factors in Porter’s diamond
These regional advantages can be assessed by 4 factors in Porter’s
diamond:
Firm strategy and rivalry: Competition in the home market that
drives innovation and quality .
Demand conditions: A country with sophisticated home buyers
who have an awareness and demand for advanced, quality, and
innovative products which can create international competitiveness
Related and supporting industries : presence of suppliers and
related industries within a region.
Factor (input) conditions: These factors can be grouped into
material resources-human resources (labor costs, qualifications and
commitment) Knowledge resources and infrastructure.
 Government:
 Michael Porter also mentions factors like Government and
chance events that influence competition between companies.
 Governments can play a powerful role in encouraging the
development of industries and companies both at home and
abroad. Governments finance and construct infrastructure
(roads, airports) and invest in education and healthcare.
 They can encourage companies to use alternative energy or
alternative environmental systems that affect production. This
can be effected by granting subsidies or other financial
incentives

15-6 Chance events
 Michael Porter also indicates that in most markets
chance plays an important role. This provides
opportunities for innovative companies that are not
afraid to start up new operations. Entrepreneurs
usually start their companies in their homeland,
without having any economic advantages

© 2005
Prentice
Hall
 Application on BMW
 FRS (Firm strategy and rivalry ): Strong rivalry between lots of
Manufacturers Make them compete and keep developing more innovative
products
 FC (Factor (input) conditions ): Skilled engineers from renounced
universities, government focus on scientific research.
 DC ( Demand condition): No speed limits in Germany Home buyers want
more powerful cars Industry tries to develop innovative engines to cater for
this need
 RSI (Related and supporting industries) : Iron and steel industries, high
level of education and training in the workforce, banks, and component
suppliers and IT infrastructure.
 Government: Supported and funded scientific research, launched the
construction of more roads and canals in the 19th century
 r c e s
: Fo
y s is i on
n a l e ti t
y A m p
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In d ci n
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Inf
 Industry Analysis: Forces Influencing
Competition
Industry: A group of firms making products which are close
substitutes for each other
Porter’s insights into sources of competition
 Competition drives down the rate of return to return under perfect competition
 Higher rates of return will stimulate greater capital inflow (i.e. greater
competition)
 Lower rates of return will result in withdrawal from industry
Five sources of competition in an industry: the threat of new entrants, the
threat of substitute products or services, the bargaining power of buyers, the
bargaining power of suppliers, and the competitive rivalry among current members of
the industry.
 Threat of New Entrants

New entrants mean downward pressure on prices and reduced

profitability; increasing capacity
New entrants will have unique approaches to serving
consumers
Barriers to entry determines the extent of threat of new industry
entrants
Barriers to entry raise the cost and risk for potential entrants to
levels which may be seen to be unprofitable.
 What are the eight major barriers to entry?
 1. The decline in per-unit product costs as the absolute volume of production per period
increases.
 [Link] differentiation is the extent of a product's perceived uniqueness, whether or not it
is a commodity. Differentiation can be achieved as a result of unique product attributes or
effective marketing communications, or both.
 3. Capital is required not only for manufacturing facilities (fixed capital) but also for
financing R&D, advertising, field sales and service, customer credit, and inventories
(working capital).
 [Link] costs are those costs caused by the need to change suppliers and products.
 [Link] to distribution channels. If channels are full, or unavailable, the cost of entry is
substantially increased because a new entrant must invest a time and money to gain access to
existing channels or to establish new channels.
 [Link] policy is frequently a major entry barrier.
 [Link] advantages independent of scale economies that may present barriers to entry. Access
to raw materials, a large pool of low-cost labor, favorable locations, and government
subsidies are several examples.
 [Link] response can be a major entry barrier. If new entrants expect existing
competitors to respond strongly to entry, their expectations about the rewards of entry will
certainly be affected.
 How do these serve as barriers to entry
 Economies of Scale
 Refers to the decline in per-unit product costs as the absolute volume of
production per period increases
 Product differentiation
 The extent of a product’s perceived uniqueness, e.g. Intel & AMD,
[Link] and Barnes & Noble
 Capital requirements
 Required investment for manufacturing, R&D, advertising, field sales and
service, etc. e.g. oil and mineral extraction
 How do these serve as barriers to entry

 Switching costs
 Costs related to making a change in suppliers or
products. e.g. changing operating systems on PCs from
Windows to something else
 Distribution channels
 Are there current distribution channels available with
capacity
 Government policy
 Are there regulations in place that restrict competitive
entry?
[Link] do these serve as barriers
to entry
 Cost advantages independent of scale economies
 Access to raw materials, large pool of low-cost labor,
favorable locations, and government subsidies
 Competitor response
 How will existing firms react in anticipation of
increased competition within a given market e.g. Jet
Blue & US Airways, AA & Continental
2. Threat of Substitute Products

 Availability of substitute products places limits

on the prices market leaders can charge
 High prices induce buyers to switch to the
substitute
 E.g. music on CDs vs. downloadable from the
net
 3. Bargaining Power of Buyers
 Buyers (retailers and other manufacturers) seek to
pay the lowest possible price
 Buyers have leverage over suppliers when
 They purchase in large quantities (enhances supplier
dependence on buyer) e.g. Walmart
 Suppliers’ products are commodities
 Product represents significant portion of supplier’s
costs
 Buyer is willing and able to achieve backward
integration
 Bargaining Power of Buyers
“We do not quibble or argue with anyone’s right to sing what they want, to
print what they want, and say what they want. But we reserve the right
to sell what we want.”

- Wal-Mart’s response to the accusation that it is

using its financial power to dictate what is
appropriate music and art
4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
 When suppliers have leverage, they can raise prices
high enough to affect the profitability of their
customers
 Leverage accrues when
 Suppliers are large and few in number
 Supplier’s products are critical inputs, are highly
differentiated, or carry switching costs
 Few substitutes exist
 Suppliers are willing and able to sell product themselves
 E.g. Microsoft and Intel (90% of world PCs use MS and
Intel) relative to HP, Dell, etc.
 5. Rivalry among Competitors
 Refers to all actions taken by firms in the industry to
improve their positions and gain advantage over each
other
 Price competition
 Advertising battles
 Product positioning
 Differentiation
 Mature markets – firms jostle with each other to gain
market share at the expense of competition
 Competitive Advantage

 Achieved when there is a match between a firm’s

distinctive competencies and the factors critical for
success within its industry
 Two ways to achieve competitive advantage
 Low-cost strategy
 Product differentiation and higher prices
Competitive Advantage

“The only way to gain lasting competitive advantage is to leverage

your capabilities around the world so that the company as a
whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Being an international
company - selling globally, having global brands or operations in
different countries—isn’t enough.”

- David Whitwam, CEO, Whirlpool

Generic Strategies for Creating
Competitive Advantage
Broad Market Narrow Market

Narrow product Cost leadership Cost focus e.g.

mix (experience curve Polish & Chinese
benefits) shipyards

Broad product Product Focused

mix differentiation e.g. differentiation e.g.
any successful Bose
branded product

15-23
 Cost Leadership e.g. Walmart
 Based on a firm’s position as the
industry’s low-cost producer (the
experience curve concept).
 Must construct the most efficient
facilities
 Must obtain the largest market
share so that its per unit cost is the
lowest in the industry
 Only works if barriers exist that
prevent competitors from
achieving the same low costs
Product Differentiation e.g. Nike

 Product that has an actual or perceived uniqueness in a broad

market has a differentiation advantage
 Extremely effective for defending market position
 Extremely effective for obtaining above-average financial
returns; unique products command a premium price.
 Cost Focus e.g. IKEA
 Firm’s lower cost position enables it to offer a narrow
target market and lower prices than the competition
 Sustainability is the central issue for this strategy
 Works if competitors define their target market more
broadly
 Works if competitors cannot define the segment
even more narrowly
 Focused Differentiation
 The product only has actual uniqueness but it also has
a very narrow target market
 Results from a better understanding of customer’s
wants and desires
 Example – High-end audio equipment like Mark
Levinson, Bose, etc.
 High prices
 The Flagship Firm
 Rugman and D’Cruz
 Long term competitiveness is more a matter of
competition between business systems not rivalry
between firms
 Different from Porter – competition between
individual firms
 Japanese keiretsu and Korean chaebols
 Benetton
The Flagship Firm: The Business Network with
Five Partners

Network Relationship Commercial Relationship

 Creating Competitive Advantage via Strategic
Intent

Few competitive advantages are long lasting. Keeping

score of existing advantages is not the same as building
new advantages. The essence of strategy lies in creating
tomorrow’s competitive advantages faster than
competitors mimic the ones you possess today. An
organization’s capacity to improve existing skills and
learn new ones is the most defensible competitive
advantage of all.

Source: Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad

Creating Competitive Advantage via
Strategic Intent
 Focuses on the pace of implanting new competitive
advantages deep within the organization
 Strategic Intent
 Grows out of ambition and
 Obsession with winning
 Implant tomorrow’s competitive advantages faster than
competitors can imitate your present advantages
 Based on W.E. Deming’s TQM principles – commitment to
continuing improvement in order to win
Creating Competitive Advantage via
Strategic Intent

 Building layers of Advantage

 Searching for loose bricks
 Changing the rules of engagement
 Collaborating
 Building Layers of advantage
 A company faces less risk if it has a wide portfolio of advantages
 Successful companies build portfolios by establishing layers of
advantage on top of one another
 E.g. Japanese TV companies
 First layer – low cost (B&W TV sets in 70s)
 Second layer – quality and reliability in 80s
 Third layer – building brands in late 80s and 90s
Searching for Loose Bricks
 Search for opportunities in the defensive walls of
competitors whose attention is narrowly focused
 Focused on a market segment
 Focused on a geographic area to the exclusion of others
 E.g. Acer lead in S.E. Asia & Latin America –
markets ignored by Compaq & HP; Intel focused on
complex chips – NEC Corp & LSI Logic created
chips for other products like digital cameras, smart
cards, etc.
Changing the Rules of Engagement
 Refuse to play by the rules set by industry leaders
 Example Xerox and Canon
 Xerox employed a huge direct sales force; Canon chose
to use product dealers
 Xerox built a wide range of copiers; Canon standardized
machines and components
 Xerox leased machines; Canon sold machines
 Xerox targeted management; Canon targeted secretaries
& office managers
Collaborating
 Use the know-how developed by other companies
 Licensing agreements, joint ventures, or partnerships
 E.g. Sony acquiring technology for the transistor from AT&T in
the 1950s for 25K
Current Issues in Competitive Advantage
D’Aveni
 Today’s business environment, market stability is undermined by:
 short product life cycles
 Short product design cycles
 New technologies
 Globalization
 Result is an escalation and acceleration of competitive forces
 Goal of strategy – shifted from sustaining your advantages to
disrupting competitor’s advantages
 Current Issues in Competitive Advantage
 Hyper-competition is a term used to describe a dynamic
competitive world in which no action or advantage can be
sustained for long. in a hypercompetitive market, there are
four factors that need to be mastered:
 Technology and innovations
 Customer changes
 Decline of boundaries
 Financial independence
 Competition unfolds in a series of dynamic strategic
interactions in four areas: cost quality, timing and know-
how, entry barriers, and deep pockets
 Current Issues in Competitive Advantage

 In today’s world, in order to achieve a sustainable

advantage, companies must seek a series of
unsustainable advantages
 The role of marketing is innovation and the creation of
new markets
 Innovation begins with abandonment of the old and
obsolete
Current Issues in Competitive
Advantage
“Innovative organizations spend neither time nor resources on
defending yesterday. Systematic abandonment of yesterday alone
can transfer the resources…for work on the new.”
-Peter Drucker
15-41

© 2005
Prentice
Hall