DOCSLIB.ORG

Conducting a Dynamic Competitor Analysis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Conducting a Dynamic Competitor Analysis Marko Ruotsalainen Conducting a Dynamic Competitor Analysis A Proposal for Robust CA Toolkit Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences Master’s Degree Industrial Management Master’s Thesis 11 May 2016 Abstract Marko Ruotsalainen Author Conducting a Dynamic Competitor Analysis: A Proposal for Title Robust CA Toolkit Number of Pages 74 pages + 9 appendices Date 11 May 2016 Degree Master of Engineering Degree Programme Degree Programme in Industrial Management Instructors Thomas Rohweder, DSc (Econ), Principal Lecturer Zinaida Grabovskaia, PhL, Senior Lecturer This focus of this study is to propose a robust Toolkit for a Dynamic Competitor Analysis (CA) for the case organization. The case organization’s High Voltage business unit is in fierce completion with multinational stakeholders in Finland. The overall market situation continues to be challenging, and three major global players dominate the high voltage equip- ment market. Due to the pessimistic macroeconomic expectations, the growth potential of the electric industry is expected to continue relatively low worldwide until 2020. Thus, stake- holders continuously compete to guarantee their mid-term and long-term success. The approach that this Thesis suggests is to move away from its current reactive utilization of existing competitor analysis. So far, the responsibility of CA related activities and its anal- ysis have been at the headquarters, while the case organization has supported these activ- ities by collecting basic competitor and market data. The results of the study show that the competitor analysis can be conducted robustly and dynamically if systematically utilized. The word “dynamic” means that the competitor analy- sis is conducted whenever needed and, more importantly, timely. In this study the word “robust” means the suitable tools and methods used for CA, and, importantly, CA that is conducted legally and ethically. The proposal suggests a range of such tools but stresses that it is the business issue(s) that should determine which CA methods and tools should be used. Presently, the case organization has broader level BI system in use that focuses is on competitive positioning. One of the key tasks of the CA Toolkit should be to support the BI needs. The case organization can benefit from the results of the study in multiple ways. First, the CA analysis increases the understanding of industry structure. Second, active utilization of CA Toolkit increases the quality of BI data. Third, the competitor analysis can minimize the risks of decision-making. If successful, the CA Toolkit proposal can be leveraged in other BU’s. Keywords Competitor Analysis, Competitive Intelligence, Business Intel- ligence, industry structure analysis, critical success factors, competitive profile matrix. Contents Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acronyms 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Key Concepts of This Study 1 1.2 Case Company Background 2 1.3 Business Challenge 3 1.4 Objective and Scope 4 2 Method and Material 5 2.1 Research Approach 5 2.2 Research Design 6 2.3 Data Collection and Analysis 9 2.4 Reliability and Validity Plan 14 3 Current State Analysis 16 3.1 Overview of the Current State Analysis Stage 16 3.2 Findings from the Current State Analysis 17 Company Business Intelligence Process 17 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 18 Net Promoter Score ™ (NPS) 19 Battle Cards 20 Ad-hoc Surveys and Benchmarking 20 Trade Shows, Seminars, and Conferences 21 Other Sources, and the Current Process and Tools of Conducting Competitor Analysis 21 3.3 Impact of Business Conduct Guidelines on Competitor Analysis Practices 23 Legal Perspective 23 Compliance Perspective 24 3.4 Summary of Key Findings from the Current State Analysis 25 4 Existing Knowledge on Competitor Analysis 28 4.1 Definition of Competitor Analysis 28 Competitor Analysis as Part of Competitive Intelligence 29 The Case for Competitor Analysis 31 4.2 Competitor Analysis Methods and Techniques 35 “Five Forces” Industry Structure Analysis Method 35 Framework for Competitor Analysis 37 Critical Evaluation of Porter’s Insights 41 4.3 Tools for Competitor Analysis 42 SWOT Analysis 42 Critical Success Factors Analysis 44 The Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) 45 4.4 Conceptual Framework of This Study 46 5 Conducting a Dynamic Competitor Analysis 50 5.1 Overview of the Proposal Building Stage 50 5.2 Findings of Data Collection 2 51 5.3 CA Process with Tools: Planning and Direction 53 [A.1] Define the Business Issue(s) 53 [A.2] Identifying Competitors 54 [A.3] Identifying Stakeholders and Information Need 55 [A.4] Check the Responsibility Matrix 56 5.4 CA Process with Tools: Data Collection 57 [A.5] Determine Sources of Competitive Data 58 [A.6] Gather /Organize the Data 59 5.5 CA Process with Tools: Analysis 60 [B.1] Choose from Appropriate CA Methods and Tools 60 [C.1] Analyze and Produce Actionable intelligence 61 5.6 CA Process with Tools: Dissemination 65 [C.2] Communicate Results & Findings to the Stakeholders 65 [C.3] Receive feedback and re-evaluate 66 6 Validation of the Proposal 67 6.1 Findings of Data Collection 3 67 6.2 Suggestions and Future Improvements 68 A. Reporting of the CA Toolkit Results 68 B. The CA as a Part of Account Planning Process 68 C. Adapting of CA Toolkit to Other BU’s Use 69 D. Competitor Analysis Practitioner’s Checklist 69 7 Discussion and Conclusions 70 7.1 Summary 70 7.2 Practical and Managerial Implications 72 7.3 Evaluation of the Study 73 Outcome vs Objective 73 Reliability and Validity 74 References 75 Appendix 1: Research Participants’ Information Document Appendix 2: Interview: Legal and Compliance (Data Collection 1) Appendix 3: Interview: BU Manager (Data Collection 1) Appendix 4: Interview: Head of Division (Data Collection 1) Appendix 5: Interview: Sales Director (Data Collection 1, 2 and 3) Appendix 6: Interview: Sales Engineer (Data Collection 2 and 3) Appendix 7: Net Promoter Score (NPS) Appendix 8: Industry Fusion Analysis Appendix 9: Competitor Analysis Practitioner’s Checklist List of Figures Figure 1. Research design of this study Figure 2. The Case Organization’s current CI value creation and benefits process Figure 3. The Entire Competitive Environment Figure 4. Competitive Intelligence Process Figure 5. CI Value and Benefits Framework Figure 6. Competitive Advantage and the three C’s Model Figure 7. Customer Value Triad Model Figure 8. The Five Forces That Shape Industry Competition Figure 9. The Elements of a Competitor Analysis Figure 10. Specification of SWOT Variables and Development of Strategy to Improve Marches Figure 11. CSFs Identification and Monitoring Figure 12. The literature review Figure 13. Conceptual Framework of this study Figure 14. The industry fusion analysis method Figure 15. Key Drivers for B2B Customer Loyalty Figure 16. Leveraging the CA collaboration of sales and Management List of Tables Table 1. Steps in research design Table 2. An overview of Data Collection Rounds of this Study Table 3. Data Collection for the current state analysis, Data 1 Table 4. Data collection for the proposal building Table 5. Data collection of the testing and validation of the CA Toolkit Table 6. Usefulness of Competitor Analysis based on practical experiences Table 7. Predicting Competitor’s Reaction Table 8. Analyzing of Competitor’s Reaction Table 9. Critical Success Factors Analysis Worksheet Table 10. The Competitive Profile Matrix Table 11. Initial structure of the proposed CA Toolkit Table 12. Summary of Data Collection 2: Feedback and comments on initial CA Toolkit proposal Table 13. Business issue questions of this study Table 14. The Case Organization’s Competitor Table 15. Stakeholder Profiles Table 16. Responsibility Matrix Table 17. Type of Acknowledged Data Source Table 18. Type of data sources used in this study Table 19. Organizing of Data Sources and Information Table 20. Critical Success Factor Table 21. Insights on defining weighted factors of CSFs (Focus: B2B customer loyalty and purchasing factors) Table 22. The Competitive Profile Matrix Table 23. Content of CA report Acronyms 3C’s Customers-Competitors-Company Model ABI/INFORM Academic Literature Database AIS Air Insulated Switchgear B2B Business to Business BI Business Intelligence BU Business Unit CA Competitor Analysis CI Competitive Intelligence CPM The Competitive Profile Matrix CRM Customer Relationship Management CSA Current State Analysis CSFs Critical Success Factors analysis tool DB Database EBSCOHost Academic Literature Database GIS Gas Insulated Switchgear HQ Headquarter M&A Mergers & Acquisitions NDA Non-Disclosure Agreement; a legal contract between the case organization and a business partner that protects the confidential in- formation of one or both parties. NPS® Net Promoter Score™; to evaluate customer loyalty. PEST Political, economic, social, and technological factors. Another method to conduct environmental analysis SAP Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing STEEP Social, technological, economic, ecological, and political factors. The method is used to make an environmental analysis. SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis USPs Unique Selling Propositions 1 1 Introduction This study focuses on analyzing the competitor analysis practices of the case organization and improving its current competitor analysis processes and tools. Knowing what competition is doing is essential to any company that want to survive. Marketing strategist Jack Trout, the president of Trout & Partners, argue: Customer orientation is necessary
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Swot / Pest Analysis
    SWOT / PEST ANALYSIS Sherrill Crivellone HR.com Coach’s Corner April 24, 2018 SWOT Defined • A technique that enables a group or individual to move from everyday problems and traditional strategies to a fresh perspective. • SWOT analysis looks at your strengths and weaknesses and threats your business does or may face. • The SWOT Analysis framework is very important and a useful tool to use in marketing management and other business applications. • As a basic tool, its mastery is a fundamental requirement for the marketer, entrepreneur or business person. SWOT is an acronym for: What is SWOT Analysis? Technique is credited to Strengths Albert Humphrey who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s. Planning tool used to understand Strengths, SWOT Weaknesses, Opportunity Weakness Opportunities, & Analysis Threats involved in a project / business. Used as framework for organizing and using data Threats and information gained from situation analysis of internal and external environment. What is SWOT Analysis? STRENGTHS Characteristics of the business or a team that give it an advantage over others in the industry. Positive tangible and intangible attributes, internal to an organization. Beneficial aspects of the organization or the capabilities of an organization, process capabilities, financial resources, products and services, customer goodwill and brand loyalty. Examples - Abundant financial resources, Well-known brand name, Economies of scale, Lower costs [raw materials or processes], Superior management talent, Better marketing skills, Good distribution skills, Committed employees. What is SWOT Analysis? WEAKNESSES Characteristics that place the firm at a disadvantage relative to others. Detract the organization from its ability to attain the core goal and influence its growth.
    [Show full text]
  • Situation Analysis
    8/7/2019 C H A P T E R 5 Situation Analysis The Context for Strategy Development 1 8/7/2019 A Situational Analysis of a Strategic Marketing Plan A situational analysis consists of different methods used with the same goal to figure out the company’s capacities, potential customers, and the business environment. After that, company owners can generate an appropriate marketing strategy to apply for their business. 2 8/7/2019 Situation Analysis There are three methods typically used to complete a situational analysis, namely: 1) 5Cs Analysis, 2) SWOT analysis, and 3) Porter five forces analysis. Among them, SWOT analysis is the most popular method used by several companies. 3 8/7/2019 Situation Analysis Situational Analysis 5Cs SWOT Porter five Analysis analysis forces 4 8/7/2019 ConductingConducting aa SituationSituation AnalysisAnalysis Analysis Alone Is Not a Solution Data Is Not the Same as Information Data – a collection of numbers or facts that have the potential to provide information Information – data that have been transformed or combined with other data in a manner that makes them useful to decision makers. The Benefits of Analysis Must Outweigh the Costs. 5 5 8/7/2019 Conducting a Situation Analysis Conducting a Situation Analysis is a Challenging Exercise. Should provide a complete picture of three key environments: 1) Internal, 2) Customer, and 3) External 6 8/7/2019 7 8/7/2019 8 8/7/2019 Conducting a Situation Analysis Situational Analysis Internal Customer External Environment Environment Environment 9 8/7/2019 10 8/7/2019 Conducting a Situation Analysis 11 11 8/7/2019 Internal, Customer, and External Environments 12 12 8/7/2019 Of the three major environments in a situation analysis (internal, customer, external), which do you think is the most important in a general sense? Why? What are some situations that would make one environment more important than the others? 13 13 8/7/2019 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Marketing Plan 1. Executive Summary 2. Situational Analysis, Current
    Marketing Plan 1. Executive Summary 2. Situational analysis, Current Situation 2.1. Macro environment - economy - legal - government - technology - ecological - sociocultural - supply chain 2.2. Market Analysis - market definition - market size - market segmentation - industry structure and strategic groupings - Porter 5 forces analysis - competition and market share - competitors' strengths and weaknesses - market trends 2.3. Customer Analysis - nature of the buying decision - participants - demographics - psychographics - buyer motivation and expectations - loyalty segments 2.4. Internal Company resources - financial - people - time - skills 1 Objectives - mission statement and vision statement - corporate objectives - financial objective - marketing objectives - long term objectives - description of the basic business philosophy - corporate culture 3. Opportunities / Issue Analysis - SWOT Analysis 3.1. Marketing research information requirements research methodology research results 3.2. Summary of Situation Analysis - external threats - external opportunities - internal strengths - internal weaknesses - Critical success factors in the industry - our sustainable competitive advantage 4. Marketing Strategy 4.1. Segmented marketing actions and market share objectives by product, by customer segment, by geographical market, by distribution channel. 4.2. Marketing Strategy – Product product mix product strengths and weaknesses perceptual mapping product life cycle management and new product development Brand name, brand image, and brand
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Your Business (Situation Analysis) Introduction
    Understanding your business (Situation Analysis) Introduction Situation Analysis In order to profitably satisfy customer needs, the firm first must understand its external and internal situation, including the customer, the market environment, and the firm's own capabilities. Furthermore, it needs to forecast trends in the dynamic environment in which it operates. Situation analysis is basically done to analyze your: 1 Internal Environment (S.W.O.T.) 2 ‘Customer’ and ‘customer relation to product’ (5W H) 3 External Environment (P.E.S.T.) 4 Competitive Environment Situation analysis gives you a much better understanding about these things. It is used to understand what kind of environment your company will be in, what are the factors that may affect its possibility to succeed, and what might make your business fail. S.A’s offer both simplicity and flexibility in the structure of the activity. You can modify, move, add or delete information over any period of time as you discover information that you feel is relevant. A Situational Analysis is comprehensive and looks at all aspects of a business; drawing your focus to factors you may have otherwise overlooked. Its organized and easy to access; including relevant qualitative and quantitative information effecting business operations past, present & future. It allows you to easily collaborate with peers where the sharing of information can be a valuable tool in gaining opinions relevant to you decision to buy, sell or hold a position. Finally, any S.A. performed on a specific company is then easy to compare against peers in the same industry, sector or group of stocks to gain a sense of relative strength or weakness.
    [Show full text]
  • Financial Analysis of the Selected Firm Vysoké Učení
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Digital library of Brno University of Technology VYSOKÉ UČENÍ TECHNICKÉ V BRNĚ BRNO UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY FAKULTA PODNIKATELSKÁ ÚSTAV EKONOMIKY FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE SELECTED FIRM FINANČNÍ ANALÝZA VYBRANÉ FIRMY DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCE MASTER'S THESIS AUTOR PRÁCE VĚRA DOBEŠOVÁ AUTHOR VEDOUCÍ PRÁCE Ing. HELENA HANUŠOVÁ, CSc. SUPERVISOR BRNO 2011 Brno University of Technology Academic year: 2010/2011 Faculty of Business and Management Institute of Economics MASTER´S THESIS ASSIGNMENT Dobešová Věra, Bc. European Business and Finance (6208T150) Pursuant to Act. No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions, and in accordance with the Rules for Studies and Examinations of the Brno University of Technology an Dean’s Directive on Realization of Bachelor and Master Degree Programs, the director of the Institute of is submitting you a master's thesis of the following title: Financial Analysis of the Selected Firm In the Czech language: Finanční analýza vybrané firmy Instruction: Introduction Theoretical Foundations Current Situation Analysis Proposals and Contribution Conclusion Pursuant to section 60 of Act No. 121/2000 Coll., as subsequently amended (hereinafter referred to as "Copyright Act") this thesis is a "schoolwork" and its use complies to the legal regime of the Copyright Act. Quotations hereof are permitted upon prior consent of the Faculty of Business and Management of Brno University of Technology. Before any external use of this thesis it is strictly required to conclude a "License Agreement" pursuant to the Copyright Act. Seznam odborné literatury: DLUHOŠOVÁ, D. Finanční řízení a rozhodování podniku.
    [Show full text]
  • Situational Analysis in the Function of Developing Company Competitive Advantage
    Entrepreneurship: Types, Current Trends And Future Perspectives 134 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS IN THE FUNCTION OF DEVELOPING COMPANY COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Zvonko Brnjas15 Ivana Tripunoski16 ABSTRACT Competitive advantage is the main goal of a market –oriented company, and the knowledge of environmental factors is the basic condition for its creation. By gaining insight into the structure and development trends of factors of external and internal environment, we create conditions for subsistence, development and creation of competitive advantage. Given the fact that the modern business environment is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty, subsistence and success of the company is primarily determined by the ability of management to create a strategy that, under the given conditions, contribute to achievement of the goals. The information obtained by scanning the external environment and analyses of internal environments are the basis for strategic planning and decision making. The research results in this paper indicate that the business environment in Serbia is not sufficiently encouraging for the development of entrepreneurship. Due to the negative impact of many factors, strategic orientation has been identified as an essential condition for creating a sustainable competitive advantage, companies in Serbia. Key words: Strategic Management, Business Environment, Situation Analysis, Competitive Advantage, Company JEL Classification: L10, M11 15 (Tenured) Professor, Institute of Economic Sciences, Belgrade, Serbia, [email protected] 16 Master of Economy, Belgrade Banking Academy Belgrade, Serbia, [email protected] 135 Entrepreneurship: Types, Current Trends And Future Perspectives INTRODUCTION A situational analysis represents scanning and assessment of the current organizational context, the external environment, and the environment within an organization.
    [Show full text]
  • 1. All Marketing Plans Should Include a Situation Analysis Report. What Is A
    THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BANKERS (GH) CUSTOMER SERVICE, MARKETING AND THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT EXAMINER’S REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2019 EXAMINATION Number of candidates 28 Number of passes 24 % of Pass 86 % Four out of the 28 candidates who took the examination failed the exam but one got 81 percent and another got 82 percent.. The most popular question was the sub questions on research, 25 candidates answered the question and three failed to get a pass mark. Overall candidates did very well with 17 out of the 28 candidates getting over 60 percent. Candidates who did not do well either did not answer the question asked or misread the questions. ANSWERS 1. All marketing plans should include a situation analysis report. What is a situation analysis report and briefly discuss what does it entail? 20 marks 18 candidates answered this question but four failed to get a pass mark, one got zero because he/she did not know what a situation analysis report is. The report has four parts that need to be dealt with to arrive at good objectives for the organization. Answer Situation analysis or Marketing audit is the process of evaluating a company’s position in relation to its internal and external environment to identify its strengths, weaknesses and future courses of action. This may include a brief history of the company and its current status, done through an analysis of external limitations and internal resources. The situation analysis requires a thorough study of the broad trends within the economy and society, as well as a detailed analysis of markets, consumers and competitors.
    [Show full text]
  • The Marketing Plan
    Chapter 2 The Marketing Plan • Section 2.1 Marketing Planning • Section 2.2 Market Segmentation Marketing Planning Key Terms SWOT analysis environmental scan Objectives marketing • Conduct a SWOT analysis plan executive • List the three key areas of an internal company summary analysis situation • Identify the factors in an environmental scan analysis marketing • Explain the basic elements of a marketing plan strategy sales forecasts performance standard Marketing Essentials Chapter 2, Section 2.1 Marketing Planning Graphic Organizer Follow the outline to identify the steps of a marketing plan. Marketing Essentials Chapter 2, Section 2.1 Marketing Planning SWOT analysis An assessment of a company’s A business can analyze its strengths, weaknesses, strengths and weaknesses and opportunities, and threats using a process called a the opportunities SWOT analysis X. This helps because it: and threats that surround it; • prepares a company for competition or a SWOT: changing marketplace. strengths, • provides guidance and direction for future weaknesses, opportunities, marketing strategies. threats. Marketing Essentials Chapter 2, Section 2.1 Marketing Planning Marketing Essentials Chapter 2, Section 2.1 Internal Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that affect a business operation. The analysis centers around three Cs: • Company • Customers • Competition Marketing Essentials Chapter 2, Section 2.1 Internal Strengths and Weaknesses When evaluating itself, a company must analyze these areas: • Company staff • Financial situation • Production capabilities Marketing Essentials Chapter 2, Section 2.1 Four Ps of Marketing Mix The company must also consider the four Ps of the Marketing Mix: 1. Product 2. Place 3. Price 4. Promotion Marketing Essentials Chapter 2, Section 2.1 Customer Analysis Companies study buying patterns using surveys or conducting interviews with people in their target markets.
    [Show full text]
  • PESTLE Analysis
    26 Feb 2020 PESTLE analysis Discover what PESTLE means, and use our PESTLE analysis template and example to understand the external influences on your organisation Introduction A PESTLE analysis is a framework to analyse the key factors (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental) influencing an organisation from the outside. It offers people professionals insight into the external factors impacting their organisation. The analysis is flexible, so organisations can use it in a range of different scenarios. People professionals and senior managers can use the results to guide strategic decision-making. This factsheet explores the six elements of PESTLE and outlines what PESTLE analysis is used for, focusing on the scenarios where it’s most valuable. It also provides a PESTLE analysis example (of the retail sector) as well as a ready-to-use PESTLE analysis template. The factsheet concludes by providing some PESTLE analysis tips and looking at the advantages and disadvantages of a PESTLE analysis. Watch our video on what PESTLE stands for This short video provides a PESTLE analysis definition and explains how PESTLE analysis works. Play Video For a transcript of this video, please scroll to the end of the page. What is a PESTLE analysis? A PESTLE analysis is an audit of six external influences on an organisation: Political: Tax policy; environmental regulations; trade restrictions and reform; © Copyright Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2021, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ, UK Incorporated
    [Show full text]
  • “Situation Analysis and Strategic Planning: an Empirical Case Study in the UK Beverage Industry”
    “Situation Analysis and Strategic Planning: An Empirical Case Study in the UK Beverage Industry” AUTHORS Demetris Vrontis Alkis Thrassou Demetris Vrontis and Alkis Thrassou (2006). Situation Analysis and Strategic ARTICLE INFO Planning: An Empirical Case Study in the UK Beverage Industry. Innovative Marketing , 2(2) RELEASED ON Friday, 30 June 2006 JOURNAL "Innovative Marketing " FOUNDER LLC “Consulting Publishing Company “Business Perspectives” NUMBER OF REFERENCES NUMBER OF FIGURES NUMBER OF TABLES 0 0 0 © The author(s) 2021. This publication is an open access article. businessperspectives.org 134 Innovative Marketing, Volume 2, Issue 2, 2006 SITUATION ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC PLANNING: AN EMPIRICAL CASE STUDY IN THE UK BEVERAGE INDUSTRY Demetris Vrontis, Alkis Thrassou Abstract Marketing planning is a key function for marketing oriented organisations. The following paper has been compiled in order to develop a marketing plan for a soft drink beverage company. Though out this case, it is illustrated that the stages in planning process are interrelated and cannot work in isolation. They all add to the development of a focus and specific marketing plan that needs to be followed by marketing oriented companies. Key words: Environmental Analysis, Marketing Planning, Strategy, Tactics. Marketing Planning – A Theoretical Overview Marketing planning is defined by Woods (2003) as the structured process of researching and ana- lysing the marketing situation, developing and documenting marketing objectives, strategies, and programs, and implementing,
    [Show full text]
  • An Approach to Strategic Situation Analysis: Using Models As Analytical Tools
    An Approach to Strategic Situation Analysis: Using Models as Analytical Tools Dr. Rodney Blackwell, Assistant Professor, Troy University, USA Dr. Dianne Eppler, Associate Professor, Troy University, USA ABSTRACT Building competitive advantage begins with a thorough strategic situation analysis that includes understanding both the external and internal business environments. Using established business models as investigative tools and linking them together to enhance their analytical value is proposed in this paper as a method of progressing from strategic situation analysis to competitive advantage. Moreover, internal analyses that result in the identification of distinctive competencies and external investigations that uncover industry key success factors give strategists the means to develop strategies that may achieve competitive advantage. Keywords: competitive advantage, fit theory, strategic analysis. INTRODUCTION The Necessity of Using Analytical Models in Strategic Situation Analysis An underlying assumption of this paper is the necessity of using established business models as analytical tools when conducting a firm’s strategic situation analysis. Models require analysts to examine more thoroughly the multitude of factors surrounding the complexities of comprehensive internal and external analyses (Grant, 2008). When recognizable business and strategic management models are not used to examine macro-environmental, industry, and firm information then analysts lean towards only considering the most superficial evidence available. Not utilizing analytical tools may result is decisions with excessive reliance on hunches and precedent. Strategic decisions must be based on both a thorough analysis and the integration of various internal and external considerations. Methods used for strategic situation analyses may include a variety of business fields from economics and finance to leadership and marketing, and more.
    [Show full text]
  • Taming the Dreaded Situation Analysis
    Chapter 2 Taming the Dreaded Situation Analysis This Chapter. ••Provides•an•overview•of•the•key•components•of•the•Marketing• Situation•Analysis.•.•.answering•the•question,•“Where•are•we?”• ••Provides•an•outline•and•arts-specific•questions•to•streamline•• the•three•key•components•of•the•Situation•Analysis:•• the•Environmental•Analysis,•the•Competitive•Analysis•and•• the•S.W.O.T.•Analysis.•• Taming the Dreaded Situation Analysis Part I. The Situation Analysis Marketing planning begins with the Situation Analysis, or an intense self-examination that involves answering the question, “Where are we?” by asking a series of ques- tions about your organization and the world in which you function to narrow down the monumental problem of expanding your audience–questions such as: What is our mission? Who is our current customer? Who else could be a potential customer for us? Who do we compete with for our customer’s time and money? What are the key issues facing my organization, my industry and my community? What are our internal A good Situation Analysis should strengths and weaknesses? What are our external opportunities and threats? narrow your problem, and its potential solutions, down to size. The process can be described as an hourglass: All the background research is on the It should logically and easily top, helping you refine the number of potential solutions (the annual marketing objec- lead you directly to the best tives), which are represented in the middle of the hourglass, and finally, the marketing short- and long-term audience development objectives for your strategies and tactics are fanned out at the bottom.
    [Show full text]