Strategic marketing management of oil and gas industry: A review of literature

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on strategic marketing management. This study adopted an expost facto research methodology to examine the strategic marketing management literature in an attempt to attain their desired level of performance. The overall findings suggest that strategic marketing is a driver of organizational positioning in a dynamic environment, and that it helps to enhance the development of new products/services for existing markets. These findings, along with other interesting findings of the study, are discussed. From the empirical and anecdotal managerial evidence as well as from the literature, implications are drawn for the efficient and effective strategic marketing practices in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Based on the findings of the study, the concepts and principles of total quality management within a holistic framework it is recommended that (i) efforts should be made by organizational marketers towards understanding the relevant economic factors that affect both clients’ behaviour and the strategic options that may be adopted to cope with such behaviours; (ii) in a constantly changing business environment, firms can adopt different strategic marketing practices since the yardstick is the enhancement of business performance.Strategic Marketing, Strategies, Dynamic environment, Deployment, Resources, Management

A Strategic Perspective on the Impact of Food Safety Standards on Developing Countries

This paper explores the competing concepts of 'standards as barriers' and standards as catalysts' in the context of food safety standards in international trade in agricultural and food products. It is suggested that food safety standards can act as both a barrier to trade and the basis of competitive positioning for developing countries in international markets. This suggests that the application of a strategic framework to analyze and assess alternative responses to evolving food safety standards can throw some light on the circumstances under which standards act to prohibit trade or, alternatively, create competitive trade opportunities. The use of such a framework is illustrated through a brief case study of fish and fishery product exports from Kenya and India.Agriculture, Food, Trade, Food Safety, Standards, Technical barriers to Trade, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q18, K32, F13,

A Framework for IoT-based Products and Services Value Proposition

The Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to help firms to innovate and to address new business opportunities. However, many companies face difficulties in developing value propositions for products and services based on this technology. Considering this, we aimed to answer the following research question: which elements need to be considered to develop value propositions for IoT-based products and services? We used the Design Science Research (DSR) method to answer this question through the creation and testing of a specific framework to support the development of this type of value proposition. The framework was evaluated by 31 academic experts and practitioners and applied to two real businesses. It considers critical elements related to the value proposition and the relations between the main architecture layers of the IoT (including capabilities and challenges), the different types of values that can be generated for different actors, as well as the strategic positioning of IoT-based products and services

Strategic Positioning and Competitive Advantage in Banking Industry in Kenya: A Descriptive Statistics of Private Sector Banks

This research paper focused on the strategic positioning and competitiveness of Kenyan banking industry with greater focus being pegged on private sector banks. This research forms a framework for understanding both the policy and individual decisions that bank executive managers have to consider when making strategic management decisions. These have been based on the identification of concrete financial and economic issues from the results of comprehensive and in depth research carried out through primary research, and also study of related banking journals. Purpose: The core purpose of this research was to find out the strategies employed by private sector banks in Kenya to attain strategic positioning and competitive advantage through technology, innovation, cost reduction and nature of products offered. Methodology: The paper employed a survey research design. The sample size of this research was estimated at 250 executive bank managers. The data was analyzed using standard software. The variables were measured using correlation analysis.Findings: The most significant finding in this research is that strategic positioning and competitiveness of banking industry is affected by its ability to innovate and embrace technology so as to yield high results. Though it is a generic finding, the implications of the results regarding both research and practice are really prominent.Contribution: The research holds great value to firms based not only in Kenya, but also in the whole world. This is highly aggravated by the fact that most banks are seeking to achieve sustained competitiveness but cannot securely be placed unless they work on their preferences as well as their ability to innovate and develop key Technologies. Keywords: Strategic Positioning, Competitive Advantage, Banking industry, Commercial Private sector bank

Product Architecture and Strategic Positioning in Information Products Firms

Businesses exist to deliver desired products and servicesto their markets. The efficient and effective design and development of products meeting market needs is a critical process which must be performed and managed effectively for a firm to remain viable. Product design and development has been dealt with at some length in the literature with regard to the architecture of assembled tangible products (e.g., automobiles (Abernathy 1978), power tools (Lehnerd 1987), production equipment (Henderson and Clark 1990), and computers (Meyer and Roberts 1988)), and process design for non-assembled tangible products (e.g., glass (Utterback 1994)). Less attention has been paid to the architecture for the delivery of services (Chase and Hayes 1991, Harvey and Filiatrault 1991, Heskett 1993, Heskett and Schlesinger 1994), and almost no research has been done with regard to the design and delivery of information 1 products and services. The worldwide economy is shifting from one based predominantly on physical goods and energy to one based on information goods and knowledge. Yet we do not understand much about the transformation to an information-based economy comprising firms whose core competency is their ability to create, access, or add value to information. This paper focuses on the effective design of information products. It develops a framework for organizing, managing, and building a robust information technology platform for the effective design and develop of information-based products and services. Based on that framework, we develop a means for assessing the strategic positioning and defensibility of information products firms

Inventory drivers in a pharmaceutical supply chain

In recent years, inventory reduction has been a key objective of pharmaceutical companies, especially within cost optimization initiatives. Pharmaceutical supply chains are characterized by volatile and unpredictable demands –especially in emergent markets-, high service levels, and complex, perishable finished-good portfolios, which makes keeping reasonable amounts of stock a true challenge. However, a one-way strategy towards zero-inventory is in reality inapplicable, due to the strategic nature and importance of the products being commercialised. Therefore, pharmaceutical supply chains are in need of new inventory strategies in order to remain competitive. Finished-goods inventory management in the pharmaceutical industry is closely related to the manufacturing systems and supply chain configurations that companies adopt. The factors considered in inventory management policies, however, do not always cover the full supply chain spectrum in which companies operate. This paper works under the pre-assumption that, in fact, there is a complex relationship between the inventory configurations that companies adopt and the factors behind them. The intention of this paper is to understand the factors driving high finished-goods inventory levels in pharmaceutical supply chains and assist supply chain managers in determining which of them can be influenced in order to reduce inventories to an optimal degree. Reasons for reducing inventory levels are found in high inventory holding and scrap related costs; in addition to lost sales for not being able to serve the customers with the adequate shelf life requirements. The thesis conducts a single case study research in a multi-national pharmaceutical company, which is used to examine typical inventory configurations and the factors affecting these configurations. This paper presents a framework that can assist supply chain managers in determining the most important inventory drivers in pharmaceutical supply chains. The findings in this study suggest that while external and downstream supply chain factors are recognized as being critical to pursue inventory optimization initiatives, pharmaceutical companies are oriented towards optimizing production processes and meeting regulatory requirements while still complying with high service levels, being internal factors the ones prevailing when making inventory management decisions. Furthermore, this paper investigates, through predictive modelling techniques, how various intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence the inventory configurations of the case study company. The study shows that inventory configurations are relatively unstable over time, especially in configurations that present high safety stock levels; and that production features and product characteristics are important explanatory factors behind high inventory levels. Regulatory requirements also play an important role in explaining the high strategic inventory levels that pharmaceutical companies hold

The Value of Design-led Innovation in Chinese SMEs

Organised by: Cranfield UniversityThis paper focuses on understanding the role and use of design-led innovation in Chinese SMEs. The insights were gained by undertaking a pilot study, based on an applied developmental research approach involving participatory workshops, quantitative and qualitative positioning activities, in depth case studies and an individual pilot project undertaken with SMEs in the Pearl River Delta [PRD] over an 18 month period. It will discuss the findings, highlighting key areas of uncertainty that SMEs experience when attempting to make the transition from OEM to OBM, and how the findings have contributed to the development of a new design-led innovation framework.Mori Seiki – The Machine Tool Compan

Corporate brand management imperatives: Custodianship, credibility, and calibration

Copyright 2012 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.Marshaling case study research insights, this article advances our knowledge of the strategic management of corporate brands. Strategic corporate brand management requires commitment to three critically important imperatives: senior management custodianship; the building and maintaining of brand credibility; and the dynamic calibration of seven identities constituting the corporate brand constellation. This article draws on research dating back to the 1990s and is also informed by the identity-based view of corporate brands perspective and by recent scholarship on the AC4ID Test—a strategic, diagnostic, corporate brand management framework

Technology Strategy for Re-engineering Design and Construction

Automation technology can provide construction firms with a number of competitive advantages. Technology strategy guides a firm's approach to all technology, including automation. Engineering management educators, researchers, and construction industry professionals need improved understanding of how technology affects results, and how to better target investments to improve competitive performance. A more formal approach to the concept of technology strategy can benefit the construction manager in his efforts to remain competitive in increasingly hostile markets. This paper recommends consideration of five specific dimensions of technology strategy within the overall parameters of market conditions, firm capabilities and goals, and stage of technology evolution. Examples of the application of this framework in the formulation of technology strategy are provided for CAD applications, co-ordinated positioning technology and advanced falsework and formwork mechanisation to support construction field operations. Results from this continuing line of research can assist managers in making complex and difficult decisions regarding reengineering construction processes in using new construction technology and benefit future researchers by providing new tools for analysis. Through managing technology to best suit the existing capabilities of their firm, and addressing the market forces, engineering managers can better face the increasingly competitive environment in which they operate