POSITIONING NIGERIAN SERVICE SECTOR TOWARDS VISION 2020: STYLIZED FACTS FROM BANKING SUB-SECTOR

The paper investigates the relationships between institutional enactments and the challenges of Nigerian commercial banks survival (1980-2006) towards policy option for realizing vision 2020. The divergence between government expectations and banks’ reality coupled with macroeconomics, and competitors’ activities could create failures in the sector. Using statistical data, the authors elucidate the impact of re-engineered interventions on banks’ survival over the period. The empirical results, among others, indicate that the high level unemployment rate in Nigeria poses a threat to banks’ survival. The statistical output also shows that government interventions could lead to a counterproductive effect on commercial banks’ strength, if not properly guided. Thus, for commercial banks to be well positioned as the nation approaches the year 2020, efforts to reduce the level of unemployment and ensure that government policies in the sub-sector are consistent and well articulated, would be rewarding

Product differentiation and intra-industrial trade: Quantitative assessment in the case of Tunisia

In this article we try to analyze the extend of product differentiation in the Tunisian’s context, by relying on an investigation drived at a sufficiently disaggregated level of sectors. In the first section, we tend to expose the relationship between market structure, product differentiation and intra-industrial trade. Then, we reexamine in the second section some operational proxies of products variety that were previously analyzed by the empirical literature. In the third section, we tend to appreciate the strength of products differentiation in the specific case of Tunisia and in 8 different sectors

Re-reengineering the dream: agility as competitive adaptability

Organizational adaptation and transformative change management in technology-based organizations is explored in the context of collaborative alliances. A Re-reengineering approach is outlined in which a new Competitive Adaptability Five-Influences Analysis approach under conditions of collaborative alliance, is described as an alternative to Porter’s Five-Forces Competitive Rivalry Analysis model. Whilst continuous change in technology and the associated effects of technology shock (Dedola & Neri, 2006; Christiano, Eichenbaum & Vigfusson, 2003) are not new constructs, the reality of the industrial age was and is a continuing reduction in timeline for relevance and lifetime for a specific technology and the related skills and expertise base required for its effective implementation. This, combined with increasing pressures for innovation (Tidd & Bessant, 2013) and at times severe impacts from both local and global economic environments (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2011) raises serious challenges for contemporary management teams seeking to strategically position a company and its technology base advantageously, relative to its suppliers, competitors and customers, as well as in predictive readiness for future technological change and opportunistic adaptation. In effect, the life-cycle of a technology has become typically one of disruptive change and rapid adjustment, followed by a plateau as a particular technology or process captures and holds its position against minor challenges, eventually to be displaced by yet another alternative (Bower & Christensen, 1995)

Socio-technical transition processes: A real option based reasoning.

Using a real option reasoning perspective we study the uncertainties and irreversibilities that impact the investment decisions of firms during the different phases of technological transitions. The analysis of transition dynamics via real options reasoning allows the provision of an alternative and more qualified explanation of investment decisions according to the sequentiality of pathways considered. In our framework, flexibility management through option investments concerns both the incumbent and the future technological regime. In the first case it refers to ex-post flexibility management and in the second case to ex-ante flexibility management.

MARKETING FOR SMALL ENTREPRISES â€" CASE STUDY POSITIONING OF “PLAFAR†DI LTD

Bacau health and wellness market has grown to embrace an array of products, including dietary supplements. As a typical “Plafar†store, Plafar DI offers a wide range of natural products, from teas, extracts and creams, to nutritional supplements, cosmetics and biological foods, most of them produced by local companies, as well as imported. Half of Romanian small and medium-sized firms are seriously and severely affected by the economic and financial crisis. Now, like thousand others small companies “Plafar DIâ€, from Bacau, should use an intelligent marketing positioning in order to survive the crisis.brand positioning, SME, case study

Service : the new focus in international manufacturing and trade

Major breakthroughs in communications technologies in the 1980s made it possible to monitor all phases of moving a product from raw material sourcing through processing to delivery to the customer. Close monitoring revealed major inefficiencies in the traditional set-up of materials acquisition, production, and distribution - especially large inventory holdings. At the same time, patterns of customer demand began to shift more rapidly, partly because of better communications networks. The need to reduce costs and become responsive to volatile changes in customer preferences forced businesses to substantially restructure their corporate practices. With domestic factor costs rising, manufacturers outsourced intermediate production to foreign enterprises in countries with lower wages. Merchants also sought cheaper supply sources - developments that held promise for developing countries. Many developing countries have been unable to take advantage of structural changes in world manufacturing and trade because they have been unable to deliver the quality of production, fast turnaround, and reliability of delivery manufacturing businesses need to keep up with changing market demand. A new management approach - logistics management - is needed to cut business costs and to be more responsive to rapidly changing markets. Logistics management orchestrates materials acquisition, production, and marketing to reduce inventories to a minimum. Effective logistics management enables many organizations to conduct their business with less than a week's worth of supplies. Such a radical change requires major corporate restructuring and the development of strategic alliances with service providers. Outsourcing of production is projected to continue growing, and the search for less costly supply sources will continue. Developing countries can capitalize on those trends - but only if they substantially improve their infrastructure, liberalize their regulations, and begin to apply modern logistics management techniques. If they do not, their outlook is not promising.Transport and Trade Logistics,Common Carriers Industry,Business in Development,Business Environment,Environmental Economics&Policies

ROMANIA - PORTUGAL: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TWO COUNTRIESâ€(tm) LABOUR MARKETS

Our choice was justified by the fact that between the two countries exist some features that make them interesting to study from the employment point of view. Thus, both countries are Latin and this is why we consider they are comparable, because employment means people, more precisely mentalities and attitudes to work. We considered that it is interesting to see how the labour market from the east Latin Europe has evolved, in a comparable, crucial period, with its counterpart from west Latin Europe. First of all, we would like to point out the fact that our intention is to analyse the periods which from the economic history point of view have influenced in a decisive manner the present evolution of the two countries. The Portugal labour market is a subject of real scientific interest (we would like to mention that even Michael Porter was interested by this topic). Our paper tries to emphasize the common and different features of the two labour markets, in order to facilitate an experience sharing process on this topic. To achieve the paperâ€(tm)s objectives statistical and cluster analysis have been used. This is one of the best ways to capture the influence of determinant factors on labour market performance. The degree of originality is given by the assumed objectives, namely studying some very up-to-date problems from an interconnected perspective (historical similarities, structural changes, labour market performance) and analyzing the Romanian situation compared to other EU countries, i.e. Portugal. The main impact of the paper will be on the practical level through the model outcomes and conclusions. One of the objectives is to look for solutions to the problems identified and to persuade policy makers to give them a greater importance. Our main contribution is represented by the fact that we have approached this topic from an economic and historical perspective, trying to find explanations for the present situation in the modern past of the two nations.labour market, structural changes, education, cluster analysis, EU accession

Strategic Marketing and Firms Performance:a Study of Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of strategic marketing and firms performance of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. This study adopted a survey research methodology to examine strategic marketing and firms performance of Nigerian oil and gas marketing companies in an attempt to attain their desired level of performance. One hypothesis was formulated from the statement of research problem. Analysis of Variance, Pearson Moment Correlation Analysis, Factor Analysis among other statistical tools were used in testing the hypotheses. The overall results suggest that strategic marketing is a driver of organizational positioning in a dynamic environment, and that it helps to enhance the development of new product/service 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 in the Nigerian oil and gas industr

Competitiveness and strategic positioning of seaports: the case of Iberian Seaports

The global market, with its extensive business networks and complex logistics systems, poses a high degree of uncertainty to the seaport industry and leaves seaport managers facing questions over just how to effectively respond to the ongoing market dynamics. Over the years, competition among seaports has intensified due to a number of structural changes taking place in seaport systems. Firstly, seaport hinterlands have extended well beyond national boundaries as a result of improvements to logistics and transport infrastructure. Secondly, the seaport industry is becoming increasingly concentrated through mergers and alliances. Thirdly, seaports are no longer mere interface points between land and sea or air. As communication technology advances and trade liberalization facilitates globalization, the role of seaports in the supply chain is changing. Seaports have now become one of the most dynamic links in international transport networks. There is already a clear consensus in the literature around the sheer importance of seaports to national economies, especially to those heavily dependent on international trade. Taking into account the vital importance of seaports directly or indirectly to the economy of any country, and especially to those of Portugal and Spain, this research seeks to analyse the competitiveness and strategic positioning of Iberian seaports. In accordance with the seaport context set out above, the following four research questions are raised: i) are there different prevailing levels of competitiveness at Iberian seaports? ii) what are the key factors to seaport competitiveness from the stakeholder’s perspective? Do perceptions of the importance of these factors differ between users and service providers? iii) how are Iberian seaports strategically positioned within the Iberian range? iv) What is the contribution of logistics resources to the competitiveness and performance of this sector? To approach the level of competitiveness dimension, we measure seaport efficiency through applying an alternative Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology for cross sectional data from 2009 and the appropriate DEA methods (contemporaneous and windows analysis) for panel data (2005-2009). The results suggest that levels of Iberian seaport efficiency differ significantly not only from seaport to seaport but also at each seaport over the course of time. The study also identifies both the contribution of inputs/outputs to this seaport efficiency and the causes of inefficiency. Through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), we study the key factors to seaport competitiveness from the perspectives of stakeholders as well as the strength of their respective preferences. The Delphi approach was deployed for the preliminary stages of factor selection. The results reveal how seaports users and seaport service providers disagree over the importance of the key factors to seaport competitiveness. The results empirically demonstrate that vessel turnaround time is the most important factor to seaport competitiveness from perception of its users. However, from that of the seaport authorities and terminal operators, seaport facilities and equipment is the most important factor. The importance-performance matrix analysis also confirms that the vessel turnaround time that proves most important to users is also the factor on which the seaports do not perform well. Therefore, the service providers of Iberian seaports need to focus on improving its performance in this field. To study strategic seaport positioning, we apply the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) matrix as a strategic tool generating an evolutionary perspective. The findings reveal a better positioning of Spanish seaports in relation to total traffic. According to the time series analyzed (1992-2009), the strategic positioning of most seaports in the BCG matrix had changed from the first to the third period. Furthermore, in terms of container traffic, the results identify the seaports of Algeciras, Valencia, and Barcelona as having attained a remarkable position of leadership. With the purpose of analyzing the contribution of resource logistics to seaport performance, the linear additive Multi Criterion Analysis (MCA) and the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) model were adopted. The model incorporates the contribution of two different performance indicators, operational performance and physical capacity, measured by several indicators. The physical capacity indicators considered are logistics resources. Study results show operational performance contributed 48.77% whilst physical capacity represented 51.23% of overall performance with the majority of seaports revealing a direct proportionality between their positioning in terms of physical capacity and their overall performance positioning.This work was financially supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) subsidized by the Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) and funds from the MCTES State Budget under the QREN - POPH - Type 4.1 - Advanced Training