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Competitive Position (competitive + position)
Selected AbstractsEMAS and its local diffusion in ItalyCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2003Rita Jirillo Due to the growing awareness among enterprises of the relevance of ,sustainable development', applications of the Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in Italy are expanding. With the second era of EMAS (EMAS II), this scheme will become a global instrument, enabling Italian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to master environmental challenges while improving their competitive position. This report intends to demonstrate that area and local agreements between local government units and research centres, such as universities or energy and environmental boards, can simplify and improve the diffusion of EMAS in the country. Reported examples of some small Italian municipalities that have applied EMAS are demonstrations of how government units can increase all citizens' quality of life while taking care of environmental aspects. Since 1993, the year of the first applications of Regulation 1836/93, local government units have understood the important role they can play in this subject. This work illustrates that the development of ISO and EMAS local applications must be based on government's local promotion aimed at encouraging enterprises to voluntarily adopt these instruments for environmental safeguard. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment. [source] "Face of the Brand": A design methodology with global potentialDESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 4 2001Dannielle Blumenthal To cope with the multiplicity of world markets, Dannielle Blumenthal presents a strategy known as "face of the brand." In this approach, brand is less about a uniform message and logo and more about a distinctive competitive position expressed through a palette of images, colors, shapes, and language that can, without losing its global impact,be designed and adapted to suit the nuances of individual cultures and consumer preferences. [source] Environmental Taxation and Induced Structural Change in an Open Economy: The Role of Market StructureGERMAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2008Christoph Böhringer Environmental taxation; imperfect competition; structural change Abstract. Studies of structural change induced by environmental taxation usually proceed in a perfect-competition framework and typically find structural change to be quite moderate under realistic emission reduction scenarios. By observing that some of the industries affected are likely to operate under imperfect rather than perfect competition, additional mechanisms emerge which may amplify structural change beyond the extent identified as yet. Especially, changes in economies of scale may arise which weaken or strengthen the competitive position of industries over and above the initial cost effect. Using a computable general equilibrium model for Germany to examine the effects of a unilaterally introduced carbon tax, we find that induced structural change is more pronounced under imperfect competition than under perfect competition. At the macroeconomic level, we find that aggregate losses in economies of scale are larger than aggregate gains, implying that the total costs of environmental regulation are higher under imperfect competition than under perfect competition. [source] The Swiss Federal Dairy Research StationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DAIRY TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2003Max Rüegg The Federal Dairy Research Station (FAM) was established at the beginning of the last century. It is one of six agricultural research stations of the Swiss Department of Agriculture and the leading national research institute in dairy technology and consulting. It is part of the Swiss Centre of Competence for Animal Production and Foods of Animal Origin. Its mission is to improve the competitive position of the Swiss milk producers and dairy industry. The institute is organized into three functional areas corresponding to its well-established core competencies: (1) production of raw milk cheese and microorganisms for fermentation, (2) knowledge transfer and consultation for the dairy industry and beekeeping, and (3) testing of, and providing expertise on dairy and bee products. Research work is carried out using a multidisciplinary approach in a matrix organization. Two product- and customer-orientated technology units and one unit for consulting, contractual work and other services for the dairy industry are supported in their projects by three scientific and technical units (microbiology; chemistry, physics and sensory analysis; engineering and production) as well as by a unit offering central services. The 4-year research programmes are based on the strategic goals of the agricultural policy as well as on the current needs of the dairy industry. An advisory board oversees the preparation and execution of the projects. FAM is connected to an international network for both scientific work and supervisory tasks. Work is carried out within the background of the political strategy of a sustainable development including economic, ecological and social aspects. A primary research focus is therefore the avoidance of excessive processing of milk and dairy products, and keeping products natural and free of residues by applying only minimal, unavoidable treatments and additives. [source] Marketing networks as a form of strategic alliance among craft enterprisesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 3 2002Ann M. Torres Craft enterprises are a unique form of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and represent an amalgam between the manufacture of products and the fulfilment of artistic vision. Craft enterprises typically have insufficient resources, inadequate access to specialised expertise and limited opportunities to make an impact on the marketplace. One way to redress these limitations and to improve the competitive position of craft enterprises is by forming networks, or cooperative alliances. The case study of ,Homethrown', a successful marketing network for potters, provides insight into the advantages and limitations of this type of strategic alliance, as well as guidelines for fostering cooperation and moderating conflict. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications [source] IPv6 networks over DVB-RCS satellite systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING, Issue 1 2008Ricardo Castellot Lou Abstract Satellite plays an important role in global information infrastructure (GII) and next generation networks (NGNs). Similarly, satellite communication systems have great advantages to support IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) networks as a technology that allows universal access to broadband e-services (audio, video, VPN, etc.). In the context of DVB-S2 (digital video broadcast-satellite) and DVB-RCS (digital video broadcast-return channel via satellite) standards, this paper presents the current SatSix project (satellite-based communications systems within IPv6 networks) within the European 6th Framework Programme, which is implementing innovative concepts and effective solutions (in relation with the economical cost) for broadband satellite systems and services using the technology presented above. This project is promoting the introduction of the IPv6 protocol into satellite-based communication systems. Moreover, through SatSix, the industry is addressing the next generation Internet, IPv6. It also enhances its competitive position in satellite broadband multimedia systems by exploiting the common components defined by the European DVB-S2 and DVB-RCS satellite broadband standards. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Beyond mistrust and competition,the role of social and personal bonding processes in sustaining livelihoods of rural tourism businesses: a case of the Peak District National ParkINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 4 2006Gunjan Saxena Abstract This paper theorises the significance of social and personal bonding processes in promoting sustainable resource-use and equitable tourism development using research on personal and social bonding process and relationship marketing. By looking at small, rural tourism businesses in the Peak District National Park (PDNP) it discusses how in intricate ways, individual business owners/managers are utilising social and kinship ties to increase their visual presence and competitive position in contemporary markets. The paper describes the significance of social and personal bonds as the respondents discuss how their informal affiliations have enabled them to tap into additional resources and develop products embedded in locally specific conventions that are more attractive to visitors, and are also assisting them to monitor each others' progress through informal forms of regulation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The UK air inclusive-tour industry: a reassessment of the competitive positioning of the ,independent' sectorINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 6 2001Nigel G. Evans Abstract This paper investigates the increasing concentration in the UK air inclusive-tour (AIT) market and the behaviour of the dominant companies (Thomson, Airtours, First Choice and Thomas Cook) operating in the sector. Arguments relating to the theoretical organisational structure of the industry are explored and regulatory investigations that have taken place are discussed. Research evidence as to the competitive position of independent tour operators in the overall UK AIT market is provided. The research indicates that a key area of difficulty for the independent sector relates to the provision of charter airline capacity although access to distribution channels and the ability to contract accommodation are viewed as further concerns. The paper concludes that regulatory authorities are faced with trying to ensure that diversity is maintained while at the same time ensuring any economies of scale derived from consolidation of the sector are passed on to consumers. In order to properly understand the true effects of industrial concentration the assembled package must be dissembled into its component parts and an increasingly a pan-European perspective is necessary. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An Empirical Investigation of Global Sourcing Strategy EffectivenessJOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2000Kenneth J Petersen SUMMARY This study was undertaken to address the need for empirical research on global sourcing strategy effectiveness. This article establishes the importance of and relationships between several factors that drive the effectiveness of global sourcing strategies. Companies are increasingly viewing global sourcing strategies as a means of reducing cost, increasing quality, and enhancing a firm's overall competitive position. This article uses a structural equation modeling methodology to test an explanatory model of global sourcing strategy effectiveness. Results indicate that global sourcing structures and processes, global sourcing business capabilities, international language capabilities, and top management commitment to global sourcing are critical to the effectiveness of a global sourcing strategy. [source] Gendering reurbanisation: women and new-build gentrification in TorontoPOPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 5 2010Leslie Kern Abstract For over a decade beginning in the mid 1990s, Toronto, Canada experienced a massive wave of condominium development. Women make up a high percentage of condominium purchasers and condominiums are extensively marketed to young, professional urban women. In grappling with this phenomenon, this paper constructs a gendered social geography of reurbanisation and new-build gentrification in Toronto, through qualitative research into women's experiences as downtown condominium owners. Examining both the gendered ideologies that have shaped Toronto's condominium boom, and the narratives of condominium developers and owners, this paper illustrates the gendered dimensions of city building and everyday life in the context of reurbanization. I argue that the neoliberal rationality of contemporary entreprenuerial city building is constituted, in part, by gender. Gender ideologies inform the processes of privatisation, commodification, and securitisation of urban space and urban life in the city's quest for a competitive position in the global urban hierarchy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Impact of organizational and project factors on acceptance and usage of project management software and perceived project successPROJECT MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008Abdullah Saeed Bani Ali Abstract This study surveyed 497 participants to determine the factors that affect project professionals' acceptance of project management software and the perceived impact of software usage on their performance. The study finds that greater information quality and higher project complexity are the dominant factors explaining higher levels of system utilization, that greater system functionality and ease of use have a significant positive relationship with increased software usage, and that a strong positive relationship exists between higher usage of project management software and perceived project managers' improved performance. Inconsistent with prior research, more training was not found to be associated with project management software usage. The study explains more than 40% of the variation in project management software acceptance and adds project management software usage to project success factors by empirically confirming for the first time that project management software enhances project professionals' perceived performance and provides a positive impact on the results of their projects. The study provides practical implications for project professionals, their organizations, senior management, decision makers, software developers, and vendors. These findings support the call for further research that investigates the diffusion of information technologies in the project management field and their impact on project success and competitive position. [source] How integrating industrial design in the product development process impacts on company performanceTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2001Gerda Gemser There is a growing belief that investing in industrial design is beneficial to company performance. This article sheds more light on how and when integrating industrial design in the product development process can enhance a company's competitive position. The basic premise is that the impact of industrial design on company performance is not unconditional, but dependent on industry evolution and design strategy. We opted to define industrial design in a general way, namely as the activity that transforms a set of product requirements into a configuration of materials, elements and components. This activity can have an impact on a product's appearance, user friendliness, ease of manufacture, efficient use of materials, functional performance, and so on. The empirical data incorporated in this study stems from two Dutch manufacturing industries, namely home furniture and precision instruments. Home furniture and precision instruments were selected because the strategy of integrating industrial design in the product development process is rather mature in the first-named industry and emerging in the second. We collected data from firms investing considerably in industrial design (n = 23) and firms investing little to nothing in industrial design (n = 24), using a semistructured questionnaire that was administrated during face-to-face sessions with senior managers. Two out of the three research hypotheses were supported. It was found that the extent to which firms integrate industrial design in new product development projects has a significant and positive influence on company performance (Hla), in particular when the strategy of investing in industrial design is relatively new for the industry involved (Hlb). There was no systematic pattern indicating that design innovation is more important in industries where the use of design is mature than in industries where the use of design is emerging (H2). Instead, we found that design innovation has significant positive performance effects in both types of industries. One important managerial inference from our study is that new product development managers should consider the changing nature of competition during industry evolution while developing strategies that encompass the use of industrial design in new product development. Another important managerial inference is that, besides being innovative in the field of products, being innovative with respect to design and design strategy can help to enhance competitiveness regardless of industry evolution. [source] Stakeholders and environmental management practices: an institutional frameworkBUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 4 2004Magali Delmas Despite burgeoning research on companies' environmental strategies and environmental management practices, it remains unclear why some firms adopt environmental management practices beyond regulatory compliance. This paper leverages institutional theory by proposing that stakeholders , including governments, regulators, customers, competitors, community and environmental interest groups, and industry associations , impose coercive and normative pressures on firms. However, the way in which managers perceive and act upon these pressures at the plant level depends upon plant- and parent-company-specific factors, including their track record of environmental performance, the competitive position of the parent company and the organizational structure of the plant. Beyond providing a framework of how institutional pressures influence plants' environmental management practices, various measures are proposed to quantify institutional pressures, key plant-level and parent-company-level characteristics and plant-level environmental management practices. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Nouvelles stratégies d'action dans le secteur public québécois: quatre exemples d'innovations financieresCANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION/ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA, Issue 1 2002Lucie Rouillard Sommaire: Depuis 20 ans, le discours néo-libéral a été abondamment utilisé pour caractériser le Nouveau Management Public et la philosophie des réformes entreprises par de nombreux gouvernements occidentaux. Cet article examine la réforme administrative mix en place au gouvernement du Québec et analyse I'influence des préceptes du Nouveau Management Public sur les pratiques de gestion financière dans certains organismes du secteur public québécois. Les résultats suggèrent que le gouvernement a résolument adopté une approche managérielle qui favorise la mesure du rendement et le recours aux capacités d'innovation des gestionnaires publics pour supporter la modernisation de I'administration. L'analyse suggère également que I'idéal de concurrence, cher à la philosophie néo-libérale, est présent à I'esprit des gestionnaires publics lorsqu'ils abordent la question de la place concurrentielle des entreprises québécoises sur les marchés internationaux. Toutefois, les pratiques de gestion financière recemment mises en place dans les organismes étudiés montrent que les stratégies de gestion adoptées misent plus sur I'autonomie des gestionnaires, sur la concertation et sur la responsabilisation que sur la concurrence, pour assurer I'efficacité des services publics. Abstract: Over the past twenty years, the neo-liberal discourse has served extensively to characterize the new public management paradigm and the philosophy behind the reforms undertaken by many western governments. This article reviews administrative reforms within the Quebec government and focuses on the impact that new public management precepts are having on financial management practices in some Quebec public-sector organizations. The findings suggest that the government has definitely adopted a managerial approach that favours performance measurement and the use of public managers' innovative abilities to support the modernization of the administration. The analysis also suggests that the ideal of competition, important to the neo-liberal philosophy, is present in the minds of public managers when they deal with the competitive position of Quebec enterprises in international markets. However, financial management practices recently implemented in the organizations examined show that the management strategies adopted rely more on managers' autonomy, collaboration and accountability than on competition to ensure efficient public services. [source] Service Businesses and Productivity,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2004Roger W. Schmenner ABSTRACT The records of superior performance of selected service firms over many years suggest that they may be more productive than others. This article uses the Theory of Swift, Even Flow to explain why that might be true. In the process, this article improves Schmenner's 1986 service process matrix. The redefinition of the axes of this matrix and of the resulting diagonal leads to enhanced understanding of productivity for service operations and helps to explain how some leading service companies have been able to sustain their competitive positions for decades. [source] Private Politics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Integrated StrategyJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 1 2001David P. Baron This paper provides a theory of private politics in which an activist seeks to change the production practices of a firm for the purpose of redistribution to those whose interests it supports. The source of the activist's influence is the possibility of support for its cause by the public. The paper also addresses the issue of corporate social responsibility by distinguishing among corporate redistribution as motivated by profit maximization, altruism, and threats by the activist. Private politics and corporate social responsibility not only have a direct effect on the costs of the firm, but also have a strategic effect by altering the competitive positions affirms in an industry. From an integrated-strategy perspective the paper investigates the strategic implications of private politics and corporate social responsibility for the strategies of rival firms when one or both are targets of an activist campaign. Implications for empirical analysis are derived from the theory. 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