The role of resources in achieving target competitive positions

Competitive positioning has become an essential component of modern marketing management. For a firm to target effective positions for its products and services, it needs to decide on the market segment (where it will compete) as well as the differential advantage it will emphasise (how it will compete). Until recently, empirical research on positioning has received little attention, while substantial insight has been gained with respect to the concept of competitive positioning. Furthermore, Hooley, Moller and Broderick have highlighted the lack of empirical studies relative to theoretical ones related to positioning in general and to the relationship between positioning and the different components of each competitive positioning that a firm might choose. This study focuses on product competitive positioning in over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals in the British market. It was found that certain resources underpin specific competitive positions.

The resource underpinnings of competitive positions

Competitive positioning is central to market-focussed management, comprising the choice of target market the firm will operate in, and how it will compete in that market. Positioning decisions are complex and require the firm to find a profitable match between market requirements and firm ability to satisfy them. Equally important, however, is the longer term sustainability of any position created in the market place. Drawing on theory from the strategic management and marketing domains the authors argue that the competitive position achieved is a key marketing resource with the potential to generate sustainable competitive advantage. The paper examines alternative competitive positions, the marketing resources necessary to underpin them, and how they are defended against competitor imitation or encroachment. Some positions are found to be inherently more defensible than others.

Information systems management positions - a market perspective

Information systems (IS) managers have become key senior executives for organising the IT resources for delivering support to businesses. Understanding characteristics of IS managers’ employment positions is hence an increasingly important topic in computer personnel research. An investigation in Singapore that included a job advertisement analysis, surveys and case studies was thus conducted to investigate such aspects. This article presents the findings of the job advertisement analysis concerning what kinds of IS managers the market is seeking and what are the basic conditions for such management positions. The literature in this area asserts that job advertisements represent firms’ wishes and the nature of the conditions required of different IS personnel. The results of this analysis therefore reflect a collective market perspective about the changing IS managerial workplace. The results of the analysis benefit both firms and IS employees in formulating personnel development plans and actions, and raise issues for further research.

Synthesis and expression of a gene encoding a 48-residue repeat in the Pseudomonas syringae ice nucleation protein

The aim of this work was to construct short analogues of the repetitive water-binding domain of the Pseudomonas syringae ice nucleation protein, InaZ. Structural analysis of these analogues might provide data pertaining to the protein-water contacts that underlie ice nucleation. An artificial gene coding for a 48-mer repeat sequence from InaZ was synthesized from four oligodeoxyribonucleotides and ligated into the expression vector, pGEX2T. The recombinant vector was cloned in Escherichia coli and a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein obtained. This fusion protein displayed a low level of ice-nucleating activity when tested by a droplet freezing assay. The fusion protein could be cleaved with thrombin, providing a means for future recovery of the 48-mer peptide in amounts suitable for structural analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Intragranular nucleation of austenite

The mechanism of intragranular nucleation of austenite in a duplex stainless steel (Fe-23.1 Cr-6.1 Ni-3.1 Mo-O.165 N-0.017 C, wt.%) weld metal and heat-affected zone (HAZ) has been examined. In the weld metal the acicular austenite is found to nucleate intragranularly on inclusions and subsequent plates form sympathetically resulting in a fine interlocked microstructure. Austenite plates adopt the Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation relationship with the ferrite matrix and grow with diffusion-controlled mechanism as evident from partitioning of substitutional alloying elements. At least one set of fine intrinsic dislocations on the austenite/ferrite interphase interfaces is observed suggesting that the boundaries are semi-coherent. The high cooling rates involved in the HAZ result in a supersaturated ferrite matrix where precipitation of intragranular austenite occurs as a result of reheating associated with subsequent passes. Austenite particles in the HAZ nucleate preferentially away from gain boundary austenite allotriomorphs indicating that intragranular precipitation is favoured by the supersaturated matrix.

Initial nucleation study and new technique for sublimation growth of AlN on SiC substrate

Single crystal platelets of AlN were successfully grown on 6H-SiC(0001) by a novel technique designed to suppress SiC decomposition, promote two-dimensional growth, and eliminate cracking in the AlN. X-ray diffractometry and synchrotron white beam X-ray topography demonstrate that the final AlN single crystal is of high structural quality.

Effect of oscillatory flow on nucleation kinetics of butyl paraben

More than 165 induction times of butyl paraben-ethanol solution in a batch moving fluid oscillation baffled crystallizer with various amplitudes (1-9 mm) and frequencies (1.0-9.0 Hz) have been determined to study the effect of COBR operating conditions on nucleation. The induction time decreases with increasing amplitude and frequency at power density below about 500 W/m3; however, a further increase of the frequency and amplitude leads to an increase of the induction time. The interfacial energies and pre-exponential factors in both homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation are determined by classical nucleation theory at oscillatory frequency 2.0 Hz and amplitudes of 3 or 5 mm both with and without net flow. To capture the shear rate conditions in oscillatory flow crystallizers, a large eddy simulation approach in a computational fluid dynamics framework is applied. Under ideal conditions the shear rate distribution shows spatial and temporal periodicity and radial symmetry. The spatial distributions of the shear rate indicate an increase of average and maximum values of the shear rate with increasing amplitude and frequency. In continuous operation, net flow enhances the shear rate at most time points, promoting nucleation. The mechanism of the shear rate influence on nucleation is discussed.