Evaluating small business performance : a matched pair analysis of African Caribbean owned businesses in the UK

African Caribbean Owned Businesses (ACOBs) have been postulated as having performance-related problems especially when compared with other ethnic minority groups in Britain. This research investigates if ACOBs may be performing less than similar firms in the population and why this maybe so. Therefore the aspiration behind this study is one of ratifying the existence of performance differentials between ACOBs and White Asian Owned Businesses (WAOBs), by using a triangulation of methods and matched pair analysis. Every ACOB was matched along firm specific characteristics of age, size, legal form and industry (sector), with similar WAOBs. Findings show support for the hypothesis that ACOBs are more likely to perform less than the WAOBs; WAOBs out-performed ACOBs in the objective and subjective assessments. Though we found some differentials between both groups in the entrepreneur’s characteristics and various emphases in strategic orientation in overall business strategy. The most likely drivers of performance differentials were found in firm activities and operations. ACOBs tended to have brands that were not as popular in the mainstream with most of their manufactured goods being seen as ‘exotic’ while those by WAOBs were perceived as ‘traditional’. Moreover, ACOBs had a higher proportion of clients constituting of individuals than business organisations while the WAOBs had a higher proportion consisting of business organisations.

Constructing institutional change: emergence, contestation and convergence of business models in the field of Java application servers

How are innovative new business models established if organizations constantly compare themselves against existing criteria and expectations? The objective is to address this question from the perspective of innovators and their ability to redefine established expectations and evaluation criteria. The research questions ask whether there are discernible patterns of discursive action through which innovators theorize institutional change and what role such theorizations play for mobilizing support and realizing change projects. These questions are investigated through a case study on a critical area of enterprise computing software, Java application servers. In the present case, business practices and models were already well established among incumbents with critical market areas allocated to few dominant firms. Fringe players started experimenting with a new business approach of selling services around freely available opensource application servers. While most new players struggled, one new entrant succeeded in leading incumbents to adopt and compete on the new model. The case demonstrates that innovative and substantially new models and practices are established in organizational fields when innovators are able to refine expectations and evaluation criteria within an organisational field. The study addresses the theoretical paradox of embedded agency. Actors who are embedded in prevailing institutional logics and structures find it hard to perceive potentially disruptive opportunities that fall outside existing ways of doing things. Changing prevailing institutional logics and structures requires strategic and institutional work aimed at overcoming barriers to innovation. The study addresses this problem through the lens of (new) institutional theory. This discourse methodology traces the process through which innovators were able to establish a new social and business model in the field.

Business information systems:technology, development and management in the E-business

Information technology is at the centre of today’s business environment. The increasing importance of e-commerce and the integration of information systems in all areas of a business means it is crucial for managers to understand and implement IS (information systems). This major text, now in its second edition, provides the skills and knowledge necessary to choose the right systems, and to develop and manage them effectively. Business Information Systems: Technology, Development and Management assumes no prior knowledge of IS or IT, and emphasises the importance of IS to management decision making. It takes a 3 part structure: Part One covers hardware and software technologies; Part Two looks at information systems analysis and design; and Part Three describes the strategic management of IS. This successful format allows each section to be studied alongside individual modules, and enables students to focus clearly on specific areas and use the book for more than one course. This book is suitable for college students, undergraduate degree and postgraduate students taking courses with modules in the practical IT skills of selection, implementation, management and use of BIS. The practical sections are also of use to managers in industry involved in the development and use of IS.

Integrated strategic supply chain positioning for SME's:an empirical study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an investigation into the selection and evaluation of a suitable strategic positioning methodology for SMEs in Singapore. Design/methodology/approach – The research methodology is based on critical review of the literature to identify the potentially most suitable strategic positioning methodology, evaluation and testing of the methodology within the context of SME's in Singapore, and analysis to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology and opportunities for further research. Findings – This paper illustrates a leading integrated strategic positioning decision making process, which has been found to be potentially suitable for SMEs in Singapore, and the process is then applied and evaluated in two industrial case studies. Results in the form of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities are evaluated and discussed in detail, and further research to improve the process has been identified. Practical implications – A practical and integrated strategic supply chain positioning methodology for SMEs to define their own competitive space, among other companies in the manufacturing supply chain, so as to maximize business competitiveness. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the knowledge of the strategic positioning decision process as well as identifies further research to adapt the process for SMEs in Singapore.

An integrated process for strategic positioning within the value chain

The purpose of this article is to highlight the value of ‘strategic positioning’ as a means of providing competitive edge, and to introduce and describe a novel method of managing this. Strategic positioning is concerned with the choice of business activities a company carries out itself, compared to those provided by suppliers, partners, distributors and even customers. It is therefore directly impacted by, and has direct impact upon, such decisions as outsourcing, off-shoring, partnering, innovation, technology acquisition and customer servicing.

The use of models and methods for strategic planning:towards an holistic view of strategy

Formulating manufacturing business strategy is often fragmented in as much as current tools address upstream and downstream vertical integration with product integration, or more recently, product and infrastructure integration. Rarely do tools address all of these dimensions in an holistic manner. The research described in this paper is that undertaken in the MAPSTRAT project: a scoping study with industrial partners, aiming to satisfy this business need. A comprehensive literature study is described which is contextualized using six case studies. The paper stresses the importance of ‘joined-up thinking’ and outlines plans for an appropriate tool that is under development.

The right time and place:strategic positioning for competitive manufacture

Increasingly in the UK, companies that have traditionally considered themselves as manufacturers are being advised to now see themselves as service providers and to reconsider whether to have any production capability. A key challenge is to translate this strategy into a selection of product and service-centred activities within the company's supply chain networks. Strategic positioning is concerned with the choice of business activities a company carries out itself, compared to those provided by suppliers, partners, distributors and even customers. In practice, strategic positioning is directly impacted by such decisions as outsourcing, off-shoring, partnering, technology innovation, acquisition and exploitation. If companies can better understand their strategic positioning, they can make more informed decisions about the adoption of alternative manufacturing and supply chain activities. Similarly, they are more likely to reject those that, like off-shoring, are currently en vogue but are highly likely to erode competitive edge and business success. Our research has developed a new concept we call 'competitive space' as a means of appreciating the strategic positioning of companies, along with a structured decision process for managing competitive space. Our ideas about competitive space, along with the decision process itself, have been developed and tested on a range of manufacturers. As more and more manufacturers are encouraged to move towards system integration and a serviceable business model, the challenge is to identify the appropriate strategic position for their organisations, or in other words, to identify their optimum competitive space for manufacture.

Strategic positioning of manufacturing operations within global supply chains

This paper describes research that has sought to create a structured and integrated methodology that guides manufacturers through the decision of strategic positioning within global supply chains. The position of a company is concerned with deciding a boundary and configuration of internal and external business activities to the company and is directly related to initiatives such as outsourcing, make or buy, and offshoring. This paper provides an in-depth description of this concept, describes work carried out to form a methodology for strategic positioning within the global supply chain, and presents the details of the methodology. This research has made a significant contribution to the knowledge on how manufacturing companies can form a strategic positioning within global supply chains.

Strategic logistics outsourcing:an integrated QFD and fuzzy AHP approach

This paper develops an integratedapproach, combining quality function deployment (QFD), fuzzy set theory, and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach, to evaluate and select the optimal third-party logistics service providers (3PLs). In the approach, multiple evaluating criteria are derived from the requirements of company stakeholders using a series of house of quality (HOQ). The importance of evaluating criteria is prioritized with respect to the degree of achieving the stakeholder requirements using fuzzyAHP. Based on the ranked criteria, alternative 3PLs are evaluated and compared with each other using fuzzyAHP again to make an optimal selection. The effectiveness of proposed approach is demonstrated by applying it to a Hong Kong based enterprise that supplies hard disk components. The proposed integratedapproach outperforms the existing approaches because the outsourcing strategy and 3PLs selection are derived from the corporate/business strategy.

Knowledge management in knowledge intensive service networks:a strategic management approach

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to analyze knowledge management in service networks. It analyzes the knowledge management process and identifies related challenges. The authors take a strategic management approach instead of a more technology-oriented approach, since it is believed that managerial problems still remain after technological problems are solved. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the literature on the topic of knowledge management as well as the resource (or knowledge) based view of the firm. It offers conceptual insights and provides possible solutions for knowledge management problems. Findings – The paper discusses several possible solutions for managing knowledge processes in knowledge-intensive service networks. Solutions for knowledge identification/generation, knowledge application, knowledge combination/transfer and supporting the evolution of tacit network knowledge include personal and technological aspects, as well as organizational and cultural elements. Practical implications – In a complex environment, knowledge management and network management become crucial for business success. It is the task of network management to establish routines, and to build and regularly refresh meta-knowledge about the competencies and abilities that exist within the network. It is suggested that each network partner should be rated according to the contribution to the network knowledge base. Based on this rating, a particular network partner is a member of a certain knowledge club, meaning that the partner has access to a particular level of network knowledge. Such an established routine provides strong incentives to add knowledge to the network's knowledge base Originality/value – This paper is a first attempt to outline the problems of knowledge management in knowledge-intensive service networks and, by so doing, to introduce strategic management reasoning to the discussion.

Electronic commerce adoption:a study of business-to-business practice in Saudi Arabia

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has become an increasingly important initiative among organisations. The factors affecting adoption decisions have been well-documented, but there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-commerce in developing economies in the Arab world. The aim of this study is to provide insights into the salient e-commerce adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. Based on the Technology-Organisational-Environmental framework, an integrated research model was developed that explains the relative influence of 19 known determinants. A measurement scale was developed from prior empirical studies and revised based on feedback from the pilot study. Non-interactive adoption, interactive adoption and stabilisation of e-commerce adoption were empirically investigated using survey data collected from Saudi manufacturing and service companies. Multiple discriminant function analysis (MDFA) was used to analyse the data and research hypotheses. The analysis demonstrates that (1) regarding the non-interactive adoption of e-commerce, IT readiness, management team support, learning orientation, strategic orientation, pressure from business partner, regulatory and legal environment, technology consultants‘ participation and economic downturn are the most important factors, (2) when e-commerce interactive adoption is investigated, IT readiness, management team support, regulatory environment and technology consultants‘ participation emerge as the strongest drivers, (3) pressure from customers may not have much effect on the non-interactive adoption of e-commerce by companies, but does significantly influence the stabilisation of e-commerce use by firms, and (4) Saudi Arabia has a strong ICT infrastructure for supporting e-commerce practices. Taken together, these findings on the multi-dimensionality of e-commerce adoption show that non-interactive adoption, interactive adoption and stabilisation of e-commerce are not only different measures of e-commerce adoption, but also have different determinants. Findings from this study may be valuable for both policy and practice as it can offer a substantial understanding of the factors that enhance the widespread use of B2B e-commerce. Also, the integrated model provides a more comprehensive explanation of e-commerce adoption in organisations and could serve as a foundation for future research on information systems.

Shaping strategic action through the rhetorical construction and exploitation of ambiguity

This paper extends existing understandings of how actors' constructions of ambiguity shape the emergent process of strategic action. We theoretically elaborate the role of rhetoric in exploiting strategic ambiguity, based on analysis of a longitudinal case study of an internationalization strategy within a business school. Our data show that actors use rhetoric to construct three types of strategic ambiguity: protective ambiguity that appeals to common values in order to protect particular interests, invitational ambiguity that appeals to common values in order to invite participation in particular actions, and adaptive ambiguity that enables the temporary adoption of specific values in order to appeal to a particular audience at one point in time. These rhetorical constructions of ambiguity follow a processual pattern that shapes the emergent process of strategic action. Our findings show that (1) the strategic actions that emerge are shaped by the way actors construct and exploit ambiguity, (2) the ambiguity intrinsic to the action is analytically distinct from ambiguity that is constructed and exploited by actors, and (3) ambiguity construction shifts over time to accommodate the emerging pattern of actions.

Internationalization in a business school:co-existing and entwined professional and organizational narratives

This empirical paper adopts a narrative approach to explain how a strategic goal of internationalization within a UK business school developed over a three year period and in particular how two conflicting institutional logics - a market logic and a professional logic - were given meaning and played out within a specific organizational context. The paper is in four parts. First, the theoretical framework explains the business school as characteristic of a professional organization, with a professional academic workforce, ambiguous strategic goals and multiple competing but legitimate demands. We then frame our methodological approach of narrative as a means of understanding how professional actors are co-opted into enabling organizational goals, even where these are perceived as antithetical to professional interests. We do this by showing how actors within organizations that exist with multiple, potentially competing institutional logics draw upon those logics and embed them in narratives to give meaning to their actions. Second, the research design, which followed the pursuit of an internationalization goal within a UK business school over three years, based on a dataset of three rounds of interviews, documentary analysis and meeting observations is explained, showing how we used a narrative approach for analysis. Third the results are presented as a series of co-existing and entwined narratives: organizational/managerial narratives, professional narratives of resistance, and professional narratives of engagement. Finally our findings show that narrative is a useful theoretical lens for explaining how multiple, ambiguous and conflicting strategic goals within professional organizations may coexist, enabling the organization to act both as a collective unit and also to fulfil the sometimes contradictory professional interests of its constituents. These findings contribute to understanding about strategy in professional organizations and also to narrative theory by showing how organizations may comprise multiple, entwined narratives, in which actors change roles according to their varying interests in the 'central' narrative.

Strategic HRM:transforming its responsibilities toward ecological sustainability - the greatest global challenge facing organizations

If we are to move to a more sustainable world, all actorsÑincluding governments, organizations, communities, and individualsÑneed to play their part in committing to a shift in the way we live our lives. This conceptual article explores the challenges that face the human resource management (HRM) profession in moving to a strategic position that supports the requirements of the biophysical environment. We argue that this is becoming an imperative for the future survival and success of organizations large and small, and thus is likely to be a key "modus operandi" for HRM professionals in the future who are looking to embed ecological sustainability into their organizations. This article offers new insights into developing business strategies for ecological sustainability, highlighting the implications for strategic HRM activity through organizational effectiveness, leadership, values, and, ultimately, HRM processes and systems.

Conceptualising global strategic sustainability and corporate transformational change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of global “strategic sustainability”, represented by a conceptual framework, the “spheres of strategic sustainability”. The paper examines routes, solutions and a vision for corporate strategic sustainability in the macro context of the global physical environment and the planet. This builds on previous research identifying key drivers and strategies for corporate sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual in nature and underpinned by Gaia theory, ecosystems theory and the laws of thermodynamics. These three offer specific foci for sustainability research including holism, integration and synthesis: without which, sustainability research would be difficult to achieve. Findings – The paper identifies two major domains – “corporate” and “consumer” strategic sustainability. It examines the corporate domain in which routes are identified through responses to existing globalisation, corporate strategy and corporate culture. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides insight and preliminary conceptual development towards a full theoretical model of corporate and consumer strategic sustainability. The framework will guide future conceptual and empirical investigations and broaden and deepen our understanding of how firm's can construct strategic business models that incorporate sustainability. Originality/value – The paper offers a conceptual framework that develops the concept of “corporate strategic sustainability” and provides positive, practical solutions to incorporating sustainability into business models. It also challenges the current dominant socio-economic paradigm and sets the scene for a more positive eco-paradigm that serves the present and future needs of the planet, environment, businesses and human society.