Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A, University of Applied Sciences Chur, course: MSc Entrepreneurship, language: English, abstract: This report was commissioned to examine whether small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that target only a few market segments will promote their products and services more effectively than SMEs that target the mass market. The research draws attention to Porter's generic theory of competitive advantage by mainly concentrating on the third of his competitive advantage strategies, the focus strategy. Theory as well as a practical survey was used in order to falsify or approve the research question. Theory revealed Porter's focus strategy to have several key advantages over a mass market strategy which make firms pursuing such a strategy more effective in their product promotion efforts. First, a focused firm does not have to devote substantial resources into being all things to all people entailing less expenditure of time and money in comparison to a mass market strategy. Second, empirical evidence was found that customers do value specialized firms due to their focused capabilities. Third, a focused firm is less likely to be overwhelmed by great amount of different customer request and is more likely to identify and adapt to market changes in a quick time manner. Besides the advantages of a focus strategy, the research question is only supported when the SME makes bigger rivals to accommodate their existence in the segment(s) by creating circumstances in which the cost for the bigger rival in fighting the SME exceeds the cost of accommodating the SME. 27 SMEs from South Germany have returned completed questionnaires which were used to find practical evidence for answering the research question. Results revealed several tendencies which partly support theory. First, SMEs that pursue a focus strategy are more likely to do this with a differ

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A, University of Applied Sciences Chur, course: MSc Entrepreneurship, language: English, abstract: This report was commissioned to examine whether small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that target only a few market segments will promote their products and services more effectively than SMEs that target the mass market. The research draws attention to Porter’s generic theory of competitive advantage by mainly concentrating on the third of his competitive advantage strategies, the focus strategy. Theory as well as a practical survey was used in order to falsify or approve the research question. Theory revealed Porter’s focus strategy to have several key advantages over a mass market strategy which make firms pursuing such a strategy more effective in their product promotion efforts. First, a focused firm does not have to devote substantial resources into being all things to all people entailing less expenditure of time and money in comparison to a mass market strategy. Second, empirical evidence was found that customers do value specialized firms due to their focused capabilities. Third, a focused firm is less likely to be overwhelmed by great amount of different customer request and is more likely to identify and adapt to market changes in a quick time manner. Besides the advantages of a focus strategy, the research question is only supported when the SME makes bigger rivals to accommodate their existence in the segment(s) by creating circumstances in which the cost for the bigger rival in fighting the SME exceeds the cost of accommodating the SME. 27 SMEs from South Germany have returned completed questionnaires which were used to find practical evidence for answering the research question. Results revealed several tendencies which partly support theory. First, SMEs that pursue a focus strategy are more likely to do this with a differentiation focus and secondly and most importantly they tend to have fewer problems in attracting and retaining customers. There was no indication that focused SMEs are more likely to see and adapt to market changes on an early stage and there was also no tendency visible whether SMEs with a focus strategy are less likely to be overwhelmed with customer requests. In conclusion, theory supports the research question only when the firm is able to adequately implement the focus strategy.

Harvard professor, Michael Porter has been one of the most influential figures in strategic management research over the last three decades. He infused a rigorous theoretical framework of industrial organization economics with the then still embryonic field of strategic management and elevated it to its current status as an academic discipline. Porter's outstanding career is also characterized by its cross-disciplinary nature. Following his most important work on strategic management, he then made a leap to the policy side and dealt with a completely different set of analytical units. More recently he has made a foray into inner city development, environmental regulations, and health care services. Throughout these explorations Porter has maintained his integrative approach, seeking a road that links management case studies and the general model building of mainstream economics. With expert contributors from a range of disciplines including strategic management, economic development, economic geography, and planning, this book assesses the contribution Michael Porter has made to these respective disciplines. It clarifies the sources of tension and controversy relating to all the major strands of Porter's work, and provides academics, students, and practitioners with a critical guide for the application of Porter's models. The book highlights that while many of the criticisms of Porter's ideas are valid, they are almost an inevitable outcome for a scholar who has sought to build bridges across wide disciplinary valleys. His work has provided others with a set of frameworks to explore in more depth the nature of competition, competitive advantage, and clusters from a range of vantage points.

Now beyond its eleventh printing and translated into twelve languages, Michael Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations has changed completely our conception of how prosperity is created and sustained in the modern global economy. Porter’s groundbreaking study of international competitiveness has shaped national policy in countries around the world. It has also transformed thinking and action in states, cities, companies, and even entire regions such as Central America. Based on research in ten leading trading nations, The Competitive Advantage of Nations offers the first theory of competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete. Porter shows how traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labor have been superseded as sources of prosperity, and how broad macroeconomic accounts of competitiveness are insufficient. The book introduces Porter’s “diamond,” a whole new way to understand the competitive position of a nation (or other locations) in global competition that is now an integral part of international business thinking. Porter's concept of “clusters,” or groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations, has become a new way for companies and governments to think about economies, assess the competitive advantage of locations, and set public policy. Even before publication of the book, Porter’s theory had guided national reassessments in New Zealand and elsewhere. His ideas and personal involvement have shaped strategy in countries as diverse as the Netherlands, Portugal, Taiwan, Costa Rica, and India, and regions such as Massachusetts, California, and the Basque country. Hundreds of cluster initiatives have flourished throughout the world. In an era of intensifying global competition, this pathbreaking book on the new wealth of nations has become the standard by which all future work must be measured.

Michael Porter is recognized as one of the top authorities on corporate strategy and business competition. The historical review of strategic management clearly shows that Porter’s research has bridged up two general paradigms (before and after the 1980s) thus helping both researchers and practitioners to better understand unanticipated global changes. His two generic strategies: costs and diversification, the two interdependent strategic options, are key in the context of the competitiveness of orthodox microeconomic theory. This is where Porter went further, constructing a popular value chain concept that provides the ability to disaggregate the key activities of business process in creating products and services in terms of cost analysis and value creation. This book is a collection of seven interconnected chapters that provides a coherent understanding of Michael Porter’s contribution to the field of strategic management. It addresses key changes and challenges in the global business environment. The value chain concept has become highly applicable in both theory and practice. In the book, the authors offer an original interpretation of the Porters’ research on strategic management in order to unravel or simplify his key theoretical concepts. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students in the fields of strategic management and international business.

With Foreword by Michael PorterFollowing the success of the First Edition published in 2000, this extended edition of From Adam Smith to Michael Porter: Evolution of Competitiveness Theory provides a thorough explanation of the evolution of international competitiveness theories and their economic and strategic implications. The theories range from classical theories such as Adam Smith's theory of absolute advantage, to new theories such as Michael Porter's diamond model. Professor Cho and Professor Moon have updated their research with their latest theoretical advancements, such as the double-diamond-based nine factor model, and MASI (Measure, Analyze, Stimulate, and Implement) model.This newly revised volume is suitable for International Economics, Business Strategy, and International Business courses on both the graduate and upper-division undergraduate levels. Policy makers and corporate managers will also find useful implications from this book's systematic integration and application of important competitiveness models.

Michael E. Porter’s 1980 book Competitive Strategy is a fine example of critical thinking skills in action. Porter used his strong evaluative skills to overturn much of the accepted wisdom in the world of business. By exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the accepted argument that the best policy for firms to become more successful was to focus on expanding their market share, he was able to establish that the credibility of the argument was flawed. Porter did not believe such growth was the only way for a company to be successful, and provided compelling arguments as to why this was not the case. His book shows how industries can be fragmented, with different firms serving different parts of the market (the low-price mass market, and the expensive high-end market in clothing, for example) and examines strategies that businesses can follow in emerging, mature, and declining markets. If printing is in decline, for example, there may still be a market in this industry for high-end goods and services such as luxury craft bookbinding. Porter also made excellent use of the critical thinking skill of analysis in writing Competitive Strategy. His advice that executives should analyze the five forces that mold the environment in which they compete – new entrants, substitute products, buyers, suppliers, and industry rivals – focused heavily on defining the relationships between these disparate factors and urged readers to check the assumptions of their arguments. Porter avoided technical jargon and wrote in a straightforward way to help readers see that his evaluation of the problem was strong. Competitive Strategy went on to be a highly influential work in the world of business strategy.