From Industry to Firm Resources: Resource-Based
View of Competitive Advantage
--Siddhartha S Brahma and Haimanti Chakraborty
The emergence of resource-based view of the firm in strategic management during 1980s has become a dominant
framework and it shifts our attention from the industry to the firm level as a prime determinant of firms’
profitability. The theory is still in the evolving phase and its epistemology is getting richer day-by-day. The paper
traces the roots of resource-based view, elucidates its economic logic and presents the critics’ views. In addition,
the theory’s empirical assessment is presented and the methodological concerns of the research are discussed.
Finally, its managerial significance is elaborated and a conclusion is drawn with regard to its contribution in
the field of strategic management.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Growth-Share Matrix as a Tool for Portfolio Planning: Evidence
from the Indian Telecommunication Services Industry
-- Ritu Srivastava and Ajay Prakash
Portfolio analysis is used for making future strategic investment decisions for diversified streams of business for
a firm. This analysis will help the corporate firms to do effective resource allocation for securing future competitive
positions. The sample units comprises 17 telecommunication firms which are providing either all or a combination
of seven selected services for the purpose of study, namely, wireless GSM, wireless CDMA, wireline, internet
inclusive of broadband services, wireless and wireline broadband services, Village Public Telephone (VPT) and
Public Call Offices (PCO). The growth-share matrix proposed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a
tool of portfolio planning has been developed for each of the selected services with the bubble size in the matrix
reflecting the subscriber base in millions for the respective service line by March 2009. The wireless GSM and
CDMA services are currently a question mark, wireline telecommunication services are located in the dog
quadrant, the internet services and broadband services standalone are positioned in the question mark, the VPT
Booth service is a question mark and the PCO segment is positioned in the dog quadrant for majority of the
selected sample units. The results are used to suggest portfolio planning strategies for the sample units.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Strategy Implementation Tool: Supply Chain Contract
-- Hanuv Mann, Yuheng Cao and Inder Jit Singh Mann
In Supply Chain Management (SCM) strategy, the contract is an important strategic tool that facilitates businessto-
business exchanges along a Supply Chain (SC). Contracts help achieve stable mutual cooperation among the
members of an SC and improve SC efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to explore
fundamental perspectives of SC contracts as they relate to the implementation of business strategy, and to develop
a classification framework for the same. In this paper, we review and discuss the recent research efforts to study
SC contracts. After an introduction of fundamental perspectives of SC contracts, a definition of the SC contract
is proposed. Objectives and types of SC contracts are identified within the strategy paradigm. A classification
framework for SC contracts is developed which provides linkages between various classification schemes. This
paper will be useful for academics and practitioners as it provides a framework to help SC contract designing
and modeling under various strategic SC settings as well as help in understanding the importance of the SC
contract within business strategy.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Where is the Best Place to do Mergers & Acquisitions?
Economic Attractiveness as Related to Law
-- Thomas Straub and Georges A Cavalier
In a Doing Business report published by the World Bank, the following statement was suggested: “From the
economic point of view, common law is more efficient than civil law”. The objective of this research paper is
to weigh two legal systems (French civil law and the US common law) and analyze the results of the economic
analysis of the law of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). This is done by quantifying the impact on long-term
performance. To carry out this research, a methodology was developed, and the results were evaluated. Two legal
structures for M&A transactions were selected: the purchase of shares (share deal), and the purchase of assets
(asset deal). Each of these acquisition structures was then subdivided into 11 steps—from preliminary information,
letter of intent, due diligence, stock or asset purchase agreement and closing—to litigation with formal summons.
Performance was then measured by taking into account time, cost and satisfaction factors. Time was broken down
into person-days and the number of days, weeks, or months required to complete each step. French and US
respondents were asked to fill out a questionnaire for a specific M&A transaction. Radar charts were used to
compare the mean of each performance factor; an inter-factor analysis was carried out to check for correlations.
The findings showed that a share deal in France is cheaper than in the US. Also, French participants express
a greater degree of satisfaction than their US counterparts. The findings varied however, for the time factor. The
authors conclude that the application of civil code and common law does not reveal substantial differences in
either country for M&A transactions. One reason may be that in both France and the US, these transactions
are carried out according to similar procedures.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
CASE STUDY
Yes Bank: Differentiation in Over-Competitive Market
-- Rajnandan Patnaik
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