Chp 3: Analysing the organisational ecosystem

Question 1

What are the four elements that can be used to assess a nation’s competitive advatage in Porter’s Diamond?

Answer 1

1. Factor Conditions - relate to a country’s resources (basic being natural resources/labour and advanced being skilled labour/infrastructure)
2. Demand Conditions - tough domestic market encourages competition
3. Related and Supporting Industries - supply chain
4. Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry - intense domestic rivalry may increase performance

Question 2

What are the four levels of competitors?

Answer 2

1. Brand - offer a similar product or service
2. Industry - supply the same class of product even if different markets (Tesco vs Carrefour)
3. Product or Form - providing products or services that meet the same customer need (bowling alleys vs cinema)
4. Generic - competing for the same customer expenditure (holidays vs home improvements)

Question 3

What are the four types of competitor response according to Kotler (1997)?

Answer 3

1. Laid-back - doesn’t respond
2. Selective - only responds to some but will be consistent in the response
3. Retaliatory (Tiger) - responds aggressively to all attacks
4. Unpredictable (Stochastic) - impossible to predict, will respond randomly

Question 4

What is disintermediation?

Answer 4

Intermediate companies are removed from supply chains (eg. Spotify removing record shops)

Question 5

What is reintermediation?

Answer 5

Setting up intermediaries to intercept customers

Question 6

What is countermediation?

Answer 6

Established firms create their own intermediaries to combat established intermediaries