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Zara Five Forces Analysis

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Zara Five Forces Analysis
The role of market orientation on company performance through the development of sustainable competitive advantage: the Inditex-Zara case
Andres Mazaira  University of Vigo, Oureuse, Spain E. Gonzalez  University of Vigo, Oureuse, Spain Ruth Avendano Ä University of Vigo, Oureuse, Spain
Keywords
Market orientation, Competitive advantage, Clothing industry, Organizational culture

Abstract

This paper has been developed as a part of research seeking to verify the effects of organisational culture in general, and market orientation in particular, on the behaviour and results of managerial organisations. The difference with other existing work on the same subject is that this work uses the case method to bring managerial reality into closer contact with the university environment. This report contains the first of the case studies carried out in the context of this research, and examines Zara, a strategic unit in the Inditex group, which is shown to be a paradigmatic example of the development of market orientation in a company, as a basis for the company 's performance and competitive advantages.

A study of business realities is crucial to bridge the distance between university studies and the business world and enable the student to realise that the subjects under discussion are not abstract, ideal concepts, but a reflection of reality (Munuera and Rodrõguez, 2000, p. 15). Â

This case study is a reflection of this intention to bring the two worlds closer together, and uses the case method as an approach to the business world. Although this method is more often used in teaching than in research, we agree with literature (Hartley, 1994; Yin, 1994; Bonache, 1999; Perez, 1999; Gummesson, 2000) on its  validity as a research strategy, especially for the study of organisational culture and its effects. The aim of this paper is to apply the case method to a study of market orientation as a characteristic culture in managerial organisations, and the effects


References: Munuera, J.L. and Rodriguez, A.I. (2000), Estrategias de Marketing para un Crecimiento Rentable. Casos Practicos, ESIC, Madrid.  Narver, J.C. and Slater, S.F. (1990), ``The effect of a market orientation on business profitability ' ', Journal of Marketing, October, pp. 20-35. Narver, J.C., Slater, S.F and Tietje, B. (1998), ``Creating a market orientation ' ', Journal of Focused Market, Vol. 2, pp. 241-55. Norburn, D., Birley, S., Dunn, M. and Payne, A. (1990), ``A four nation study of the relationship between marketing effectiveness, corporate culture, corporate values and market orientation ' ', Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 451-68. Perez, W. (1999), ``El Estudio de Casos ' ' in Sarabia,  F.J. (Ed.), Metodologõa para la Investigacion   en Marketing y Direccion de Empresas,  Piramide, Madrid.  Slater, S.F. and Narver, J.C. (1995), ``Market orientation and the learning organization ' ', Journal of Marketing, Vol. 59, July, pp. 63-74. Vazquez, S. (2000), ``El Modelo ZARA ' ' in Lois,  R.C. et al. (Eds), La Industria de la Moda en Galicia, Idega, Santiago de Compostela. Yin, R.K. (1994), Case Study Research. Designs and Methods, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Further reading Alvarez, L., Vazquez, R., Santos, M. and Dõaz, A.   (2000), ``Analisis Cultural y Operativo de la  Orientacion al Mercado. Efectos Moderadores  en la relacion OM-Resultados ' ', Revista  Espanola de Investigacion de Marketing ESIC, Ä Â pp. 7-41. Avlonitis, G.J. and Gounaris, S.P. (1997), ``Marketing orientation and company performance: a comparative study of industrial vs consumer goods companies ' ', Industrial Marketing Management, pp. 385-402. Castellanos, J.M. (1993), ``Una Ventaja Competitiva: El factor tiempo. El caso INDITEX-ZARA ' ', Papeles de Economõa  Espanola, Vol. 56, pp. 402-4. Ä Cervino, J. (1998), ``Las empresas de distribucion Ä Â de productos de confeccion, un caso de  proyeccion internacional ' ', Distribucion y   Consumo, Vol. 8 No. 38, pp. 50-67. Flavian, C. and Polo, Y. (2000), ``Inditex (19941999) ' ', in Munuera, J.L. and Rodrõguez, A.I.  (Eds), Estrategias de Marketing para un Crecimiento Rentable. Casos Practicos, ESIC,  Madrid. Narver, J.C. and Slater, S.F. (1998), ``Additional thoughts on the measurement of market orientation: a comment on Deshpande and  Farley ' ', Journal of Focused Market, Vol. 2, pp. 233-6. [ 229 ]
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