Nestlé: Sustaining Growth in Mature Markets
1. Describe the characteristics of each of the following elements in the Current Competitive Landscape: Globalization, Technology, Knowledge, Strategic Flexibility, Quality, and Profit Pool.
Globalization –“ Globalization is the increasing economic interdependence among countries and their organizations as reflected in the flow of goods and services, financial capital, and knowledge across country borders. Globalization is a product of a large number of firms competing against one another in an increasing number of global economies. In globalized markets and industries, financial capital might be obtained in one national market and used to buy raw materials in another one. Manufacturing equipment bought from a third national market can then be used to produce products that are sold in yet a fourth market. Thus, globalization increases the range of opportunities for companies competing in the current competitive landscape.” (Hitt, 2010, p. 8)
Technlogy – The rate that technology is changing affects the business environment in many ways. Two types of changes are Perpetual Innovation and Disruptive Technologies. Perpetual innovation is a term used to describe how rapidly and consistently new, information-intensive technologies replace older ones. The shorter product life cycles resulting from these rapid diffusions of new technologies place a competitive premium on being able to quickly introduce new, innovative goods and services into the market- place. A disruptive technology that destroys the value of an existing technology and creates new markets which surface frequently in today’s competitive market.
Knowledge – “Knowledge (information, intelligence, and expertise) is the basis of technology and its application. In the competitive landscape of the twenty-first century, knowledge is a critical organizational resource and an increasingly valuable source of competitive advantage. Indeed, starting in the 1980s, the basis of competition shifted from
Globalization –“ Globalization is the increasing economic interdependence among countries and their organizations as reflected in the flow of goods and services, financial capital, and knowledge across country borders. Globalization is a product of a large number of firms competing against one another in an increasing number of global economies. In globalized markets and industries, financial capital might be obtained in one national market and used to buy raw materials in another one. Manufacturing equipment bought from a third national market can then be used to produce products that are sold in yet a fourth market. Thus, globalization increases the range of opportunities for companies competing in the current competitive landscape.” (Hitt, 2010, p. 8)
Technlogy – The rate that technology is changing affects the business environment in many ways. Two types of changes are Perpetual Innovation and Disruptive Technologies. Perpetual innovation is a term used to describe how rapidly and consistently new, information-intensive technologies replace older ones. The shorter product life cycles resulting from these rapid diffusions of new technologies place a competitive premium on being able to quickly introduce new, innovative goods and services into the market- place. A disruptive technology that destroys the value of an existing technology and creates new markets which surface frequently in today’s competitive market.
Knowledge – “Knowledge (information, intelligence, and expertise) is the basis of technology and its application. In the competitive landscape of the twenty-first century, knowledge is a critical organizational resource and an increasingly valuable source of competitive advantage. Indeed, starting in the 1980s, the basis of competition shifted from