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Simon Western | |
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| In this article I describe four key leadership frames or discourses, one of which is the Messiah discourse and I pose the question, will America vote for a Messiah leader? Offering insights into Barack Obama and Hillary Clintons’ leadership styles, the article discusses the impact they have on the subconscious hopes and fears of voters.
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Des Laffey | |
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| This case study analyses OneCompare, the first mobile phone comparison website in the United Kingdom. Set up in 2004, it enables mobile phone users to specify their needs and then select from the most appropriate options. With the highly complex UK mobile phone market OneCompare (www.onecompare.com) quickly became popular receiving 2 million visitors in 2006.
In 2007 further growth was being planned through international expansion and possible growth into mobile phone retailing. This case study examines the founders of OneCompare, their earlier entrepreneurial activities, development of their mobile phone comparison service and their options for the future.
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Andrew Cox | .jpg)
Dan Chicksand | |
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| This THIRD article in a SERIES OF FIVE considers differentiation strategies for achieving sustainable business success and introduces the ‘Lakeland Premium Branded Beef Case’. This is a strategy case focused on Pioneer Foodservices - a catering butcher - in its attempt to create more value by developing a premium meat brand. The FIRST (Cox & Chicksand 2007g) article considered the latest advice in the food and farming industry to achieve sustainable and profitable production in the face of foreign competition and introduced the ‘Power Regime Methodology’. The SECOND article (Cox & Chicksand 2007f) argued that lean and collaborative strategies for food and farming are often based on erroneous general assumptions about these industries. The article showed that the farming industry, and in fact all businesses in any sector, need to understand their position in a specific supply chain, and adopt a competitive strategy that can ring fence an acceptable return. The ‘Competitive Strategy Tool’ highlighted the different strategic options available, including cost leadership and differentiation. This THIRD article considers differentiation strategies in more detail and, in particular, branding strategies aimed at increasing the power and leverage of sellers—both against their competitors and with their customers. The importance of understanding power in markets and supply chains, and how to rebalance power using differentiation strategies (such as branding) is explained in the ‘Lakeland Premium Branded Beef Case’. A ‘Brand Risk & Vulnerability’ Tool is also introduced.
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Mario Davide Parrilli | |
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| This paper examines the phenomenon of ‘survival clusters’ or groups of small- and medium-sized firms in developing countries, formed to stimulate growth. Adopting a ‘system’ approach in addition to a ‘stages’ approach, the author analyses data from two SME clusters in Central America as Case Studies. Policy recommendations are made.
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Paul Stonham | |
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| In June 2007 the largest private equity bid in the UK and the first to target an FTSE 100 listed company was completed. Alliance Boots, the pharmacy, healthcare and beauty retailer and wholesaler was bought out by AB Acquisitions, an investment vehicle owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Stefano Pessina. At the peak of the private equity boom, the bidding was competitive and the final price paid high. Several innovative features were contained in the terms of the buyout and in the financing of the deal. Although judged a successful outcome for AB Acquisitions, the later aspects of the deal – particularly the syndicating of bank debt – raised some problems. Concerns general to the private equity industry were also expressed over the Alliance Boots buyout – pensions, employment, taxation and leverage, and these are discussed in this Case Study. Teaching Notes are attached.
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6 January 2009 |
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