Innovative approaches for developing international commerce: strategies for success

Citation

Sardana, G.D. and Thatchenkery, T. (2012), "Innovative approaches for developing international commerce: strategies for success", International Journal of Commerce and Management, Vol. 22 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcoma.2012.34822baa.001

Innovative approaches for developing international commerce: strategies for success

Article Type: Guest editorial From: International Journal of Commerce and Management, Volume 22, Issue 2

Globalization has ushered in an unprecedented need for innovation. This is apparent in all areas of commerce and management. Due to extraordinary developments in information communication technology and manufacturing methods, staying competitive in the global market place is no longer easy. For very established firms such as GE, IBM, HP, Boeing, and Toyota, staying ahead implies continuous innovation. For smaller firms, the stakes are even higher. They have to not only compete with technology leaders such as Apple and Google but also differentiate themselves. Globalization can thus both threaten and foster growth of businesses. For example, while India has benefited significantly from the outsourcing trend that began in the USA, it has had to face the prospect of opening up its own business sectors to international competition (Cappelli et al., 2010; Khanna, 2009). Be it in areas of performance measurement, marketing strategies, product development, or real estate management, organizations have had to develop innovative approaches to meet the challenges of ever emerging needs, the satisfaction of customers, and, more recently, the satisfaction of the employees, as pointed out by Nayar (2010) in his bestselling book, Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down. The challenges have then become opportunities (Thatchenkery and Metzker, 2006). The absence of innovation can lead to disastrous results. The new model of business success is largely based on the ability to leverage limited resources with innovation in order to survive in today’ competitive marketplace.

This special issue of the International Journal of Commerce and Management provides a balanced mix of cases on various aspects of international business. It features revised and expanded versions of selected cases presented at the International Conference on Business Cases on December 2-3, 2010. The dominant theme among these cases is meeting challenges from an emerging turbulent global economic environment. The cases included in this special issue depict business issues and a clinical study of situations arising out of changed dynamics in an external or internal environment.

The first case, by Siti-Nabiha, Wai Yuin Thum, and G.D. Sardana, documents the problems in designing and implementing a system of performance measurement at the service desk of a large semi-conductor manufacturer in the service sector. The top four areas focused and improved on are resolution rate, customer satisfaction (CSAT), total utilization, and tickets per agent per week. The authors examine the performance measurement system, trace the perspectives of various stakeholders, and recommend that the management should continue to identify and implement effective solutions such as a flexible workforce model, expanding support scopes, and eliminating non-value added tasks to close performance gaps and improve performance indicators in order to achieve lean operations and excellence in customer experience.

Kenneth Long, extends a previous case study on the use of appreciative sharing of knowledge (Thatchenkery, 2005) at the US Army’s Command and General Staff College. The General Staff College is a residential, year-long professional credentialed school for developing organizational and personal leadership and staff skills. It educates in five broad areas, each under the purview of a teaching department: history, leadership, strategy, tactics, and logistics. To ensure that the college’s curriculum and teaching practice remains relevant, timely, and useful, the college embarked on a research initiative within the logistics teaching department to explore new ways to integrate student perspectives into the college’s curriculum. The approach combined knowledge management with appreciative inquiry (Thatchenkery and Chaudhry, 2007).

Kalinga Jagoda, Bharat Maheshwari, and Gregory Gutowski focus on highlighting the approach and experiences of Deer Creek Land Development (DCLD), a successful small business involved in the real estate business for over two decades. The firm has been very successful in navigating the ups and downs of the market. DCLD has not only survived the downturn of the North American financial market but has come out unscathed, realizing higher average rates for its developed properties. The case provides an excellent example of how a small business can use this concept to respond to changes in external environment, such as the recent economic downturn, and continue to grow. Small firms increasingly need to leverage their limited resources and innovate to survive in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace.

Seema Mehta, Tarika Singh, and Tanjul Saxena, discuss financial mismanagement set against the backdrop of an entrepreneurial venture. Encapsulating issues of general management, financial management, and marketing, the case renders itself to a multidisciplinary approach. It focuses on various aspects of entrepreneurial thinking and development. The owners and promoters of Color Valley were distraught as their much cherished entrepreneurial endeavor was attacked by multi-hued issues. Having chalked out a distinct position for itself in the landscape of an unorganized paint industry through aggressive brand building and marketing, the five year old company, known for its quality product and CSAT, is today at a crossroads of a liquidity dilemma. The authors explicate the various entrepreneurial and competitive dimensions of starting new businesses against established brands.

Rosmimah and Herwina present a case study of a cooperative whose involvement in the retail business stands out as an excellent example of a successful cooperative in Malaysia that was bold enough to venture into the retail business. Located strategically on the southern tip of Johor Bahru in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor, the supermarket attracted a large number of Singaporeans who found the assortment of merchandise and the pricing of the vast array of goods offered by Johor Cooperative Supermarket (JCS) an attractive lure. However, a strategic decision concerning its location eventually led to the closure of this once supreme supermarket. This case study sets out to examine the success story of JCS and the eventual demise of the cooperative.

It is hoped that the case studies in this issue will provide useful information and insight about the intricate working of organizations. Each of these organizations has chosen strategic practices aligned with their needs and carved out a plan to meet challenges of growing competition. We hope that the articles will encourage academics and practitioners alike to appreciate the value of the case method.

We thank Emerald Publishing House and the editor in chief, Dr Abbas Ali, for inviting us to edit this volume. We appreciate Emerald’s interest in case pedagogy and promoting case development.

G.D. Sardana, Tojo ThatchenkeryGuest Editors