A&N Strategy Consulting

Tag: Santa Clara CA

  • Internal Sources of Strategic Transformation: Competitive Advantage through Innovation

    The fundamental purpose of strategic management is to keep the firm in tune (strategic fit) with its unstable, unpredictable, and competitive business environment. Any form of change in the firm’s external environment, including technological change, is a problem for established firms because these firms find difficulties in coping with it. The reason for this is…

  • How Established Firms Can Innovate Like Startups

    Historically, startups and small business firms have been most successful in creating innovation in contrast to established firms. However, innovation by itself does not differentiate between small and large firms, and any company, therefore, irrespective of size, can innovate successfully. Not every established firm is a failure and not every start-up is successful. Technology is…

  • Managing Unknown Unknowns in Innovation

    The external environment of emerging and technology-based industries will tend to be more uncertain as the world moves further into the twenty-first century. Any changes in an innovation firm’s external environment that are driven by the forces of technology, economics, and other influences impede the ability of strategic managers to make strategic decisions to keep…

  • Managing Innovation through Dual Planning Systems

    One of the issues a firm’s corporate directional strategy faces is about deciding its orientation towards growth. When a firm chooses to grow internally, innovation becomes the key driver to achieve that growth. Growth-oriented companies incorporate some kind of technology to generate innovation, and through innovation, they create a competitive advantage. Therefore, innovation provides a…

  • Implementing Strategies through Portfolio Management

    Strategy implementation is the most difficult part of the strategy. Hrebiniak states that “Making strategy work-executing or implementing it through the organization is even more difficult. Without effective implementation, no business strategy can succeed.” [1] Prior to this work, Henry Mintzberg introduced intended and realized strategy to help clarify this implementation challenge. According to him,…

  • Managing Time for Competitive Advantage

    Every firm, small or large, pursues a formal or informal business strategy to compete and become successful in the marketplace. Some become very successful, and others go out of business. However, to become successful, a company must also have an effective functional strategy. Both strategies are essential for generating competitive advantage and superior performance. Through…

  • Importance of Strategic Management to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

    Strategic management has long been used successfully by large organizations to manage uncertainties and for better positioning to generate long-term growth and profitability. Due to the current and predicted environmental uncertainties, the practice of strategic management will become a need for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to keep them in equilibrium with their external environments…

  • Importance of Shareholder Value in Improving Firm’s Performance

    The firm’s ability to accurately establish and measure shareholder value (SHV) is crucial for assessing financial performance and moving the firm toward established objectives. Among other strategic objectives, such as profitability, efficiency, market share, and growth, shareholder value is the most important measure to evaluate a corporation’s long-run financial performance. The discounted cash flow (DCF)…

  • Value Creation under Low Growth Condition

    During an economic boom, when the market demand exceeds the industry capacity, it is easier for firms to grow, remain profitable and create value. There is not much of a need to understand what a competitive advantage is and where and how value is created. Firms can easily create value without a competitive advantage. In…