Respond To Weekly Discussions With At Least 250 Words

Respond To Each Week Discussions With At Least 250 Words Per Weekweek

Identify an organization that could benefit from the application of the I/O Model of Above-Average Returns. Follow the five steps to justify your answer. Do not use Apple or Walmart in this exercise, nor should the organization you select be the same as another post.

"Strategic Competitiveness"

· Determine which of the two primary drivers of the competitive landscape is more influential. Explain your rationale.

· Explain which model (I/O model or resource-based model) you believe will best help a firm in the industry you researched earn above-average returns.

Use the internet to research a company with which you regularly do business or are a regular customer. Focus on how that company relates to their customers. Use the internet to research Apple’s strategy for competing against other technology companies.

"Business-Level Strategy"

· From the week 1 e-Activity, assess your satisfaction with the company you researched and make recommendations about how that company could modify its business-level strategy to both increase your overall level of satisfaction and to attract new customers. Provide specific examples to support your response.

· Analyze the five business-level strategies to determine which strategy the company you researched most likely applies. Determine how your experience with that company might change if it switched to one of the other four strategies (your choice). Explain your rationale.

Week 5: "Diversification"

· From the e-Activity, suggest one way the company you researched could increase its level of value-creating diversification. Provide specific examples to support your response.

· Building on the topic above, determine how diversified the company you research could become before it created a negative impact on the company’s bottom line. Explain your rationale.

Paper For Above instruction

Strategic management involves choosing the right approaches and resources to ensure an organization's competitive advantage and sustained above-average returns. The Industry/Organization (I/O) Model of Above-Average Returns emphasizes external industry factors that influence performance, making it crucial for firms to analyze industry attractiveness and position themselves effectively within their competitive environment. For this purpose, Amazon, the e-commerce giant, presents an ideal case to explore how the I/O model can be applied to achieve strategic competitiveness.

The five steps of the I/O model include: (1) identifying an attractive industry, (2) analyzing the industry environment, (3) identifying strategies that can capitalize on industry opportunities, (4) implementing these strategies, and (5) monitoring and adapting to external changes. Applying this, Amazon operates within the highly competitive online retail industry, which has shown growth potential fueled by increased internet penetration and consumer adoption of digital shopping. Its competitive environment is influenced heavily by technological advances, customer preferences, and supply chain dynamics. Amazon has recognized these external drivers and strategically invested in infrastructure, logistics, and technology to better serve customer needs, emphasizing speed, selection, and pricing.

Regarding the primary drivers of the competitive landscape, technological change emerges as the most influential factor for Amazon. This driver impacts procurement, logistics, customer interaction, and data analytics — all central to Amazon’s business model. Amazon's persistent innovation, such as its use of AI for personalized recommendations and drone delivery trials, exemplifies leveraging technological change to attain competitive advantage. While other elements like market rivalry and regulatory changes are notable, technological agility enables Amazon to adapt swiftly and sustain above-average returns.

Between the two primary models—the I/O model and the resource-based view (RBV)—the I/O model is particularly fitting for Amazon's industry context. The I/O model's external focus aligns with Amazon's strategy of leveraging industry-wide opportunities through competitive positioning, such as expanding into cloud computing (AWS) and logistics. In contrast, RBV emphasizes internal resources; while Amazon undoubtedly has unique resources, its aggressive expansion into new markets and the omnipresence of external industry factors suggest that a structured external analysis through the I/O lens provides greater strategic clarity for maintaining superior performance.

In conclusion, for Amazon, technological change is the dominant driver shaping its competitive landscape, and applying the I/O model offers strategic guidance to capitalize on industry opportunities. The model supports Amazon's continuous innovation efforts and flexible adaptation, crucial for earning sustained above-average returns and preserving its industry leadership.

References

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• Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Wiley.
• Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2020). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. Cengage Learning.
• Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. Free Press.
• Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press.
• Barney, J. B., & Hesterly, W. S. (2019). Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases. Pearson.
• Natarajan, T., & Sharma, A. (2018). Industry analysis and competitive advantage. Journal of Business Strategies, 32(2), 45-62.
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• Choudhury, D., & Karmaker, S. (2021). Disruptive innovations in cloud computing. International Journal of Cloud Computing, 9(2), 98-112.
• Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2004). Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 82(10), 76-84.