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.
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.
Keywords:Keywords: SME clusters, Industrial districts, SME policy, Developing countries, Central America.
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.
This case study analyses OneCompare (www.onecompare.com), 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 quickly became popular receiving 2 million visitors in 2006.
Keywords:Comparison websites, E-Commerce, Entrepreneurship, Mobile phones
In the early years of the new millennia Friends Reunited became a dramatic addition to the popular culture of the United Kingdom. Friends Reunited was launched with minimal funding from a back room in London in 2000 offering a website which put old friends back in touch with each other.
Keywords:Entrepreneurship, New venture creation, Dot coms, Internet
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.
To date, online complaint management has received only limited attention from scholars and practitioners, although it is expected to change because this new way of feedback
management can offer considerable advantage for business. To have a first insight into Swiss (online) complaint management, a case study with a major Swiss telecommunications company, Swisscom, was conducted.......
Keywords:Swisscom, Online complaint management, Feedback, Points of sale, Electronic
after-sales services.
This SECOND article, of a SERIES OF FIVE, contends that lean and collaborative strategies for food and farming are based on erroneous general assumptions about these industries.... This article develops our arguments about the detrimental consequences of the current preference for lean approaches by demonstrating that an over-reliance on cost leadership within the pig industry has resulted in the erosion of profitability and quality and has not led to competitive advantage.
This article is the FIRST of a SERIES OF FIVE that considers the latest advice for businesses in the food and farming industry to achieve sustainable and profitable production in the face of foreign competition. This first article introduces the Power Regimes Methodology, developed by the CBSP at Birmingham University Business School. This approach offers a way of thinking about how businesses can compete effectively in red meat, dairy and horticulture, as well as in other types of supply chains.
Despite the apparent relevance of Real Options to business decisions, they have had limited impact generally. One problem frequently expressed is that Options Theory is regarded as being notoriously arcane and many discussions that go beyond the conceptual level get trapped in the mathematics.
Keywords:Real Options, Investment decisions, Scenario analysis, Value determination, Eli Lilly, Schering Plough
