Tag: Competition

The corporation’s unique identity is defined by its distinctive capabilities. The matching of distinctive capability to market and industry is the process that defines “our space”.

The chicken game, which frequently ends in tragedy or folly, is a game for movie-going teenagers, not grown-ups.

Farewell to ICI, Britain’s leading industrial company for most of the 20th century. As a national institution, ICI nurtured some of Britain’s best management talent and developed the skills and knowledge behind the country’s most successful postwar industry.

When pressure for brand extension of products and geography is continuous, and the service must be delivered by local partners, it is hard to maintain the brand as a means of quality control.

The debate over the role of competition and competition policy is less about technical arguments than about the nature of society.

There was too much haste in following up on successful early privatisations, in a perhaps justified belief that almost any organisational structure would be better than the British conception of nationalised industry.

Socialist planning requires that those who would undertake it hold information that they do not have and to which they cannot realistically aspire. In an uncertain world, successful economic development – whether directed towards economic growth or environmental friendliness – is piecemeal, tentative and adaptive.

The market economy promotes diversification when the future is uncertain and there are differences of view. This is one of its fundamental strengths. But the market economy does not achieve enough diversification when the future is uncertain and there is commonality of view. This is one of its fundamental weaknesses.

There is no recipe for enduring excellence: the distinctive characteristics that yield competitive advantage, because they are hard to replicate or emulate, will inevitably be more appropriate for some conditions than for others.

The company headquarters should be the place from which the business can best be run. Location decisions often involve proximity to necessary resources. For banks, this nowadays means access to political and commercial capital.