Briance Mascarenhas

Dynamics of Core Competencies in Leading Multinational Companies

This article examines the core competencies of twelve leading multinational companies. It explores their competencies, how they were developed, and how they are shifting over time. Successful companies rely on three types of competencies: superior technological know-how, reliable processes, and close external relationships. Different approaches are needed to develop each types of competency. While these firms have historically relied on technological know-how and reliable processes, they are planning more close external relationships for the future. External relationships help these firms strengthen and extend their traditional competencies while responding to the demands of globalization, mass customization, enhanced quality, and rapid technological change.

The order and size of entry into international markets

Abstract When entering markets, managers must decide when to enter as well as how many resources to commit to the entry. The study finds that larger initial resource commitments do not result in higher market share and market survival in international markets. Instead, to improve performance in international markets, managers should strive to be first entrants. Further, first entrants typically commit fewer resources, suggesting that this strategy can be pursued by firms with limited resources.

The strategies of small and large international specialists

Falling trade barriers and corporate restructuring are resulting in the creation of international specialists, firms that focus on one line of business but with an international scope. International specialists compose the growing middle ground between diversified multinational companies and local firms. This study of 41 firms identifies two types--large and small international specialists--that differ substantially in their governance structures, resources, functional strategy, and approach to international markets. Large international specialists have abundant resources and high growth expectations, make a concerted push to dominate worldwide markets, and increase their reach over multiple stages of their industry. Small international specialists do not have strong growth motivations. They are upstream players that outsource extensively, serve intermediate users, and enter international markets selectively in ways that conserve their limited resources. Managers should consider the strategic option of becoming an international specialist in addition to the known strategic alternatives of being a domestic or a diversified multinational firm. To become international specialists, strategists need to implement several, consistent actions across functions that reinforce one another.

Overcome management bias and win the globalisation and innovation races: a four-step international expansion strategy

With shorter product cycles, firms need to improve their innovation capacity and spread rapidly their innovations abroad before they are imitated or superseded. But when expanding internationally, managers often frame their decisions narrowly, leading to overconfidence and optimism in their market entries. This management bias often leads firms into less attractive markets with large inflexible investments that limit learning and innovation. To overcome this management bias, the article advances a Four-Step Strategy to achieve broad, rapid, deep, and innovative international expansion.

A Multi-Criteria Strategic Decision Making Model to Assess Renewable Energy Forms

Renewableenergycanpotentiallybeasourceofcompetitiveadvantage,reducegreenhousegases, andcounterclimatechange.ThisstudyutilizesMulti-CriteriaDecisionAnalysistosystematically assess the relative attractiveness of multiple renewable energy forms based on three factors: 1. business(economic),2.technical(environmental),and3.social(regulatory).Ituncoverstherelative attractivenessofvariousrenewableenergyformsandsuggestsstrategiesfortheirdevelopmentfor providersandcustomers.Afterconsideringmultiplefactors,thestudyfoundhydro,geothermal,and windpowertoberelativelyattractiverenewableenergysources. KEywoRDS Climate Change, Innovation Adoption, Multi Criteria Decision Analysis, Renewable Energy, Sustainable