Purpose – Business war games support competitive‐strategy decisions under uncertainty. They are especially useful in combating confirmation bias, the human tendency to look for reassuring evidence that a desired future will come true. There is no generally accepted definition of what a...

Purpose – Store brands, which were once only found on the shelves of developed countries, are now being introduced in emerging markets in increasing amounts. The purpose of this paper is to describe the store brand process as it is found in emerging markets. In doing so, the authors explain...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the International Robot Exhibition (IREX) in Tokyo, Japan 2011, with emphasis on the new trend of the Japanese robot industry. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on in‐depth interviews with exhibitors and the reporter's...

This empirical study provides evidence linking supply chain strategy and company risk structure. An event study on the stock performance of four major personal computer (PC) producers is performed focusing on the 1999 earthquake in Taiwan and the computer memory price increases that ensued. It...

Purpose – Seeks to provide observations on a paper published in 1995. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is a review and observations about the 1987 work. Findings – In the 1995 paper, “Alternative paradigms for manufacturing strategy”, the history of the development of...

Despite the rapid growth and lure of the service sector, entrepreneurs are well advised to consider the numerous competitive challenges encountered when owning and operating a service business. The unique nature of services (i.e. intangibility, heterogeneity, perishability, simultaneity) serves...

Purpose – The purpose of this survey research is twofold. First, to study and report the process that is commonly used to create and maintain a competitive intelligence (CI) program in organizations. And second, to provide an analysis of several emergent text mining, web mining and...

Purpose – In the mid 1990s the NHS “did” competition, in the mid 2000s the NHS is “doing” choice. This paper aims to cut through the rhetoric, highlight the differences and parallels between then and now and identify if these differences will have a different or the same impact on...

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the set of papers which comprise this issue of the journal, and to provide an interpretation of the current strategic debates about the future evolution of business school paradigms and, hence, identify possible strategic options....

Purpose – The twin objectives of power sector reforms in India – improving efficiency and attracting private investment – are far from being achieved. It is commonly acknowledged that competition in the sector can help achieve the objectives of the reforms, but although the Electricity Act...