Economics of Strategy The Origins of Competitive Advantage AEC 422 Fall 2014 Monsanto Case – in class next Monday 11/17 ……pre-memo Monsanto final memo due Nov 19 Note group presentation date assignments Entrepreneurship and Competitive Advantage Competitive advantage arises from a firm’s entrepreneurial ability to exploit market shocks and discontinuities Joseph Schumpeter used the term “creative destruction” to new sources of competitive advantages displacing the established ones Creative Destruction Markets have periods of comparative quiet punctuated by shocks and discontinuities During the period of quiet firms that posses superior products and technology earn economic profits Entrepreneurs who exploit the opportunities created by the shocks enjoy economic profits during the next period of quiet Creative Destruction in Agribusiness Ethanol Animal genomics GM crops Precision agriculture technologies Greenhouse production Food safety and QA demand International food supply chains National Organic Standards New wine production technologies Creative Destruction and Growth Schumpeter considered static efficiency allocative efficiency at a point in time - to be less important than dynamic efficiency Society benefits much more from competition between new products, new technologies and new forms of organization than from price competition Creative Destruction and Monopoly Schumpeter’s ideas have been used to defend monopoly ( at least in the short run) The interpretation is that prospects of “capturing” monopoly leads to greater investment in innovation and higher longterm growth Creative Destruction and Monopoly Creative Destruction and Competitive Advantage Creative destruction implies that the isolating mechanisms that protect a firm’s competitive advantage will not be permanent The life expectancy of a competitive advantage shrinks as technology and tastes change rapidly Life Cycle of Competitive Advantage Changing Grocery Environment Piggly Wiggly – 1918 1st Self Serve Source: wikipedia.com A&P – largest U.S. grocery 1927-1975 The changing grocery world Supermarkets Convenience stores Hypermarkets Club stores Natural food stores Peapod delivery WalMart Express Refrigeration Scanner labels Scanner-based purchasing JIT distribution IT intensive category management Disruptive Technologies New technology that offers greater perceived benefit and at a much lower cost - displaces existing ones – radical change to production function Example: hybrid seed, GMP products, GIS & precision ag, RFID tags, internet auctions like E-Bay?, hydrogen cells….many others What are potential (or recent) disruptive technologies in your industry? Sustainability and Creative Destruction Biotech and pharmaceutical firms have taken proactive steps to be in touch with the scientific and academic community Elanco Animal Health Long-run successes may also be traced to historical accidents…but mostly it involves continuous investment to create new advantages Source: Elanco Annual Report 2009 2012 R&D Share Monsanto 11.2% Syngenta 10.9% 2010-12 Financial Highlights Eli Lilly and Company and Subsidiaries (Dollars in millions, except per-share data) Year Ended December 31 Revenue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012 $22,603 Research and development . . . . . . . . . Research and development as a percent of revenue . . . Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,278 23.4% $4,089 Source: 2013 Financial Statements, Eli Lilly 2011 $24,286.5 5,409 22.3% $4,347.7 2010 $23,076.0 4,934 21.4% $ 5,069.5 Hypercompetition Firms are said to enter a state of hypercompetition state when competitive advantages can only be sustained for very short periods According to Richard D’Aveni, several industries are in this state and firms in these industries can sustain their economic profits only by continually seeking new sources of competitive advantage See “Competing on the Edge” by Brown & Eisenhardt Types of Innovation Product innovation – new product development leader Process innovation (reverse or process engineering) – process development leader Distribution innovation – logistics leader (UPS, Amazon, e-bay, Schwann’s) Market alliance innovation – team development leadership (Monsanto, Mondavi) – “creation of a relentless flow of competitive advantages” – K. Eisenhart on Bill Gates and Microsoft Application to the Food Products Industry Explosion in new food products introductions Short product life Many failures Driven by consumer trends that can be very short-lived – Low-carb and other fad diets, soy, “new” nutrients Food Industry News on The Food Institute The Sunk Cost Effect For established firms, costs incurred to commit to a particular technology are sunk costs Slow innovators Established firms tend to favor the current technology Evolutionary Economics and Dynamic Capabilities In traditional economics, a firm is assumed to make decisions to maximize economic profit Evolutionary economics views decisions made by a firm as determined by routines that are used by the firm – – – LEAN Process efficiency Organic Environmentally sustainable New product development process faster, better products Evolutionary Economics and Dynamic Capabilities Usually a firm’s routines change slowly over time if they do change To ensure survival, firms need to continuously improve their routines Firms with dynamic capabilities can adapt their resources and capabilities and exploit opportunities created by market shocks and discontinuities Continuous improvement and market shocks Anheuser Busch and the 1920-1933 prohibition •Toyota Prius – 3rd generation electric hybrid Factors that Limit Dynamic Capabilities A firm’s dynamic capabilities are inherently limited because of – – – the path dependence of competitive advantage limited availability of complementary assets and “windows of opportunity” that do not stay open for long Path Dependence Firm’s routines can only change incrementally and cannot have a clean break from the past The new source of advantage will be path dependent With threats from new entrants, even small path dependencies can have major implications for the firm’s competitiveness Windows of Opportunity Early in a product’s life, its design and specifications will be fluid and firms will have room for experimentation Over time a narrow set of design and specifications emerge as dominant and it is hard for new firms to challenge market leaders Those who do not exploit the window of opportunity get shut out Competitive Advantage and the Environment Michael Porter suggests that the firm’s local environment is a major influence on its competitive environment Canadian greenhouses, Israeli irrigation Even as a modern firm transcends local markets, the source of its competitive advantage remains localized Competitive Advantage and the Environment A firm’s home nation and home markets play an important role in its ability to sustain its competitive advantage – – by supporting the accumulation of valuable resources and capabilities and by exerting pressure on the firm to innovate, invest and improve Competitive Advantage and the Environment: Porter’s “Diamond” Source: Porter: 1990 Factor Conditions A firm’s competitive advantage in the global markets is enhanced by the availability of specialized factors of production in the home market To be globally competitive, availability of highly skilled workers in the home nation may be more important than availability of low wage workers Demand Conditions A firm’s competitive advantage is enhanced by the size, growth and nature of demand in the home market When home market places a high value on quality, the firm is stimulated to make improvements in the quality dimension Unique local conditions can also be a source of innovation 4 Regions – 4 Paths Florida California Canada Mexico Table 1. Product and Market Focus for Different Tomato Production Regions Region Product Focus Florida Field grown and mature green, Winter, foodservice predominantly standard size (86% of and retail standard size share), some cherry and plum California Field grown vine ripened standard size, plum – emphasis on processing Summer, retail Canada Greenhouse standard size, includes significant share of cherry tomatoes (30%), premium grade and pack, clusters Summer, retail Mexico Field grown vine ripened, includes significant share of cherry and plum (38%) Winter, retail Source: Share data based on USDA Shipments by Commodities, Origins and Months 2001, March, 2002. Market Focus in U.S. Table 2. Specific Assets in Different Production Regions Production Region Assets and Sources of Competitive Advantage Mexico Very low relative labor costs Extended shelf life varieties Winter growing climate Close proximity to southern U.S. markets Favorable exchange rates Canada Greenhouse technology Close proximity to northern U.S. markets Favorable exchange rates Florida Winter growing climate Industry size and large vegetable sector Proximity to eastern U.S. markets California Industry size and large vegetable sector Proximity to western U.S. markets Table 3. Institutions Providing Research and Producer Support Major Research Institutions Production Region Producer Institutions Mexico Confederation of Ag Volcani Institute Associations of the State of Sinaloa; Fresh Produce Associations of the Americas Canada Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Producers Marketing Board Harrow Research Centre Florida Florida Tomato Commission University of Florida California California Tomato Commission Univ California Land Grant and State schools Table 4. Problem Focus for Innovation Production Region Primary Problem Sets Mexico Extended shelf-life varieties Water scarcity Canada Improving greenhouse production technology Premium pack product development (eg., cluster tomatoes) Florida Labor cost reducing technologies Field and packinghouse technological improvements California Variety improvements, especially for color Sources: Sparling and Cook, Plunkett (Mexico); Harrow Research Centre (Canada); California Tomato Commission, Beckman (California); Florida Tomato Commission – P. DiMare (Florida). Related and Supporting Industries A strong base of competent suppliers and support industries at home will help a firm achieve competitive advantage globally Sharing scarce production know-how is easier with geographical proximity Strategy, Structure and Rivalry Local management practices, corporate governance norms and nature of the local capital markets can influence the competitive advantage of global firms Local rivalry may hold down local profits but make the firms well positioned in the global arena Firms that enjoy local protection often fail to make a mark outside the home nations Managing Innovation To ensure that entrepreneurial spirits are not stifled by the bureaucracy, companies have been setting up corporate venture departments Spin-offs, joint ventures, strategic alliances are other means of facilitating the creation of new capabilities Managing Innovation A firm has to contend with two opposing forces in trying to manage innovation – Bureaucracy/order vs Flexible creativity To foster innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, the organization should be sufficiently flexible However, coordination of innovative activities will require formal structure and controls Monsanto Case What isolating mechanisms is Monsanto trying to put in place? What is the role of first mover advantage in this case? Are there network effects? Discuss the life cycle of competitive advantage in this industry How are the different types of innovation represented? What routines does Monsanto have in place that will help (or hinder) their future? Consider Porter’s “Diamond” as a framework for assessing Monsanto’s competitive advantage. Are environmental factors impacting competitiveness for better or worse?