Assignment:
You will discuss competitive advantages, both differentiation and cost advantage. Please be sure to review the following three cases in order to support this discussion:
- AirAsia: The World's Lowest Cost Airline pp. 532-542 Course Text: R. M. Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text and Cases, 9th edn., Wiley, 2016
- Starbucks Corporation, May 2015 pp. 442-459 Course Text: R. M. Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text and Cases, 9th edn., Wiley, 2016
- Harley-Davidson Inc., May 2015 pp. 502-514 Course Text: R. M. Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text and Cases, 9th edn., Wiley, 2016
Once you have reviewed the cases answer the following questions:
- Which corporations exhibited a Differentiation Advantage? Which corporations exhibited a Cost Advantage? Be sure to provide examples for each corporation illustrating the type of competitive advantage.
- In relation to "cost drivers" What are some of the factors which cause one firm's unit costs to differ from those of its competitors? Please provide examples.
- Which competitive advantage is more sustainable Cost Advantage or Differentiation Advantage? Please explain.