Looking ahead to the next issue

Citation

(2002), "Looking ahead to the next issue", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 30 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/sl.2002.26130eaa.003

Looking ahead to the next issue

Looking ahead to the next issue

The next issue of Strategy & Leadership (Vol. 30 No. 6, 2002) explores the theme of Innovative competitive strategy. Feature articles and department items to look forward to include:

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  "Invented competitors: a new competitor analysis methodology" by Liam Fahey.An innovative approach to developing and testing strategy is to create an "invented" competitor – a rival that could appear in the future but which does not exist today – and then consider what type of strategy the invented competitor might employ. This exploratory competitive assessment opens up a view into the future that is likely to challenge the preconceptions and obsessions of a firm's world outlook and to generate fresh insights into the firm's current strategy.

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  "Coors light in Puerto Rico: battling for local dominance in a global market" by David J. Allio and Robert J. Allio. In the beer business, when the battle pits a global Goliath against a local David, the smart money is usually on Goliath. But global marketers may overlook opportunities to please local customers. When this happens, as this case study of the distributing firm V. Suárez & Company in San Juan, Puerto Rico proves, a small savvy competitor can often take advantage of these strategic oversights.

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  "Rubicon Technology: a high tech start-up successfully practices strategic focus" by John Sterling. In this case study of the effectiveness of strategic focus, Rubicon Technology, a start up materials science company that manufactures and markets high quality single crystals, possesses unique and advantageous technology. Strategic market analysis and self-assessment helped the company avoid the temptation of chasing a seemingly attractive market and instead target products and markets that matched the experience and capabilities of the company's technical and operations staffs.

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  "Results-based leadership: an interview with Dave Ulrich" by William Finnie and Stewart Early. Dave Ulrich, lead author of Results-based Leadership and Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan, has helped lead two major change initiatives at General Electric. This interview looks at how results-based leadership linked with initiatives to build employees' capabilities and commitment can achieve bottom line results.

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  "Talking strategy with Dan Bane, CEO of Trader Joe's". In this department item, Stan Abraham talks to Trader Joe's Dan Bane to get the CEO's view of how values, differentiation, and competitive advantage drive growth at a small grocery chain that first gained an enthusiastic fan club in California and now has national ambitions.

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  "Counter-culture tactics for nurturing innovation" by Alistair Davidson. Alistair Davidson finds that Weird Ideas That Work: 11ø Practices for Promoting, Managing and Sustaining Innovation is a provocative book with a surprising perspective and sensible suggestions for action. But it will provoke arguments from fans of Robert Cooper, author of Product Leadership. "A checklist for organizational change", by Malcolm Pennington. In Designing Dynamic Organizations: A Hands-on Guide for Leaders at All Levels, Jay Galbraith, Diane Downey and Amy Kates offer a clear, comprehensive, and succinct guide to changing your organization. "Quick takes" by Catherine Gorrell. These brief summaries contain the key points and action steps to be found in the feature articles in the issue.