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Robert J. Vokurka: Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
Gene Fliedner: Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA
Introduction
The well-known paradigm of mass production popularized by Henry Ford has undergone changes over the past several decades. The competitive strategy emphasizing cost efficiencies through economies of scale and the manufacture of large volumes of product continually evolves. Prior to the 1970s, cost was a paramount competitive priority.During the 1970s, world-class firms placed strategic emphasis on quality. After satisfactorily achieving quality-related objectives, competitive priorities returned to cost objectives while maintaining and expanding quality objectives. During the 1980s, the competitive battlefield switched to a strategy emphasizing dependability (or delivery speed) while maintaining quality improvements and cost leadership. After attaining dependability goals and maintaining the quality objectives previously achieved, the competitive priority of cost was again pursued. More recently, firms have placed greater strategic emphasis on flexibility while attempting to maintain dependability and quality improvements. Fliedner and Vokurka (1997) and Greis and Kasarda (1997) describe these shifting competitive priorities.
Recent research literature (Fliedner and Vokurka, 1997; Goldman et al., 1995; Greis and Kasarda, 1997; Kasarda and Rondinelli, 1997) suggests the current competitive priority for a world-class firm is agility. Agility refers to the ability to produce and market successfully a broad range of low cost, high quality products with short lead times in varying lot sizes, which provide enhanced value to individual customers through customization (Fliedner and Vokurka, 1997). In response to competitive pressures, recent empirical evidence (De Meyer et al., 1989; Ferdows and De Meyer, 1990; Fliedner and Vokurka, 1997; Goldman et al., 1995; Greis and Kasarda, 1997; Kasarda and Rondinelli, 1997) suggests that world-class firms strive to achieve agility with a variety of strategies.
The paper serves several purposes. First, it reviews the historical competitive environment and changes in strategic responses. Second, it reviews relevant research on competitive capabilities and suggested trade-offs in these capabilities. Third, it suggests an extension of the sand cone model of Ferdows and De Meyer (1990) for achieving competitive priorities. And fourth, it describes several strategies firms are currently pursuing to promote agility.
The proposed extension of the sand cone model offers a descriptive framework as to how firms may build cumulative and lasting improvements in strategic competitive capabilities including agility. The...