Title: Competitive strategy analysis and the growth stage model: the case of Taiwan's yacht maker - Horizon Group

Authors: Jhih-Sian Sun; Ho-Don Yan

Addresses: Department of Shipping and Transportation Management, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan ' Department of Economics, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan

Abstract: By integrating the growth stage model and competitive strategy analysis, this paper proposes a synthesised approach to demonstrate how a small firm grows into a global enterprise. Under this framework we draw upon the three main research fields of wealth-creation firms - namely entrepreneurship, strategic management and leadership - that provide spatial dimensions for selecting competitive strategies. The growth stage model, which is divided into four stages - initiation, expansion, maturity and diversification - represents a temporal dimension that offers a roadmap to guide growing firms. We aptly apply the conceptual framework to examine how Horizon Group, under the leadership of John Lu, has grown and transformed into Asia's number one yacht maker through investigating the various competitive strategies adopted at each stage of its growth path.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; capability; strategic management; leadership; transformation; competitive strategy; growth stage model; Taiwan.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2020.109590

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 2020 Vol.12 No.3, pp.274 - 295

Received: 26 Aug 2019
Accepted: 09 Feb 2020
Published online: 15 Sep 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article