How does Hybrid Strategy help IKEA gain competitive advantage? A Case Study of IKEA Wembley

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with university.

Signature: _______________________________

Date: __________________________

ABSTRACT

Nowadays most of the companies are competing globally; in order to get competitive advantage single strategy does not seems to be successful. However, to remain competitive in market an effective strategy is very essential. Global companies are not more oriented in working with combined strategies such as hybrid strategy. The main concept of this report was to illustrate how IKEA has adopted hybrid strategy in its operations and it has gained an edge over its competitors. Basically it was a case study about IKEA store in Wembley, London. The main aim of carrying out this research was to get an insight in the effectiveness of hybrid strategy and the issues faced by the company in implementing this strategy. The findings, results and conclusion have clearly shown the significance of the hybrid strategy.

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

1.1Introduction1

1.2Background of the Research1

1.3Significance of the Research2

1.4Statement of the Purpose3

1.5Statement of the Problem3

1.6Aims & Objectives4

1.7Research Question5

1.8Hypothesis5

1.9Deductive and Inductive5

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW7

2.1Introduction7

2.2Various Definitions of Strategy9

2.2.1Rational Strategy10

2.2.2Fatalistic Strategy10

2.2.3Pragmatic Strategy11

2.2.4Relativist Strategy12

2.3Hybrid Strategy13

2.4Envrionmental Analysis14

2.5Company Background14

2.6IKEA's Competitive Strategy16

2.7Bowman's Competitive Scheme Options18

2.8IKEA's Low Price Strategy20

2.9Can IKEA Sustain its Success?20

CHAPTER 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY23

3.1Introduction23

3.2Research Approach23

3.3Research Design24

3.4Data Collection Methods25

3.4.1Primary Data Collection25

3.4.2Secondary Data Collection25

3.5Data Collection Instruments26

3.5.1Questionnaire26

3.5.2Semi-structured Interview27

3.6Sample Size28

3.7Reliability/Dependability28

3.8Validity29

3.9Ethical Considerations30

3.10Limitations of the Research31

CHAPTER 04: ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION32

4.1Environmental Analysis - IKEA32

4.1.1Political33

4.1.2Economic33

4.1.3Social34

4.1.4Technological34

4.1.5Legal34

4.1.6Environmental35

4.2Learning from competition35

4.3Target Market35

4.4Price estimation for buyers36

4.5Cost of Production37

4.6Suppliers at Best Prices38

4.7Findings38

4.8Hypothesis44

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSIONS45

CHAPTER 06: RECOMMENDATIONS49

6.1Recommendations49

6.1.1After Sale Service49

6.1.2Emphasis on Online Sales49

6.1.3Reservations through calls- online or In-store50

6.1.4Minimise the rate of Product Recalls50

6.1.5Increase in Marketing50

6.1.6Focus on City Areas to build Stores51

6.1.7Hiring of Shop Assistants and Provide Job Rotation51

6.1.8Diversification of Suppliers Link52

6.2Implications and Limitations for Further Research52

CHAPTER 07: PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN53

7.1Objectives & Goals53

7.2What I want to Accomplish?53

7.3Small Steps I can break down this work into53

7.1Skills required to Accomplish it53

7.4Kind of Support Required54

REFERENCES55

BIBLIOGRAPHY62

APPENDIX69

Questionnaire69

Interview Questions72

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

The main concept of this dissertation is to portray the working of hybrid strategy by IKEA, and the way hybrid strategy helped IKEA to build competitive advantage over its competitors. Therefore to represent this work, a research was carried out on IKEA store in Wembley London, in an effort to achieve the aims and objectives of this study.

Background of the Research

Since its founding in 1953 in Sweden, ...