Competitive Advantage for Tesco



Contents

Chapter 1: introduction2

Chapter 2: Literature Review3

Chapter 3: Research Methodology5

Chapter 4: Data findings, analysis, and discussion5

Chapter 5: conclusion and recommendations6

Reference8

Competitive advantage for Tesco

Chapter 1: introduction

Companies and businesses around the globe work for the purpose of earning profits. The objective of every business entity is to create profit maximization and to become the best in its particular market. The concept of competitive advantage means that the company or product becomes capable of 'creating and sustaining superior performance' (Porter, 1985, pp. 1).

Tesco is considered as one of the biggest retailers in the United Kingdom. The company has also started operations in new markets and product lines. The company wants to achieve and retain the competitive advantage in the products and markets.

The research aims at inquiring about the factors and decision that can be helpful for the management of Tesco to achieve competitive advantage. Specifically, the research tries to find out the strategies that can help achieve the target of becoming the best in the market.

The inquiry about the financial and organizational performance of Tesco persuaded me to research on the characteristics of the retail industry. The thorough analysis of retail sector from the strategic perspective led to arrival of the question about the factors that can help a company to achieve competitive advantage. Tesco is a well recognized name in this industry and it can acquire the resources required to gain benefit against the competitors. These factors contributed to the process of successful research selection.

The selection of this research topic is based on the fact that the business conditions have become poor after the global financial recession. The consumer buying power and behavior has shifted and concept of prudence has prevailed. The retail business usually focuses on normal products which have a stable demand and low profit margin. The level of competition is also high because the products are similar in characteristics. Thus the management of Tesco has to continuously consider points and factors that can keep competitive. The research will help in analyzing the factors that can improve the situation of Tesco and help them in achieving a competitive position.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

The research on 'the factors that can lead Tesco to competitive advantage' requires the literature review of a number of concepts and theories. It also requires the analysis of the present situation of the company.

Competitive advantage

The concept of competitive advantage has an important place in the field of strategic management. The concept has been generally described as creating superior customer value from either the cost or the value of the purchase. The concept of competitive advantage is well accepted by the companies because they believe that the customer has become more informed than ever before and it requires extra effort to satisfy the needs of customers.

The literature review on competitive advantage suggests that there are two ways of achieving this milestone. First, a company can become successful by offering a cost advantage. The notion of cost advantage means that the ...