Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Strategy - Essay Example Waterstones’ current market position faces huge challenges from various external and internal elements. Indeed, the way it responds to the adverse market conditions becomes the key enabling factor of the firm to gain competitive advantage. The recent changes in trading environment with increasing popularity of e-commerce and online shopping, Waterstones needs to evolve and compete on new dimensions. Advent of computers and internet has considerably widened the area of business. While it has provided the firms with huge opportunities worldwide, the new cyber platform has also made it hugely competitive. The companies must evolve and develop strategic initiatives to compete on unique capabilities that meet the challenges of time. Waterstones has already introduced online shopping and provide online customers with huge choice of books. At the same time, its various outlets across the globe have facilitating environment that encourages reading. Porter (1996) believes that leadership initiatives are major facilitators that help sustain a firm’s success through hard times. Through strong leadership, Waterstones was quick to embrace technology and make its online presence. The technology has helped it to expand its customer base across wider geographical areas and at the same time, facilitated easier access to books to its customers. Strategic action plans need to be dynamic to encompass micro and macro environment changes to maintain competitive advantage (Montgomery, 2008). They not only encourage speed and flexibility but also ensure that customers’ requirements are met timely and efficiently through evolving process of developing effective linkages. Indeed, on an average, Waterstones bookshops keeps a minimum of 30,000 individual books and help the customer to get his/her preferred product through online search and ensure availability of the same within defined time limit. This is key element of the firm’s value proposition that has enabled it to