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The Sources of International Competitive Advantage of Vw

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The Sources of International Competitive Advantage of Vw
The Volkswagen Group
What are the main sources of international competitive advantage? Think about a successful product in your country, what are the sources of competitive advantage that explain its success?

Severin Loos

European Business School London
International Business
Mr. Alan Sitkin

12.04.2013

Word Count: 2021 words
Table of Content

1.Introduction: 3 1.2 Company Portray: 3 1. 3 Method of Analysis: 3 2.0 External Sources 4 2.1 Factor Conditions 4 2.2 Demand Conditions 5 2.3 Related and Supporting Industries 6 2.4 Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry 7 2.5. VW ‘Diamond’ System 7 3. 0. Internal Sources 8 3. 1. Decentralized Structure 9 3. 2. Interconnectedness of Resources and Capabilities 9 4. Conclusion 10 5.0 Bibliography 11 6.0. Appendix 13

1.Introduction:

1.2 Company Portray:

The Volkswagen Group is one of the leading automobile producers in the world, delivering more than 9 million cars, generating sales of €193 billion and profits of €21.9 billion in 2012 (Volkswagen Group, 2013). The group markets low- consumption small cars, luxury cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles under its 12 brands: Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda, SEAT, MAN, Bentley, Scania, Bugatti, Lamborghini Porsche, Ducati and Volkswagen commercial vehicles. The group employs 550,000 people worldwide and operates 100 production facilities in 27 different countries, while selling its products in 153 countries (Volkswagen Group, 2013).
The Group has recently launched “Strategy 2018”, with the goal of becoming the biggest automotive company in the world in terms of volume, by selling more than 10 million cars and trucks annually. Additionally the group seeks to elevate its profit margin to 8% (Taylor, 2012).
Given Volkswagen existing strength and its ambitions for the near term future the firm must be regarded as one of the world’s most potent transnational companies.

1. 3 Method of Analysis:

An international competitive advantage



Bibliography: AutoAnalysis, 2005, Benchmarking Study of European Automotive Clusters. pp. 16 Duhaime, I Duhaime, I. M., Stimpert, L. & Chesley, J. A. (2012)b. Strategic Thinking Today 's Business Imperative. New York: Routledge. pp. 128. Germany Trade and Invest – Gesellschaft für Außenwirtschaft und Standortmarketing mbH . (2013)b. Automotive Industry. Available at: http://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Navigation/EN/Invest/Industries/Logistics-mobility/automotive.html. Last accessed 9 April 2013. Germany Trade and Invest – Gesellschaft für Außenwirtschaft und Standortmarketing mbH . (2013)d. Machinery & Equipment. Available at: http://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Navigation/EN/Invest/Industries/machinery-equipment.html. Last accessed 9 April 2013. Germany Trade and Invest – Gesellschaft für Außenwirtschaft und Standortmarketing mbH . (2013)e. Logistics & Mobility. Available at: http://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Navigation/EN/Invest/Industries/machinery-equipment.html. Last accessed 9 April 2013. Grant, R. M. (2010). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. 7th ed. Southern Gate: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. pp. 217 McElroy, J Porter, E. M. (1990). The Competitive Advantage of Nations, pp. 79-86. Harvard Business Review (online). Available at: http://kkozak.wz.cz/Porter.pdf. Last accessed 9 April 2013. Sitkin, A and Bowen, N (2013). International Business: Challenges and Choices. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 38-39. Taylor, A. (2012). Volkswagen: Das auto giant. Available at: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/10/global-500-volkswagen/. Last accessed 8 April 2013. The Economist. (2007). The big-car problem. Available at: http://www.economist.com/node/8738865. Last accessed 8 April 2013. Volkswagen Group. (2013). The Group. Available at: http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/content/en/the_group.html. Last accessed 8 April 2013.

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