Review of Blue Ocean Strategy Research Paper

Author attempts to review a research paper that describes the Blue Oceanic thinking in 20-20 cricket.The link for the research paper goes as follows:-
http://www.slideshare.net/deepakagrawal2009/20-20-cricket-blue-ocean-strategy

BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY & 20-20 CRICKET


PRODUCT:- 20-20 cricket.

MARKET:- vast majority of people that include both cricket followers as well as non followers who will be impressed by the newer version of cricket which packs cricket,thrill,speed and entertainment altogether .

The given research (in the form of ppts) is about the use of blue ocean strategy to innovate a newer version of cricket known as 20-20 cricket which packs a great amount of thrill and entertainment along with the usual stuffs of a cricket match.

The paper discusses that earlier there were one day international and test cricket which were having limited loyal customers but after implementing value based innovation which was combined with entertainment, a newer version have been created in the form of 20-20 cricket which is much shorter, less time consuming but gives a high value of entertainment and thrill to its viewers. A strategy canvass curve is drawn which states that for 20-20 cricket viewers have to spend less money and time but get a very high value of return in the form of entertainment, speed of the game, involvement of the family, certainty of result ,excitement etc.

Analysis of the 20-20 cricket had also been attempted with an ERRC framework. The frame work states that:-

ELIMINATE :-


1> Conventional Wisdom about cricket

REDUCE:-

1> Time spend

2> Money spend

3> Uncertainty of result

RAISE:-

1> Pace of game.

2> Excitement

3> Poll of young talent

CREATE :-

1> A new industry itself that takes its inspiration from both cricket as well as well entertainment.


In the final slides a classification had been made for 20-20 cricket, one day international, and test cricket as pioneer( one that changes the industry’s strategic canvass by giving value innovation to its non customers coupled with huge expenditure on promotion so that the new concept can be positioned well ), migrator (one that applies some innovation to give better value to customers but still is unable to change the industry’s strategic canvass), settler( one whose strategic canvass resembles the industry’s strategic canvass by 100 % and which plays entirely in the red ocean) respectively .

TYPE OF THE PAPER:- Practical application.

SCOPES OF FURTHER IMPROVEMENT:-

There are further scopes of improvement:-

1> Comparison of the 20-20 version of game with the most famous sport of the world that is soccer can add more value to the research.

2> The case only talks about the blue oceanic thinking involved in 20-20 cricket. Annexation of success sagas like IPL & 20-20 World cup can add more value to the researc

Review of a Blue Ocean Strategy Research Paper

In  the following blog the  author attempts to review a "BOS"  based research article . the link is given below
http://www.csi-sigegov.org/3/13_379_3.pdf


ICTs for the Effective usage of Blue Ocean Strategy for Societal Development: An analysis with reference to the parameters of capability


Vinay Sharma , Piyush Seth and Shujauddin Niyazi

This research is about conceptualizing the idea that ICT( information and communication ) can be used in serving the “Bottom of the Pyramid “ population by providing value innovation.( Value innovation here refers to cost efficient as well as innovative products that cannot only fulfill the requirements of the rural population but are also in the limits of their affordability). The research paper further concludes that serving Rural BOP as blue ocean customers will help in bringing prosperity as well as in their overall growth & development. This in turn will ensure economical and social harmony. One very important aspect of this research is that it does not only believe in reducing poverty on absolute terms such as better per capita income, better health and education facilities but also on the development of skill sets and capabilities of individual that can lead them towards the path of sustainable growth.

Target Segment:- Rural Bottom of the Pyramid customers.

Sample size:- 300

Type:- Practical applications.

Research Methodology: - Focus Group discussions (FGDs)

With the help of local influential people villagers were assembled at village head’s house. Initially a very formal chat was conducted so that their understanding of issues likes health, literacy; general well being can be understood. After that the discussion took a serious turn and based on their two groups were made one which were distinct in their perspectives.

Key Parameters of Capability Discussed

• Social


• Political


• Health


• Education

• Economic

Some of the common findings that came in the due course of discussion were :-

1>  64% of the total respondents believe strongly that the distance between the villages and the nearest post office effects the frequent communication of villagers with others and rest of the 36% of total respondents believe in the same fact but with some less confidence

2>  67% of the total respondents strongly believe that listening radio, watching television and reading newspapers are beneficial for the respondents and they get the required information by these mediums for their concerned livelihood and rest of the 33% also believe in the same fact but with some less confidence.

3>  74% of the total respondents are strongly with the fact that health is the most important factor for leading whole of their life, 21% of the total respondents agree with the same fact with some lesser.

4>  98% of the total respondents consider water resources as one of the reasons for good health and rest of 2% deny that

5>  45% of the total people say that they believe in skill related education, 16% of the total people say that they believe in literacy related education, 12% say that they believe in qualification related education and 26% of the total people say that they believe in job oriented education.

(Similarly other related concerns were evaluated)

Conclusion:- After the given research it was clear that rural populace at the bottom of pyramid have their own latent needs and they clearly understand that entities like health, communication, and better governance can influence their well being and development of capabilities.

This rural populace constitutes a large blue ocean of customers. To tap it what is needed is that companies must come up with innovative solutions that can suffice their requirements in an economical fashion and can provide them capability building facilities. The paper also gives due credit to ongoing strategic moves such as e-Choupal , Yeshaswini, SKS Microfinance, Mann Deshi Udyogini. To make such initiatives easily affordable and accessible what is needed is utilization of ICTS (information & communication technologies)

Scope of further Improvement:-

The research paper gives a strong foundation regarding the scope of “BOS” for catering to the rural populace but it does not give any innovative measure itself. Had the research been extended a bit further to design one two strategies then that would have been a strong value addition.

Review of Blue Ocean Strategy Research Paper

            

                                                                            
The author attempts to review a research paper written "BOS". The link of the  original research paper is given below. The research paper will be helpful for anyone  who wants to implement "BOS" as a strategic tool for future growth of their companies.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&hid=104&sid=caf61ccd-9b0e-485f-97b3-414c3ec26520%40sessionmgr113

Analysis of the Use of the Blue Ocean Strategy; Case Study Analysis On 14 Different Agencies


Zainal Abidin Mohamed,

Graduate School of Management/ Faculty of Economics and Management

University Putra Malaysia

E-mail: zainal@econ.upm.edu.my

Blue ocean strategy is attracting a lot of attention these days (in both Academics as well as Managerial quarter .) but since it’s a new idea there is a dearth of good quality research work done in the following field. The given research paper that have been conducted on 14 companies is among the very few original work that had been done in the given field.

The given research is basically exploratory work that includes case study approach as well as in depth interviews and seminars. It had been done on 14 companies that come from various segments such as educational institutes , govt. organizations ,pvt. companies etc. The topic on which research was done was the “ERRC” cycle( Eliminate , Reduce, Raise, Create ).For someone who is not very familiar with BOS, it should be noted that “ERRC” is an important tool that is very fundamental to BOS, it aims at erasing and reducing few of the unimportant elements from the value chain accompanied by raising few and creating entirely new values with the help of innovation so that better solution be provided to the end users. In the given research first 6 out of 23 companies (these companies claimed that they are using BOS) were selected and they were termed as group “A”. Another 20 companies were selected and they were termed as group “B”. Group “B” consisted of companies that were interested in understanding “BOS” in an organized frame work . For these 26 companies a half day seminar was done , After the seminar individual visit were made at each and every of these companies and detailed study of their “ERRC” strategy was made . Though these companies were from different back ground but a lot similarity had been seen in their “ERRC” frame work. Components like cost component and stuffs which were not giving good return, diversification plans etc were put under eliminate and reduce frame work where as for create and raise framework stuffs like customer satisfaction, providing new products and services were considered seriously.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: the research has given some fresh insights on “ERRC” frame work of the “BOS” and can be used by all types of industries which are willing to implement BOS as a strategic framework for their growth.

SCOPE OF IMPROVEMENTS:- 1> Research paper had been written too short which makes it difficult to comprehend. Making it a bit more elaborative will serve the purpose better.

2> Graphs have not been explained very properly. The attribute taken for the y- axis is not very clear which again makes it difficult to comprehend.

Review of Blue ocean Strategy Research Paper

                                                                                                                                                      
As a part of my blue ocean initiatives the blogger  will like to review an article that talks about how to develop blue oceanic ( new & innovative ) pattern in writing research papers.Here is the link :-

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=109&sid=c75d12d6-bc32-4d7c-929d-5e6f5998c490%40sessionmgr11

Creating Blue Oceans of Thought via Highly Citable Articles


Detmar W. Straub

Editor-in-Chief

dstraub@cis.gsu.edu

Target Segment:- Academicians & Researchers

Abstract:-We have learnt a lot about Blue ocean strategy, but this article happens to be different because it talks about having a blue thinking in research publications. In today’s world one can find a plethora of articles, publications and research papers, but hardly any one comes up with any original thinking. Mostly they all swim in the very same red ocean. Here in this post the author tries to figure out few methods that might be helpful in inspiring intellectuals to think and write on blue ocean kind of thinking pattern, coming up with articles that can really add values to the existing structure of knowledge.

The author had very well cleared few facts such as there is hardly anything which is purely new in its nature. Most of the author writes on the fringes of BOS, or in another words that’s pink oceanic in nature.

The author had given frame work that can help people go the blue oceanic way in thinking. Things such as citation, conferences and giving more emphasis on quality of work rather than mere numbers can help in diverting towards the blue oceanic way of thinking.

Author has also given two practical examples of such thinking based research paper. Out of which the abstract one had been produced below:-

“Effective visual design of e-commerce websites enhances website aesthetics and emotional appeal for the user. To gain insight into how Internet users perceive human images as one element of website design, a controlled experiment was conducted using a questionnaire, interviews, and eye-tracking methodology. Three conditions of human images were created including human images with facial features, human images without facial features, and a control condition with no human images. It was expected that human images with facial features would induce a user to perceive the website as more appealing, having warmth or social presence, and as more trustworthy. In turn, higher levels of image appeal and perceived social presence were predicted to result in trust. All expected relationships in the model were supported except no direct relationship was found between the human image conditions and trust. Additional analyses revealed subtle differences in the perception of human images across cultures (Canada, Germany, and Japan). While the general impact of human images seems universal across country groups, based on interview data four concepts emerged— aesthetics, symbolism, affective property, and functional property—with participants from each culture focusing on different concepts as applied to website design”

Though the article is a good read there are still few other steps that can be taken to ensure elements of blue oceanic thinking is there in the writing :-

1> To understand blue oceanic thinking it is very essential that one should be near to customers and their needs. It had been seen that generally academicians operate from their own glass chambers which are away from the general customers. Until unless one is not near to the customer base it is difficult to understand their latent needs and desires and hence blue oceanic thinking patterns are tough to achieve hence it becomes essential for them to spend some time with end users not as an academician but as an observer.

2> Generally students on account of being young and energetic have much better understandings of the market, latest innovations and trends. So taking their active support in writing research papers can be something of great help.

3> Many a times we come across crazy ideas, but we have a general tendency to neglect them, more often than not these crazy ideas can be converted into truly original research initiative that can challenge assumptions.

REFERENCE:- 1>MIS Quarterly

December 1, 2009
2> ebsco

Review of Blue Ocean Strategy Research Paper

                                                                
In the following post as a part of his research activity the author attempts to review and analyze a Blue ocean strategy based research paper

Planning with Blue Ocean strategy in
The United Arab Emirates

Colin Butler
College of Business and Economics, UAE University, United Arab Emirates

Type of paper:-Analyzing the condition of BOS in UAE

The research paper published in Strategic Change (August,2008) analyses the condition and scope for BOS in UAE. The article starts off with some theoretical description of the blue ocean strategy followed by the findings of a research work conducted among the managers of UAE. In the end the article also attempts to give some recommendations that can be included in the strategic frame work of UAE based companies so that BOS can be used more efficiently.

The methodology used is questionnaire based survey followed by their analysis with the help SPSS software. After conducting a pilot study on five  UAE based managers a fully fledged test is conducted where 300 questionnaires were send to managers all across UAE, the questionnaire was based on manager’s opinion about issues of strategy change such as getting into uncontested markets, trying to capture non customers, trying to focus on 2 or3 key attributes of the value chain etc. the questionnaire also attempted to know the size & type of the companies, their country of origin etc.

The major findings of the research are:-

1> SMEs were more open to adopt BOS.

2> There was a positive correlation between using a differentiated and low cost strategy and which all factors should be eliminated from the value chain.

3> There was a positive correlation between raising the bar of certain activities above the average level , becoming more functional and putting less emphasis on personal relationships( which often ends up consuming a great deal of time and money)



Recommendations:-

1> In the context of UAE it had been seen that their customer base is highly differentiated and a lot of emphasis is given to the demographic profile of the customer. The research recommends that rather than profiling their customer as Europeans, Indians, Africans, Arabs, Americans, Hispanics etc and giving highly customized solutions to them the business houses should try to figure out few needs which are common in all the demographics and based on that they should try to give a low cost solutions that can be well received by all of them.

2> Business houses at UAE put a lot of emphasis on personal relationship with their customers. This might be an hindrance in implementing BOS. Rather than going the personal relationship way the research suggests that they should try using IT services in communicating with their customers and should spend less time and effort in personal face to face kind of relationships. IT services and call centers will also enable them to capture customers all across the globe.

Scope for further Improvement:-

Though the paper does give some valuable recommendations but it is not industry specific. Use of industry specific suggestions would have served the purpose better.

In general the article is a good read for general readers who are interested in understanding BOS as a concept along with managers and entrepreneurs who are situated in UAE to understand BOS in their context.

Review of a Blue Ocean Strategy Article

                                                                                           
In the given article the author attempts to review a Blue Ocean Strategy article from Ebsco. The link of the original article is given below:-
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=9&sid=1adc80e0-b7bf-460e-a64a-03334d3e28e6%40sessionmgr110


Chaotic Blue Ocean Strategy
By Hilary beckar
Chaotic Blue Ocean strategy is an article written by Hilary beckar from Carleton University (published in the “Review of business Research”, Nov 2008 edition ) .The article talks about the relationship between the theory of chaos and Blue ocean strategy.
Type of the Article: - Description Based
The article “Chaotic Blue Ocean” is fundamentally a theoretical article that does not only attempts to view Blue Ocean strategy( hence forward referred as BOS) in relation to theory of chaos but also describes BOS in an elaborative way. Any one going through the article will get a very fresh understanding of BOS.
According to theory of chaos there is chaos everywhere, even the most deterministic systems (where the final outcome depends on the initial conditions) cannot be predicted for the long term. The business world itself is not insulated from this chaos, it is highly dependent on the environment where it operates, the kinds of micro as well as macroeconomic changes that keep on happening , changes in the demographics ,changes in the technologies and govt. regulations etc make the business world highly vulnerable . Under such changing environment it becomes very essential for corporate to come with newer strategies. It had been seen that in order to make higher profits & to resist changes Corporate often come with “READ OCEAN STRATEGY” where it tries to outperform its competitors on account of product differentiation and cost leadership. This entire process ends up in great wastage of resources.
The author giving the reference of the blue ocean strategy book argues that rather than going for a competitive warfare the company should adopt BOS that can enable them to capture newer customer segments in an entirely non competitive space. Three very important points that makes a strategy BOS are-

1> It must focus on giving new Innovative solutions to the customers at efficient price.
2> It must capture the non customer base of the company.
3> While formulating the strategic framework the term competition should never be considered.

The article though gives some basic idea of the frame works which are used in the formulating a “BOS” strategy but avoids delving deep into it. One of the drawback of the article is that it doesn’t give any practical example to demonstrate the concept in a more better way. In general the article is a good read for anyone who wants to have a firsthand knowledge of “BOS”. It could be liked equally by managers, students and academicians.