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1001 Listes: Strategic breakthroughs by a low‐tech company in a high‐tech world
Author(s) -
Kimble Chris,
Bourdon Isabelle
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
global business and organizational excellence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.227
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1932-2062
pISSN - 1932-2054
DOI - 10.1002/joe.21424
Subject(s) - competitive advantage , strategic management , high tech , business , technology strategy , strategic planning , strategic alignment , knowledge management , strategic information system , marketing , industrial organization , computer science , strategic financial management , information system , management information systems , engineering , political science , law , electrical engineering
Most articles on strategic breakthroughs tend to concentrate on large, high‐tech organizations. Yet the French firm 1001 Listes, which creates and manages wedding lists, has shown that it is possible for even a relatively small organization to generate strategic breakthroughs with standard off‐the‐shelf information technology. Its experience highlights two points that previous studies have overlooked: Breakthrough strategies are based on innovations in business models as well as innovations in technology, and breakthrough strategies may actually reduce a company's reliance on high‐tech solutions as a means of maintaining its competitive advantage. Using Henderson and Venkatraman's (1993) model of strategic alignment, this article also outlines the nature of breakthrough strategies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.