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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Marketing Strategy in Globalization, Converging Competition, and Consolidating Industry 

"Marketing Strategy in Globalization, Converging Competition, and Consolidating Industry" is the title of a book that Jong-Seok Kim has just published. 

It is based in part on his excellent DPhil research here at Manchester, focusing on how mobile phone network companies have negotiated the transition from voice and SMS telephony to delivering online music services. This is a great study of the impoact of convergence on services.

For more details and ordering, see http://blog.daum.net/kimjongseok0924

Thursday, April 10, 2014

EU High Level Groups Reports 

Business Services are important (for reindustrialisation)
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/industrial-competitiveness/industrial-policy/hlg-business-services/index_en.htm#h2-5

The rationale for setting up the HLG is that in the course of the last decades, performance of business services has been sub-optimal and the sector has been identified as one having a high untapped potential. The HLG on business services will provide a new impetus to policy development in this important sector. The purpose of the HLG is to help policy makers better understand the current challenges in the sector and to identify ways to improve the level of productivity and innovation of business-services. The group is expected to deliver concrete recommendations which can guide the further development of policies for business services. The HLG specifically looks at the link between
business services and manufacturing.
2. Selected Sectors
Business services encompass a broad range of sectors from technical services, such as engineering and architectural services; computer services; and to other professional services such as legal, employment services and facility management (Based on the Eurostat definition).
For the HLG to produce concrete recommendations, its work needs to be focused on a limited number of sectors. Thus, the HLG would be able to address a number of issues, which are likely to be relevant also for other business service sectors. On the basis of talks with industry and researchers, the suggested four sectors that cover different stages of the industrial value chain have been selected:
1. Private security services
2. Technical and engineering services
3. Marketing and advertising
4. Industrial design

Through its discussions and consultations the High Level Group identified a wide
range of detailed policy messages and recommendations to support European
Business Services. Collectively these can be encapsulated in seven key action
items. The High Level Group recommends that these seven action items form a
key part of the incoming Commissioners’ agenda through to 2020.
1. Europe 2020 Strategy – the Commission must consider how best to support
European Business Services as they seek to capture a significant proportion
of the global Business Services market. A major initiative for Business
Services is required. Business Services must form a core element in the 2015
revision to the EU 2020 Strategy. It is noteworthy that despite their
importance Business Services do not feature explicitly in the current Europe
2020 Strategy.
2. Seize the International Opportunity – the Commission should proactively
support firms, in particular SMEs as they seek to capitalize on the global
opportunity for Business Services. In EU trade and investment agreements
the Commission should make sure that international markets for Business
Services are open and accessible to European firms.
3. Complete the Internal Market for Business Services – completing the
internal market for Business Services will require the optimization of the
regulatory framework and standards conditions for the sector. Specifically,
the Commission needs to address issues of lack of information on procedures
needed for going cross-border, excessive bureaucracy and fragmented
legislation; barriers to entry (especially for SMEs) and taxation and insurance
regimes that inhibit cross-border trade.
4. Focus of Public Procurement – Member States, with support from the
European Commission, need to ensure implementation of the new public
procurement framework, with a focus on outcomes, through life cost, value
for society, quality and innovation, rather than lowest cost. Aligning the
interests of providers and clients through outcome-based contracts must be
encouraged. The Commission and Member States should strive to reduce
procurement participation costs for SMEs for example by promoting
aggregation, collaboration and standards for procurement across Europe.
5. Developing and Up Skilling the Workforce – the Commission should
proactively develop a future Skills Strategy that takes account of current
economic and technological trends, ensuring that today’s education systems
are equipping people with the skills our Business Services will need
tomorrow. Particular attention needs to be paid to up skilling today’s
workforce, and - in partnership with Member States - to ensuring that today’s
secondary level school children are developing the right skills for the
workforce of the future.
Throughout its discussions and consultations it was clear to the High Level
Group that ICT will play a key role in the development of business services and
how they interact with industry in the future. The ICT development will also be
crucial for how we interact and do business in the Internal Market. Therefore, it
is important that relevant policies in the developing networked environment are
defined at European level, instead of a fragmented development around sectoral
or national borders. Therefore, the High Level Group recommends that:
6. Creating the Technological Infrastructure for Future Business Services -
To fully realise the potential for an industrial renaissance through a 4th
industrial revolution, enabled by the internet of things/web 4.0, the
Commission should create an initiative of common European interest that
brings together manufacturing and services firms across Europe to create a
shared technological infrastructure that will enable much easier and more
open sharing of the data and information that facilitates innovation and
productivity gains in Business Services. In its pilot phase this programme
should focus on creating a shared virtual services marketplace for Europe for
a few key sectors.
7. Follow Up and Implementation – the Commission should establish a
partnership with stakeholders, including senior industrialists, SMEs, trade
unions, academics and Member States where appropriate. This partnership
should support the implementation of the recommendations of the High
Level Group and ensure the development of a Business Services scorecard
that can be used to assess the health, success and contribution of European
Business Services.

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