4MBS601 - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY

Module Examination Semester Two, 2002-03

ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS

Word your answers from the point of view of SkandiaBanken’s management, and not that of Skandia, its parent company

1. How was SkandiaBanken able to use information technology (IT) to gain competitive advantage in the Swedish banking industry? Which strategic resources did they possess that were not related to IT, and how important were they to the firm’s strategy?

[Good answers are likely to draw on most or all of the following concepts: nature of competition in industry, competitive stance, strategic resources, value chain, strategies for e-commerce. Other concepts can be used if you think them appropriate, but you should NOT analyse the firm’s culture in depth for this answer – save that for question 2. Descriptive answers that make no use of strategic management concepts will receive low grades.]

(35 marks)

2. Analyse SkandiaBanken’s culture and architecture and discuss how (or whether) they helped the firm grow.

[Good answers are likely to draw on one or both of the following concepts: cultural web, Goffee-Jones matrix. Other concepts can be used if you think them appropriate.]

(35 marks)

3. At the end of 2000, SkandiaBanken was proposing two strategic options: expansion into Denmark with the acquisition of Din Bank, and the launch of a portal for automobile dealers.

a) Identify ONE other option the company might consider, showing why it is relevant to the company’s current situation. (10 marks)

b) Compare your option with the two that the company is already considering, and evaluate which of the three would be the best investment (20 marks)