Porac: Competitive groups as cognitive communities: the case of Scottish knitwear manufacturers

8 important questions on Porac: Competitive groups as cognitive communities: the case of Scottish knitwear manufacturers

What does the article of Porac explorers?

How mental models of organizational strategists determine perceptions of competing organizations and responses to competitive conditions. The studied industry (Scottish knitwear industry) shows that the structure of the industry both determines and is determines by managerial perceptions of the environment.

In Poracs article it is argues that an important link between group-level and firm-level competitive phenomena are the mental models used by key decision makers to interpret the task environment of their organization. Describe the 2 levels of transactions among companies:

1 Material level: decisions about what products to produce, what raw material to use and what customer group to target.
2 Cognitive level: competition must be analyzed based on mental models of decision makers and how such mental models lead to a particular interpretation of the competitive environment.

Through the process of induction, problem solving, and reasoning decision makers construct mental models of the solving competitive environment. Those models consist of minimal 2 visions regarding beliefs. Describe those (Porac)

1 Belief about the identity: of the firm/competitors/suppliers and customers
2 Causal beliefs: about what it takes to compete successfully within the environment, which has been identified.
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Over time the mental models of competing strategists become similar> creating group level beliefs. Out of what (2) does a mental model consists (Porac)?

1 Information exogenous to the transaction network: e.g. history of the decisions makers, mental models of other decision makers, governments, macro economic dynamics, strategic choice of other firms
2 Inertial forces, incl. political/informational/resource constraints.

The framework Porac uses is a mutual enactment (vaststellen) framework, to link firm-level and group-level competitive activities. A crucial linking mechanism is the creation of socially-shared beliefs, which define the relevant set of rivals and guide strategic choices. What is established by those shared beliefs?

The establish the identity of firms and help to create a network in which the actions of rivals are somewhat predictable. Each competitor is in an individual enactment process in which the mental model of its strategists is reciprocally intertwined with its strategic choices within the marketplace.

What are according to Porac two criteria to name one party a competitor?

1 Technology: firms are competitors when they share similar technological contributes
2 Market: on the basis of product substitutes

What is Poracs conclusion regarding the Scottish knitwear industry?

The industry exists because the mental models and strategic choices of key decision makers intertwine to create a stable set of transaction in the marketplace. This creates a link between group and firm level dynamics.

What is the conclusion of Porac regarding mental models and strategic choices?

Mental models and strategic choices of key decision-makers intertwine to create a stable set of transactions in the marketplace. Such beliefs both cause and result from certain technical choices about how to conduct firm activities.The beliefs are reinforces by a mutual enactment process in which the technical choices of firms constrain the flow of information back to decision-makers. The vision of the marketplace will be limited to that which has already been determined by existing beliefs.

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