LINKING THE ANTECEDENTS OF A KEY PLAYER IN NATIONAL’S PALM OIL SECTOR IN ACHIEVING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: MODERATING EFFECTS OF ORGANISATION’S AGE
Abstract
The concept of strategic positioning as a fundamental element in strategic management used to understand one of the government agencies, the key player in the plantation industry, determines its external environment, internal strategic capabilities factors and understanding its stakeholders' influences-expectations towards achieving competitive advantage. This study aims to examine all the competencies level and the correlation between the external environment, internal strategic capabilities, and understanding its stakeholders' influences-expectations and achieving competitive advantage. This study tries to examine the moderating variable that could affect the relationship between determinants of strategic positioning and achieving competitive advantage, namely the organisation’s age. This study employed quantitative and qualitative approaches by using triangulation techniques. Through cross-sectional design, there were 162 completed survey questionnaires returned, but only 150 were useable. The data collections conducted through interviews with the Agency's Board members and surveys. The survey questionnaires distributed to managers who are involved and engaged in the planning and the implementation of strategies/policies relating to the Agency. Findings indicate that the internal strategic capabilities which had created an important correlation in organisations for realising competitive advantage. Besides, the findings demonstrate the indirect effect of age of organisation in the relationship between all the determinants and their position to achieve competitive advantage. Finally, the research outcomes of this study will hopefully provide the reference to other public sector organisations to emulate the model of the Agency in positioning its organisation. It also hoped to set a direction and roadmap for the Agency to go forward as well as enable them to compete domestically and internationally on the scale of competitions.
References
Abu Bakar, L. J. (2011). Relationship between Firm Resources and Product Innovation Performance in Malaysian Small Medium Enterprises: The Moderating Role of Age and Size (Unpublished PhD Thesis). Sintok, Kedah: Universiti Utara Malaysia
Ainuddin, R. A., Beamish, P. W., Hulland, J. S., & Rouse, M. J. (2007). Resource attributes and firm performance in international joint ventures. Journal of World Business, 42, March 2007,47-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2006.11.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2006.11.001
Alimin, I. I., Raduan, C. R., Haslinda, A. & Jegak U. (2010). The relationship between organisational competitive advantage and performance, moderated by the age and size of firms, Asian Academy of Management Journal 15 (2), 157-173.
Al-Rousan, M., & Qawasmeh, F. (2009). The impact of SWOT analysis on achieving a competitive advantage: Evidence from Jordanian Banking Industry. International Bulletin of Business Administration, 6(1), 82-92.
Awalludin, M. F., Othman, S. Rokiah, H., Wan, N. A. W. N. (2015). An overview of the oil palm industry in Malaysia and its waste utilization through thermochemical conversion, specifically via liquefaction. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50, 1469-1484.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.05.085
Ayyagari, M., Demirguc-Kunt, A., & Maksimovic, V. (2011). Small vs. young firms across the world: Contribution to employment, job creation, and growth. The World Bank. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1807732
https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-5631
Aziz, N. N. A., & Samad, S. (2016). Innovation and Competitive Advantage: Moderating Effects of Firm Age in Foods Manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. Procedia Economics and Finance, 35, 256-266. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(16)00032-0
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(16)00032-0
Bala, R., Daryll, O. & Yeung, M. C. H, (2005). Firm size, ownership and performance in the Malaysian palm oil industry, Asian Academy of Management, Journal of Accounting and Finance Aamjaf, 1, 81-104,
Baraua, Al. S., & Ismail, S. (2016). From goodwill to good deals: FELDA land resettlement scheme and the ascendancy of the landless poor in Malaysia. Land Use Policy, 54, 423-431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.03.009
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.03.009
Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063910170010
https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Barney, J. B. (2003). Looking inside for competitive advantage. The Strategy, process, concepts contexts and cases (Fourth edition). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Barney, J. B., Wright, M. & Ketchen, D. J., Jr., (2001). The resource-based view of the firm: Ten years after 1991. Journal of Management, 17, 99-120. doi:10.1177/014920639101700108
https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Barney, J.B. & Hesterly, W.S. (2006). Strategic management and competitive advantage - concepts and cases. Pearson Prentice Hall, 95-108.
Barron, D. N., West, E., & Hannan, M.T. (1994). A time to grow and a time to die: Growth and mortality of credit unions in New York City, 1914-1990. American Journal of Sociology, 100(2), 381-421.
https://doi.org/10.1086/230541
Barzelay, M. (2001). The new public management: lmproving research and policy dialogue. berkeley, CA & New York: University of California Press & Russell Sage Foundation.
Blume, B. D., Ford, J. K., Baldwin, T. T., & Huang, J. L. (2010). Transfer of training: A meta- analytic review. Journal of Management, 36, 1065-1105.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206309352880
Boddy, D. & Paton, R. (1998). Management: An introduction. Prentice-Hall Europe, London.
Boschken, H. (2002). Social Class Politics and Urban Markets: The makinas of bias in policy outcomes. Stanford University Press.
Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Bryson, J. M. (2011). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Carpenter. M. A., & Sanders, Wm. G. (2009). Strategic management: A dynamic perspective concepts and cases, (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall.
CIMB Company Reports, (2012). Coming into bloom. https://cimbequityresearch.cimb.com/.../GetDocPDF.asp?...A CIMB
Coakes, S. J. (2013). SPSS: Analysis without anguish: Version 20 for Windows. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
Crawford, C.M. (1985). A new positioning typology. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 4, 245-253.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-5885.240243
Dale, C. (2005). Resource guide in: Strategic management for tourism. The Hospitality, Higher Leisure, Sport, Education and Tourism Academy Network.
Das, S. (1995). Size, age and firm growth in an infant industry: The computer hardware industry in India. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 13(1), 111-126.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-7187(94)00453-9
David, F., (2011). Strategic Management - Concepts and cases: (13th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
Delmas, M. (2001). Stakeholders and competitive advantage: The case of ISO 14001. Production and Operations Management, 10(3), 343-358.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1937-5956.2001.tb00379.x
Eden, C. and Ackermann, F. (1998). Making strategy: The journey of strategic management. Sage Publication.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446217153
Eurostat Statistic Explained (2016) http:// ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Business_demography_statistics
FAOSTAT (2015). Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations for a world without hunger. http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data
Finkenflügel, H. (2006). Who is in… and for what? An analysis of stakeholders' influences in CBR. Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal, 17 (1), 12-34.
Fort, T., Haltiwanger, J., Jarmin, R., & Miranda, J. (2012). How firms respond to business cycles: The role of the firm age and firm size. 13th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference, 1- 65.
https://doi.org/10.3386/w19134
Gillham, B. (2011). Developing a Questionnaire,2nd edition, Continuum.
Gloet, M., & Samson, D. (2016). Knowledge management and systematic innovation capability. International Journal of Knowledge Management, 12(2), 54-72.
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJKM.2016040104
Grant, R. M. (2001). The Resource Based Theory of Competitive Advantage: Implications for Strategy Formulations, California Management Review, 33(3), 114-135, http://www.skynet.ie/~karen/Articles/Grant1_NB.pdf
https://doi.org/10.2307/41166664
Gravetter, F. J., & Forzano, L. A. B. (2015). Research methods for the behavioral sciences. Cengage Learning.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J.& Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis: A Global Perspective (7th ed.). Pearson Education Inc.
Haltiwanger, J., Lane, J. & Spletzer, J. (1999). Productivity differences across employers: The roles of employer size, age, and human capital. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 89(2), 94-98.
https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.89.2.94
Hashim, M. K., & Zakaria, M. (2007). Exploring strategic thinking practices among Malaysian SMEs. Malaysian Management Review, 42(1), 29-41.
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. New York: Guilford Press.
Higon, D. A. (2011). The impact of ICT on innovation activities: Evidence for UK SMEs. International Small Business Journal, 30(6), 684-699.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242610374484
Hofer, C. W., & Schendel, D. (1978). Strategy formulation: Analytical Concepts. New York: West Publishing Company.
Ireland, R. D., Hoskisson R. E., &Hitt, M. A. (2011). The management of Strategy: Concepts and Cases, (9nt Ed.), South-Western Cengage Learning
Islami, X., Mustafa, N. & Topuzovska Latkovikj, M. (2020). Linking Porter's generic strategies to firm performance. Future Business Journal 6(3), 1-15, https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-020-0009-1
https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-020-0009-1
Johnson, G., Scholes K., & Whittington R., (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy (8th Ed.), Prentice Hall
Johnson, G., Scholes K., & Whittington R., (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy (8th Ed.), Prentice Hall
Johnson, G., Scholes K., & Whittington R., (2009). Fundamentals of Strategy. Prentice Hall.
Kettl, D. (2002). The Transformation of Governance: Public Administration Journal Twenty First Century America. Johns Hopkins University Press
Khoo, K. K., & Smith, N. M., (2003). Readily friendly strategic management: A delightful blend of academic learning and street- smart practices. Pelanduk Publications.
Khor, Y., Saravanamuttu, J. & Augustin, D. (2017). Consulting Study 12: The Felda case study, Issue, 2017(15). http://www.simedarbyplantation.com/sites/default/files/sustainability/high-carbonstock/consulting-reports/socio-economic/hcs-consulting-report-12-the-felda-case study.pdf
Lei, D. & Slocum, J. W. (2005). Strategic and Organizational requirements for Competitive Advantage. Academy of Management Executive, 19(1), 31-45.
https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2005.15841949
Light, P. (1997). The Tides of Reform: Makina Government Work 1945-1995. Yale University Press.
LiPuma, J., Newbert, S., & Doh, J. (2013). The effect of institutional quality on firm export performance in emerging economies: A contigency model of firm age and size. Small Business Economics, 40, 817-841.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-011-9395-7
Mazaheri H, Lee KT, Bhatia S, Mohamed AR. (2010). Subcritical water liquefaction of oil palm fruit press fiber for the production of bio-oil: effect of catalysts. Bioresour Technol, 101(2), 745-51 https://doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2009.08.042
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2009.08.042
Meyers, L. S., Gamst, G. & Guarino, A. J. (2006). Applied multivariate research: Design and interpretation. SAGE Publications
Morden, T. (2007). Principles of Strategic Management, (3rd Ed.). Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Morgan, N. A., Kaleka, A., & Katsikeas, C. S. (2004). Antecedents of export venture performance: A theoretical model and empirical assessment. Journal of Marketing, 68, 90-108.
https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.1.90.24028
MPOB, Economic & Industry Development Division. (2015). Oil palm planted area. http://bepi.mpob.gov.my/index.php/statistics/area.html
Noordin, M. A., & Shahimi M. (2014). Age: Does it matter for firms to perform?. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 4(3), 252-260. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v4-i3/704
https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v4-i3/704
Novicevic, M. M., Harvey, M., Autry, C. W., & Bond III, E. U. (2004). Dual‐perspective SWOT: a synthesis of marketing intelligence and planning. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 22(1), 84-94.
https://doi.org/10.1108/02634500410516931
Osborne, D., & Plastrik, P. (1997). Banishing Democracy: The five strategies for reinventing the government. Addison-Wesley.
Penrose, E.T. (1959). The Theory of the Growth of the Firm. Oxford.
Perry, C., (1998). Processes of a Case Study Methodology for Postgraduate Research in Marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 32(9),785 - 802.
https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569810232237
Peters, B. G. (1996). The future of governina: Four emeraina models. University Press of Kansas.
Pfeffer, J., and Salancik, G.R. (1978). The External Control of Organisations: A Resource Dependence Perspective. MacMillan, Inc.
Poister, T. H., & Streib, G.D. (2005). Elements of strategic planning and management in municipal government: Status after two decades. Public Administration Review, 65(1), 45-56.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00429.x
Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive Strategy. Free Press.
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. The Free Press.
Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy?. Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61-78.
Prahalad, C. K., & Hamel, G. (1990). The core competence of the corporation. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 79-91. doi:10.1007/3-540-30763 X_14
Rainey, H. G. (2003). Understanding and managing public organisations (3rd Ed.). Jossey Bass.
Rumelt, R. P. (1984). Towards a strategic theory of the firm. Competitive strategic management, 26, 556-570.
Sabri Ahmad, (2011, 23 January). Cover story: We are focusing on our core business and reinventing it. The Edge. http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/mobile/article.php/id=181989
Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R. (2009). Research methods for business: A skill building approach (5th Ed.). John Wiley and Son.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2010). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (5th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A Skill building approach (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Shanmugam, K. R. & Bhaduri, S. (2002). Size, age and firm growth in the Indian manufacturing sector, Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, 9(9), 607-613.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504850110112035
Slater, S. F., Hult, G. T.M., & Olson, E.M. (2010). Factors influencing the relative importance of marketing strategy creativity and marketing strategy implementation effectiveness. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(4), 551-559.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2008.03.007
Sofka, W., &Teichert, T. (2006). Global Sensing and sensibility - A multi-stage matching assessment of competitive advantage from foreign sources for innovation, Academy of Management Best Conference Paper, IMJ1-IMJ6.
https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2006.27163055
Strandholm, K., & Kumar, K. (2003). Differences in environmental scanning activities between large and small organizations: The advantage of size. Journal of American Academy of Business 1(2), 416.
Subba, R. P. (2010). Strategic Management. Edition, revised. Publisher, Himalaya Publishing House,
Teece, D. J..Pisano G. & Shuen, A., (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509-533.
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7<509::AID-SMJ882>3.0.CO;2-Z
The Agency, (2011). Transforming the Nations, Author.
The Star (2012, 7 June). FELDA begins comprehensive transformation towards 2020. http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2012/06/07/Felda-begins comprehensive-transformation-towards-2020.aspx
Wernefelt, B. (1984). A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5(2), 171-180.
https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250050207
Wheelen, T L.,& Hunger, D. J., (2006). Strategic Management and Business Policy (10th Ed). Pearson Education, Inc.
Woodside, A. G., Megeheee. C. M. & Ogle, A. (2009). Perspectives on cross-cultural Ethnographic, brand image, storytelling, unconscious needs and hospitality guess research (1st Ed.). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
https://doi.org/10.1108/S1871-3173(2009)3
Yusoff, M. (2008). Strategic management in the public sector: An interpretive study of the application of strategic management practices in the local authorities in Malaysia. Published Doctoral Thesis, University of Hull.
Zailani, S., Shaharudin, M. R., & Saw, B. (2015). Impact of kaizen on firm's competitive advantage in a Japanese owned company in Malaysia. International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 16(2), 183-210.
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPQM.2015.071239
Zainal Abidin Mohamed, Ho, J. A., & Wong, F. Y, (2013). Strategic Management, Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd.
Zhang, M., (2006). Conceptualizing the learning process in SMEs: Improving innovation through external orientation. International Small Business Journal, 24(3), 299-323.
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
