Blue Ocean Strategy. How IKEA created a new market

Term Paper , 2013 , 42 Pages , Grade: 1,7

Business economics - Offline Marketing and Online Marketing

This assignment describes the Blue Ocean Strategy as an innovation concept within the corporate strategic management on the example of IKEA. This is to be done by analysing the framework and the tools of the Blue Ocean Strategy by considering both basic principles and practical implementation.

The Blue Ocean Strategy aspires to turn strategic management on its head by putting “value innovation” in front of “competitive advantage” as the basically goal to create consumer demand and exploit untapped markets. When IKEA entered the market in the late 1950s they focused on the important factors that buyer value and make them to co-producers by implementing unique do-it-yourself mentality. Therefor IKEA combined differentiation with a cost leadership and created a blue ocean helping the founder Ingvar Kamprad to become one of the wealthiest people in the world. As the current business world continues moving towards a faster, more global environment in which there are more and more competitors trying to grab a piece of the pie, the need to develop blue oceans has never been greater.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

List of Abbreviations

List of Figures

1. Introduction
1.1. Problem Definition
1.2. Objectives
1.3. Methodology

2. Strategy
2.1. Aims and Characteristics
2.2. Corporate and Business Strategy
2.2.1. Marked-based View
2.2.2. Resource-based View

3. Blue Ocean Strategy
3.1. Basic Approach
3.1.1. Accruement
3.1.2. Red and Blue Oceans
3.1.3. Value Innovation
3.2. Analytical Tools and Frameworks
3.2.1. Strategy Canvas
3.2.2. Four Actions Framework
3.2.3. Three Characteristics of a Good Strategy
3.3. Six Path Framework to find Blue Oceans

4. IKEA and BOS
4.1. Facts and Figures
4.2. Business Model
4.3. Market Overview
4.4. IKEA’s Blue Ocean Strategy
4.4.1. Strategy Canvas
4.4.2. ERRC Grid

5. Critical Analysis
5.1. Sustainability
5.2. BOS versus Marked-based View
5.3. BOS versus Resource-based View
5.4. Limitations of the BOS

6. Conclusion

Bibliography

List of Abbreviations

• College: University of applied sciences, Cologne
• Course: International Strategy and Sales Management
• Grade: 1,7
• Authors: Henning Wenzel (Author), Andreas Förster (Author)
• Publication Year: 2013
• Pages: 42
• Catalog Number: V315511
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668154100
• ISBN (Book): 9783668154117
• Language: English
• Tags: blue, ocean, strategy, ikea