| Summary: | Executive Summary
This project was commissioned by Nottingham based translation agency Better Languages and lasted from July-September 2009. The main aim of the project was to help the client firm to develop sound strategy and structure to maintain the growth and profitability they had been experiencing.
The project begins with an introductory section, outlining the client firm, its corporate culture and background. The wider translation industry is then framed using Porter (1980)’s five forces model.
A literature review follows, discussing briefly the industrial organisation paradigm before an in depth review of the resource based paradigm. The section concludes that Barney (1991)’s VRIS model and Prahalad and Hamel (1994)’s core competence/market matrix are most applicable to the case of Better Languages.
The qualitative method is used to gather data analysis via telephone interview with 5 customers and 4 ‘non-customers’ of Better Languages. The findings are split into 3 key areas. Firstly, there is no common factor regarding how each interviewee found Better Languages initially, although the firm’s website was a significant one. Secondly, the speed at which an agency turns around work was found to be the most important element sought in an agency. Thirdly, customers and non-customers alike were either unwilling or unable to predict their future translation services demand.
The research ends with a range of 9 strategic options for Better Languages to consider implementing, alongside the core competence/resource requirements each one requires.
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