Marks & Spencer's Business Strategy Analysis

This assignment requires a comprehensive analysis of Marks & Spencer's business strategy. Students will utilize frameworks such as the Ansoff Matrix to evaluate market growth strategies, Porter's Five Forces to assess competitive intensity, and Porter's Generic Strategies to determine M&S's approach to competitive advantage. Financial performance data and market share information are provided for analysis.

Business Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 2
PART 1........................................................................................................................ 3
a) Comparative analysis of how the company is competing and its competitive
position? Does the company’s activity result in gaining an advantage?............3
b) Challenges faced by company doing trade across borders............................9
PART 2...................................................................................................................... 13
Needs of company to grow their business by using different theories.............13
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 16
REFERENCES............................................................................................................. 18
1

INTRODUCTION
A business project is specifically intended to achieve organizational goals by
aiming at the key area that can impact on it. In the present study, a research design
for business is prepared for Marks & Spencer (M & S). Marks and Spencer is
providing its products and services in different countries to attract customers from
different countires. The global organization was founded 133 years ago in the year
1884 and headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. The
establishment is having specialization in the merchandising of clothing, home
products, and food products. Majorly the stores of the firm include clothing, shoe
outlet, home furniture, housewares, retail stores, home furnishing, grocery outlets
and furniture stores (Shen, Qian and Choi, 2017.). Marks and Spencer provide
clothing for Womens, men and kids. Total revenue of M & S from April 2016 to April
2017 is £10,622 million. The international market share of the group is 1.26% and
in context to the UK, it is 5.5% (M & S, 2017). Thus, in order to maintain such a
huge system effective business project is required to be followed. Marks and
Spencer is providing its products through different channels to attract more
customers such as it provide its products through its web portal.
However, the factor that affects the entity mostly in performing well is the
high level of competition present in the clothing, home products, and food products'
sector (Barberia and et.al., 2016). There is a tough competition existing in this
industry as number of retailers are increasing due to which competition is
increasing day by day. In this report there is description of competitive position and
challenges faced by M&S, types of consideration and its future prospects. Different
types of models are used for its analysis. Considerations of M&S are illustrated in
order to create a social impact. Future prospects of M & S have also been discussed
in this report.
Furthermore, this assignment will provide with various challenges which are
faced by organisation while trading across borders which will provide with factors
such as political factors, economic situation, customers taste and preference etc. It
will also provide with different theories which will assist in growth of business.
Moreover, this report will provide with comparative analysis of organisation and its
competitive position. This will include about porter's five forces model to provide
with comparative analysis which will include cost leadership, differentiation etc.
2

Grand unified theory of business development will be included in this report to
access the growth of organisation.
The key competitors in the M & S group are NEXT Plc., ALDI, ASDA Group
Limited, TESCO Plc. All these entities are performing well on the international level
and at national standard too. Some of them have really good competitors that can
harm the business of Marks and Spencer. Hence, effective competitive strategies
are required to achieve a competitive advantage over them (Ashraf and et.al.,
2017). Marks and Spencer in order to gain competitive advantage have to adopt
various strategies which will be included in this report.
PART 1
a) Comparative analysis of how the company is competing and its competitive
position? Does the company’s activity result in gaining an advantage?
According to Rothaermel, (2016), competition plays the most crucial role in
the global business. In context to present project, the selected organization belongs
to retail sector where high level of competition is present. It is thus essential for the
Marks & Spencer which possess effective competitive strategies. The company can
result in gaining an advantage
3
Illustration 1: Marks & Spencer Long-term financial results

in competition by using proper techniques, policies and processes. Regardless of
considerable recession in the business value of the firm, it held its nerves by
maintaining its premium prices and brand-building advertising. Further,
communication is the most significant strategy that is used by the entity in
multiplying the customer figures.
In addition to this, with the excellence in the services provided to the
consumers, the firm holds a special place in their heart. It may be recognized that
from past 3 years the market share in food and clothing has remained virtually
static with the help of its strong branding and immense buying power (Drucker,
2017). Also, Marks and Spencer are more interested in having franchisees rather
than any other partnership method. This activity will help them in engaging local
people with their business which are familiar with the regional cultures and thus,
more profit can be earned by developing customised service and products.
Porters five force model Threats of new entrant: In retail market there is high entry barrier because
to enter in this market a company need to invest a lot. Along with this other
firms popularity can also create barrier in increasing the sale of the products
(Gunn and Mintrom, (2017). Marks and Spencer face this difficulty due to
which its market share can be reduced because of new entrants which are
giving tough competition to the organisation. Threat of substitute products: Marks and Spencer continuous innovation
help in making a strong position in the market. It is easy to copy the design of
the firm and reduce cost elsewhere. Along with this, food business is already
undertaken by another firm such as Tesco, Sainsbury etc. However, Marks
and Spencer private label on its product with different offer help in gaining
competitive advantage. Bargaining power of buyers: Bargaining power of customer is important
as if different firm sell similar products at different price then it provides
chance to customer to switch from one brand to other (Dey, 2016). There are
many alternatives available for the customers so Marks and Spencer need to
build up its loyalty and offer its customers something different.
 Bargaining power of supplier: Bargaining power of supplier reduce quality
by effecting prices of women wear. They minimize profitability through which
4

they are unable to recover increase in their own prices. Bargaining power of
supplier reduce the profitability of the firm and also affect the cost of product.
For example, there are many competitors of Marks and Spencer who are
selling similar product but selling them product through adding some additional
feature can make easy to survive in competitive market (Daghigh and et.al., 2016).
The key competitors in clothes and food sections of the M & S are the chains
such as Next, Gap, BHS, etc. Some of them are using low pricing structure as their
competitive advantage against the cited firm where few if they have the similar
concept as the chosen entity that is good brand image an immense branding (Dey,
2016).
As per the views of Laszlo and Zhexembayeva, (2017), the most effective
method which will assist the Marks and Spencer for gaining competitive advantage
is Benchmarking. In this tool, the best entity in the industry is chosen for evaluation
of the policies so that they can be implemented. It has been observed that the
companies like ALDI and TESCO are dealing with similar products but at low prices.
This strategy of them is effective enough to draw attraction of a large number of
customers. By using this tool and cutting down high prices, M & S can definitely gain
competitive advantage. In contrary to this Davis and Davis, (2017), explained that
customers can bear extra price spend if companies assure quality in the services. It
may be however recognized that the firm is more concentrated on the quality and
services of the products they offer with its premium pricing structure. Also, M & S is
considered far better than the competitors like Primark which sell their products at
5

cheap prices but lacks in customer service and quality. Marks and Spencer is
provding its sevices which are high qualtiy and are affordable by customers which
provide compaetitive advanatage to firm in increasing their customer base.
In contrary to this Moreno-Inquired, Ramón-Rodríguez, and Perles-Ribes,
(2016) described that the most useful activity performed by M & S which helps in
gaining competitive advantage is an analysis of the level of competition using
Porter's Five Forces Model. This tool helps in knowing the future threats, power of
new competitors and substitute products(Drucker, 2017). According to this model,
there are five key forces that analyse the competitive environment in which a
product or an entity works.
These forces involve competitive rivalry, threats of new entrants, threats of
substitutes, bargaining power of customers and bargaining power of suppliers.
Rivalry tool includes its upcoming competitors and threats for which it should be
prepared beforehand. With the help of this technique, the M&S could improve its
existence, availability of resources and its rights and patents. In the present
context, if Marks and Spencer will observe the policies of Tesco then it can gain
competitive advantage. Besides this, buyer power is the ability of the customers to
drive the prices. It depends on the number of customers that company is having. If
the bargaining power of the customers will be high than entity is required to
increase the customer figure. (Magagula and Lees, 2017).
Also, if the organization will have the detailed information of the new entrant
then it can prepare or modify the strategies accordingly so that the business value
does not affect. Marks and spencer by identifying these factors can gain
competitive advanatage by identifyingt the threats which wmay affect the business
in norder to formulate various strategies in gain compativie advanatage.
6

Competitive advantage of Mark & Spenser-
Competitive advantage is favorable position an entity seeks, in terms to be
more profitable as comparative to their rivals. In order to gain and maintain
competitive advantage, M&S must work as to demonstrate greater comparative or
differentiate value than its customers and conveying of information to desired
target market. With help of differentiated from their rivalries it is essential to have
use Porter's Generic strategy. It will be discussed in below context as are-
1. Cost leadership- In this, M&S need to put major focus in terms to provide
reasonable value at lower price. With help of it, there can be improvement in
operational efficiencies. In this, the workers of firm gets less pay. Under it,
some compensates by offering intangible benefits as are stick options,
benefits, promotional opportunities etc. In addition to it, source of cost
advantage depends over size and structure of company. If quoted company is
able to achieve and sustain overall cost leadership than this firm will an
above average performer than its rivalries.2. Differentiation- With this, M&S works as to targets larger marketer and
aims to achieve competitive advantage through differentiation across whole
7
Illustration 3: Porter's Five Forces Model
(Source: Davis and Davis, 2017)

of industry. It refers as to selecting one or more criteria used by buyers in
market. It is about charging premium price because it covers the more
production cost and give customer the clear reason to prefer product as
comparative to less differentiated products in market. This focuses over
several ways will be inclusive as are- Superior product quality: The quality of the product offered to customers
must be high quality in order to satisfy the demands of the customers and
provide them better experience. Branding: branding refers to providing unique name for the business to
attract more customers towards the brand. Industry wide distribution: products and services must be provide to
customers using various channels of distribution.
 Consistent promotional support: promotional support is involved in this to
promote the products and services of the organisation.
3. Cost Focus- In this, business seeks lower cost advantage in just one or small
number of market segments. With help of this strategy, similar commodity of
higher prices and featured market leader but it will be acceptable for
sufficient customers. It is acceptable to sufficient customers in market. Cost
focus strategy of porter model helps in providing similar products at the
higher prices to increase the demand of other products. Marks and Spencer
have adopted this strategy to gain a competitive advantage by providing
similar products with higher prices.
8

4. Differentiation focus- M&S has adopted differentiation focus strategy aims
to produce differentiate product into smaller and target market segments.
With help of it, customer can have attracted towards the products available in
market. Differentiation focus strategy assist in providing different products in
different market segment. Marks and Spencer provide different products in
different market segment to increase its customers for different products
which is not available in the market.
Hence, it can be said that by adopting this strategy it will be possible to gain
competitive advantage in market. Thus, need and wants of buyers are needed to be
satisfied in terms of delivering good commodities at effective price rates. Marks
and Spencer must adopt these strategies to gain competitive advantage which will
assist in increasing their brand image and will also help in increasing their
profitability by attracting more customers towards the brand.
b) Challenges faced by company doing trade across borders
There are various challenges which company face while doing trade
internationally. Companies have to follow foreign rules and regulation regarding tax
implications and trading laws (Barberia and et.al.,2016). Similarly, M & S also faced
various rules when it expanded across borders. It also fixed some pricing strategy
and should be good in communication to build business strategies. M&S has to take
some political risks and economical challenges.
9
Illustration 4: Porter's generic strategies
(Source: Porter’s Model of Generic Strategies for Competitive
Advantage, 2018)

In this competitive world, M&S face tough competition due to high use of
internet. Technology has resulted in comparison of prices, easier shopping among
customers who can access fashion all around the world. By 2015 departments of
home ware and clothing brought £4.1 bn revenue (Ladkin, A. and Buhalis, D., 2016).
But it needs help from other nation to expand and satisfy customer demands.
According to analysts, M&s shares are shrinking from last four years. It has
decreased to 9.9% from 11% in 2010. Another challenge faced by it is weak
consumer confidence. It underpins sales of retails sector. Products of M&S should be
satisfactory so that consumers should not loose confidence and repeat their
purchase.
Other challenges include Brexit negotiation in which UK economy shows ease
of trading cross borders with proper procedures ans standard prices. UK companies
should have knowledge of registering for withholding tax on incomes called PAYE.
Then resourcing, recruiting right people are some other challenges faced by M&S.
Regulations change in same way as technologies and markets (Parikh, Kaufman and
Santucci, 2017). There is no use of big shops in the age of e-commerce. M&S needs
to sort out these stores and figure out money that can be saved at long run. It
planning to close it and relocate in other nations.
For relocation it has to go through culture and society of specific country so
that its establishment could worth in the future. It performed well in food sales but
customers steadily lost their interest in M&S clothing. Thus, it was challenging for it
to maintain pace in both fields. Another major challenge was that its culture is
bureaucratic. It has been criticised many times. This business was too corporate
and was never expected to bring change (Shen, Qian and Choi, 2017). Thus, getting
back in fashion, sharpening prices and enhancing services by recruiting right
employees are some challenges faced by M&S.
In order to trade internationally M&S company has to undergo foreign laws
and regulations, as there are different laws in different countries. It becomes
difficult to collect the latest and up to date detail about the countries. As different
countries use different languages, communicating with them becomes difficult.
Local languages help in branding and promotion of products specially in promotion
of clothing and food products as it helps in understanding of brands. To
communicate easily with the local people the company has to advertise the
products which includes product description.
10

Fluctuation in currency rate is the most challenging problem faced by the M&S
company. High fluctuations in currency may affect the profit of the company. To
protect from this, the company has to produce and supply products in the same
currency. Advance payment will also help the company from loss, as the currency
will be used to produce the product. Some countries adopt strict dress codes to
attend business meetings. In a new culture proper and adequate knowledge about
the dress code should be there for the success in the deals with international
business. Reputation by M&S company must be maintained by providing attractive
discounts and advertisements to the customers as compared to other rival
companies.
While trading internationally, the company must know exactly when to bring
change in the environment is necessary. Changes specially depends on the demand
and need of the customers. This will help the company to maximize profits and
maintain reputation. Trading internationally brings difficulties in fulfilling customer
service. Distance becomes the main barrier between the customers and the
company. Thus, these are some challenges while trading across borders.
There are various challenges which marks Spencer has to consider while trading
across border which consist of following: Foreign laws: Marks and Spencer while trading across border have to follow
various rules and regulation of the country in which the firm in operating.
Marks and Spencer have to follow the various policies of the government of
that country in which it is operating to perform its various task in that
country. It also has to follow various import and export laws for importing and
exporting of its various products to different countries. Marks and Spencer
have to pay tax for trading in different countries to the government.
 Cultural and language barrier: Marks and Spencer also have to face this
problem due to cultural and language difference of people. Marks and
Spencer in order to trade across border have to face this problem in which it
has to deal with people belonging to different culture and speak different
languages due to which it mat affect the operation of marks and Spencer. Challenges relating to shipping and transportation : Marks and
Spencer also have to face Problems regarding transportation and shipping of
its product to different countries due to which it has to pay various taxes on
transportation of good to different countries. Marks and Spencer while trading
11

across border can face this problem due to which has may reduce its
profitability and have to pay high taxes for transportation of its products in
different countries. Problems in attracting customers in foreign market: organization
while trading across border have to have this challenge in which it has to deal
with new people and to attract customer in new market is very difficult for
the firm. Marks and Spencer in order to perform its various activities in
different country have to face the challenge of attracting customers towards
the brand. Marks and Spencer in order to attract customers towards the
brand in foreign market must identify the demand of customer's of that
countries and design the product accordingly to attract the customers while
trading across border.
 Competition in new market: organization while trading across have to face
this challenge in which it has to identify its competition in the new market.
Marks and Spencer have to face competition in the new market due to which
it may have loss and in order to reduce competition must enter the market
with penetration pricing strategy to attract customers towards the brand.
 Economic situation : organization also have to face challenges of various
economic condition due to which its profitability is affected. Economic
situation of the global market will affect the business of marks and Spencer
adversely. For example, the new market is having high inflationary condition
which will affect the business of marks and Spencer because in high
inflationary situation the price of the product is increased and thus customers
are less attracted to purchase the products and services. Political challenges : Organization also have to face various challenges due
to political factors of the new market which will affect the business operation
in the new market and thus growth and profitability of the business is
reduces. Marks and Spencer have to face various challenges due to changes
in the political factors while trading across border. Political factors includes
changes in government norms or policies etc. Marks and Spencer have to
face this problem in which government norms are changed which will affect
the business of Marks and Spencer in the new market.
 Customer taste and preference :Organization also have to face
challenges of the change sin customers taste and preference sin the new
12

market due to which the firm profitability and customer are reduced. Marks
and Spencer will have to face the challenge of difference in customers taste
and preference in the new market due to which demand of its products is
reduced while trading across borders. Marks and Spencer in order to
increase the demand of its product and satisfy customers demands must
provide products and services according to their taste and preference by
identifying the trend existing in the new market.
Organization have to follow various challenges while trading across borders
and due to which it has to face the situation of losses in the new market. Marks and
Spencer while trading out of their domestic borders which will affect its business
because in the new market. Marks and Spencer have to follow rule and regulation of
that country and also there may be currency fluctuation in that country due to
which its profitability is affected.
Marks and Spencer have to face the above challenges while trading across the
borders and to face these challenges marks and Spencer must formulate various
strategies and planning before entering into the market and make proper research
of its targeted customers and also about their taste and preference to attract more
customers towards the brand in the international market.
PART 2
Needs of company to grow their business by using different theories
Marks and Spencer in order to enhance their business must ensure that
proper strategies and planning is made in order to have clear understanding of
organisation objectives and goals. Marks and Spencer in order to increase its
productivity make sure good quality products and services are produced by
organisation to satisfy their customers demand to retain their customers in
business. Marks and Spencer for development of organisation need to have
qualified personnel that will assist the organisation in achieving their objectives
effectively and efficiently. Marks and Spencer is involved in proper research to
analyse various opportunities and threats that have its influence on the working of
marks and Spencer.
According to views of (Charter, 2017) organisation for developing its business
make proper use of its resources to allocate them in the best way to derive effective
13

results. Marks and Spencer is involved in business of retail and produce products
such as clothing, food product and home products. Marks and Spencer for improving
its business performance make sure that food hygiene is properly maintained while
preparing the food products to secure customers from harmful effects.
According to (Epstein, 2018) development of organisation depends on its
performance and customer retention power which assist the firm in increasing their
market share. Marks and Spencer in order to develop its business implemented
various theories to enhance its business performance such as Grand Unified theory
of business development.
Grand Unified theory of business development is a theory which assist
organisation in achieving their short term and long term goals. This theory of
business development lays emphasis on customers, market, building relationship
and to think big. Marks and Spencer for development of business must ensure that
their main motive is creating values rather than making money to build a
sustainable business development strategy (The Grand Unified Theory of business
development ,2017). Marks and Spencer in order to grow its business use this
theory for sustainable business development. Another factor in this theory is
relating to market which provide that organisation must increase its scope by
entering to new markets to attract new customers and build a strong relationship
with them to enhance the business growth.
Marketing manager of Marks and Spencer is responsible for identifying
different market and their potential customers to increase its customer base by
exploring new market. After market, this theory considers about customers
satisfaction that is the priority of all enterprises for enhancing their business. Marks
and Spencer is involved in proper research and development for providing high
quality products according to need of customers for providing them better
experience. Building relationship is most important according to this theory for
development of business. Building relationship with clients, employees and
customers assist the firm in retaining them in business that will provide support to
business (Gutierrez, Boukrami and Lumsden, 2015). Trust and Mutual respect are
important for building relationship.
Marks and Spencer for development of business use various technologies to
increase its products quality and services. Marks and Spencer is providing its
various products and services by using digital marketing techniques and various
14

social media such as Facebook and Instagram to increase flexibility. Marks and
Spencer provide training to its employees to increase their efficiency by increasing
their knowledge and skills. Marks and Spencer implemented budgetary control
system for comparing actual results with the standard in order to identify that
variances to make changes accordingly to overcome variances to achieve profits.
Marks and Spencer ensure that various marketing strategies are
implemented to promote the products of organization to achieve better results to
enhance the business performance (Omotayo, 2015). Marks and Spencer need
technology advancement for enhancing its business growth.
Technology advancement includes use of the latest technology for
manufacturing of products and services. Marks and Spencer for growing its business
is exploring international market to provide services in different countries and
increase their brand image to become a leading retailer in the world.
Organization Ensure that there is strong relationship with employees and
employees are satisfied with their job to increase their performance level. Marks
and Spencer in order to provide its employees job satisfaction give them incentives
and promotion for their better performance to motivate them to perform better to
achieve their common goals.
In the views of (Morecroft, 2015) organisation must formulate strategies and
make proper planning to achieve the desired goals of organisation. Marks and
Spencer formulated various strategies to increase their product image to increase
their growth and profitability. These strategies are related to various marketing
strategies that include marketing mix elements such as price, product, promotion
and place That assist in development of product and helps in retaining customers.
Marks and Spencer for increasing their performance make use of proper tools and
techniques and ensure that customers are provided with high quality products by
identifying various demands of customers and designing the product according to
their demands.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has concluded that Marks and Spencer successfully
operating its business in UK. Marks and Spencer has maintained its position in
market by adopting various strategies such as product differentiation, lower prince
and many more. The organisation has used different strategies like segmentation,
15

targeting, positioning in order to analyse demands of customers. It has helped them
in analysing target customers, their position and sales growth of market. This
assignment has explained about CSR activities to improve shareholder value.
Organisation has taken different steps for providing various benefits to society.
Marks and Spencer has also Launched greenhouse emission policies to protect
environment from harmful effect of waste materials and chemicals.
It has given focus on green customer concept and promoted it through social
media websites to increase awareness among them. This assignment has also
provided with various challenges faced by organisation in international trade such
as various foreign rules and regulations regarding taxation policies of different
countries and various trading laws. This assignment has also included about needs
of organisation to enhance their business such as marketing strategies, product
quality, customer retention power of company, pricing strategy and various others
things required for development of business are included.
This study has provided with theories and models relating to development of
business such as Grand unified theory of business development and budgetary
control model. Grand unified theory of business development includes elements
such as think big, marketing, customer satisfaction and building relationship in
order enhance the business growth. Budgetary control system that has included in
this study is related to comparison of actual results with the standards in order to
identify variances. This assignment has concluded that Marks and Spencer should
perform research work to identify about various factors such as competitors,
bargaining power of customers and supplier before entering in the market.
Furthermore, this study has provided with factors which assisted Marks and
Spencer in enhancing their business such as use of advanced technology, use of
marketing mix elements for enhancing business growth. This study has included
porter's five forces model which consisted of elements such ad threat of new
entrants, Threat of substitute product, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining
power of suppliers etc. This assignment concluded that Marks and Spencer has to
provide training to its employees in order to improve their performance level for
achievement of organisation objective. It has provided knowledge relating to
factors which assist organisation in achieving better results such as customer
satisfaction, employee satisfaction, providing better quality product and services
etc.
16

This analysis brings together the opinion of employees and outcomes for
successful implementation and better understanding of tasks. This study has also
provided with various activities of organisation which assist in gaining competitive
advantage such as cost leadership, differentiation, cost focus and differentiation
focus. This strategy has provided competitive advantage to Marks and Spencer in
market. This assignment has concluded about needs of organisation which
supported them in increasing their market share and brand image that has
enhanced their business performance.
17

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ashraf, M. I. And et.al., 2017. Dynamic Clustering and User Association in Wireless
Small-Cell Networks With Social Considerations. IEEE Transactions on
Vehicular Technology. 66(7). pp.6553-6568.
Barberia, L. and et.al., 2016, April. Considerations about gust wind thresholds
related to social impact: study of different regions in Catalonia. In EGU
General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 18, p. 4287).
Charter, M., 2017. Greener marketing: A responsible approach to business.
Routledge.
Daghigh, R. and et.al., 2016. A multi-objective location-inventory model for 3PL
providers with sustainable considerations under uncertainty. International
Journal of Industrial Engineering Computations. 7(4). pp.615-634.
Davis, P.J. and Davis, P.J., 2017. How HR can create the competitive advantage for
the firm: Applying the principles of resource-based theory. Human Resource
Management International Digest. 25(2). pp. 4-6.
Dey, K., 2016. The fast-food industry in the UK. Analysis of McDonald's with PESTEL,
VRIN and Porter's Five Forces.
Drucker, P. F., 2017. The Theory of the Business (Harvard Business Review Classics).
Harvard Business Press.
Epstein, M.J., 2018. Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and
measuring corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. Routledge.
Fabrizio, P. and et.al., 2016. Brachytherapy (BRT) of Vaginal Cuff after
Hysterectomy: Results and Ethical Considerations on the Quality of Life after
Treatment. Brachytherapy. 15. p.S88.
Gengler, C. E. and Mulvey, M. S., 2017. Planning pre-launch positioning:
Segmentation via willingness-to-pay and means-end brand
differentiators. Journal of Brand Management. 24(3). pp. 230-249.
Gunn, A. and Mintrom, M., 2017. Evaluating the non-academic impact of academic
research: design considerations. Journal of Higher Education Policy and
Management. 39(1). pp.20-30.
Gutierrez, A., Boukrami, E. and Lumsden, R., 2015. Technological, organisational
and environmental factors influencing managers’ decision to adopt cloud
18

computing in the UK. Journal of Enterprise Information Management. 28(6).
pp.788-807.
Hauver James, J. and Logan, K., 2016. Documenting the Community Impact of
Service-Learning Coursework: Theoretical and Practical Considerations.
Partnerships. 7(2).
Hovy, D. and Spruit, S. L., 2016, August. The social impact of natural language
processing. In Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Association for
Computational Linguistics (Vol. 2, pp. 591-598).
Ladkin, A. and Buhalis, D., 2016. Online and social media recruitment: hospitality
employer and prospective employee considerations. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management.28(2). pp.327-345.
Laszlo, C. and Zhexembayeva, N., 2017. Embedded sustainability: The next big
competitive advantage. Routledge.
Magagula, L. and Lees, S., 2017. A comparative analysis of the approach to
advertising keywords in South African and English trade mark law. Journal of
Intellectual Property Law & Practice. 12(3). pp. 236-244.
Mehlich, J. and et.al., 2017. The Ethical and Social Dimensions of Chemistry:
Reflections, Considerations, and Clarifications. Chemistry-A European Journal.
23(6). pp.1210-1218.
Morecroft, J.D., 2015. Strategic modelling and business dynamics: A feedback
systems approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Moreno-Izquierdo, L., Ramón-Rodríguez, A. B. and Perles-Ribes, J. F., 2016. Pricing
Strategies of the European Low-Cost Carriers Explained Using Porter's Five
Forces Model. Tourism Economics. 22(2). pp. 293-310.
Omotayo, F.O., 2015. Knowledge Management as an important tool in
Organisational Management: A Review of Literature.
Parikh, S., Kaufman, B. and Santucci, G., 2017. Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) in
Children: Present and Future Considerations for Pediatric Heart Failure and
Palliative Care Team Collaboration (TH303). Journal of Pain and Symptom
Management. 53(2). pp.314-315.
Rizza, C., Büscher, M. and Watson, H., 2017. Working with Data: Ethical Legal and
Social Considerations Surrounding the Use of Crisis Data and Information
Sharing During a Crisis. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management.
25(1). pp.2-6.
19

Rothaermel, F. T., 2016. Competitive Advantage in Technology Intensive Industries.
In Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results (pp. 233-256).
Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Shen, B., Qian, R. and Choi, T. M., 2017. Selling luxury fashion online with social
influences considerations: Demand changes and supply chain coordination.
International Journal of Production Economics. 185. pp.89-99.
Smith, B. R., Kistruck, G. M. and Cannatelli, B., 2016. The impact of moral intensity
and desire for control on scaling decisions in social entrepreneurship. Journal
of Business Ethics. 133(4), pp.677-689.
Stolier, R. M. and Freeman, J. B., 2016. Functional and temporal considerations for
top-down influences in social perception. Psychological Inquiry. 27(4). pp.352-
357.
Turner, M. and Lingard, H., 2016. Improving workers’ health in project-based work:
job security considerations. International Journal of Managing Projects in
Business. 9(3). pp.606-623.
Wilson, D., 2016. Marks & Spencer: the quest to master the new millennium. The
Business & Management Collection.
Zapien, N., 2017. Participation Bias and Social Desirability Effects in Research on
Extramarital Affairs: Considerations of Meaning and Implications for Sexual
Behavior Research. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 46(6). pp.1565-1571.
Online
M & S, 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/>. [Accessed on 23rd September
2017]
Marks & Spencer Group PLC, 2017. [Online]. Available through: <
http://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=MAKSY>
The Ansoff Matrix to Develop Marketing Strategy. 2014. [Online]. Available
through:<https://blog.oxfordcollegeofmarketing.com/2016/08/01/using-ansoff-
matrix-develop-marketing-strategy>.
Porter's Model of Generic Strategies for Competitive Advantage. 2018. [Online].
Available through:<https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/porters-
generic-strategies-for-competitive-advantage>.
20

The Grand Unified Theory of business development .2017. [Online]. Available
through :<https://www.kvrwebtech.com/blog/the-grand-unified-theory-of-
business-development/>
21