Competitive Strategy and Innovation | Case: Harley Davidson Inc., 2015

Competitive
Strategy and
Innovation
CASE: HARLEY DAVIDSON INC. , 2015

Introduction
 Harley Davidson (HD) was founded in 1903
 Survived many ownership agreements, poor
economic health, subsidiary agreements and
fierce competition (Hinchliffe, 2017).
 Matt Levatich become the CEO in 2015.
 Competitive advantage through resource and
capabilities (R&C).
 Key threats will be analysed which provides
future and current challenges.

Resources and
Capabilities
 As per the Porters Value chain, “engines” are
key resource for HD.
 Support activities includes technology
development by improving engines capability.
 Air-cooled B-TWIN engine is a sustainable
resource (Cameron, 2016).
 Brand image of one of the oldest motorcycle
companies.
 Leading brand in super heavy weight bikes.
 Not a sustainable resource since customer
perception could change

Cont....
 Positive customer relationship
 Part of primary activity relating to service
delivery.
 Harley Owners’ Group (HOG) programme for
customer involvement which is a sustainable
resource (Singh, 2014).
 Customer loyalty is another resource which is
sustainable.
 “The Harley Experience” and relationship with
American culture (Koul, 2015).