Competitive Strategy of TCS and Qantas Airways: A Detailed Analysis

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the competitive strategies employed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Qantas Airways. It begins with an executive summary outlining the report's objectives, which include evaluating the competitiveness of both organizations through the lens of strategy, business model innovation, and the CAGE framework. The introduction sets the stage by highlighting the importance of innovation in today's business environment, and then proceeds to dissect the competitive advantages of TCS, focusing on its innovative approach to outsourcing, its effective strategies for targeting developed markets, and its use of the CAGE framework to assess cultural, administrative, geographic, and economic distances. The report then shifts to Qantas Airways, examining its innovation-driven approach, its strategy of positioning itself as a lifestyle provider, and its ability to manage cultural and geographic distances within the CAGE framework. The conclusion synthesizes the findings, emphasizing the pivotal role of innovation in driving the competitiveness of both organizations and their effective use of strategy. References used in the report are also provided.

Running head: COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
Competitive strategy
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Executive summary
The aim of this report is to discuss about the competitiveness being possessed by TCS and
Qantas airways. Strategy, business model innovation and CAGE framework is being used for the
evaluation of the competiveness of these two organizations. It had been concluded that the key
driving force for their competitiveness is the generation of innovations.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Competitive advantages of Tata consultancy service......................................................................3
Competitive advantages of Qantas airways.....................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Reference.........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
In the present business scenario, contemporary business organizations operating in
different business sectors are considering various aspects to enhance their competitiveness in the
market. A few organizations are driving against the conventional business theories and rallied
their success with the means of innovations and effective determination of the market
requirement (Wagner III and Hollenback 2014). Tata consultancy services and Qantas airways
are the two leading organizations from India and Australia which have gained tremendous
success with the help of innovative ideas.
This report will discuss about the competiveness garnered by these two organizations in
their own sector. Moreover, the effectiveness of their competitiveness will be evaluated by
applying the theory of strategy and innovation. CAGE framework will also be used to determine
the aspects of their competitive advantages.
Competitive advantages of Tata consultancy service
Tata consultancy service (TCS) is one the profitable venture of Indian conglomerate Tata
sons. It was been founded in 1968 to cater to the global requirement of information technologies
(Tcs.com 2017). Gradually they entered in the field of consulting and providing business
solutions. TCS was being founded based on an innovative idea of outsourcing which was quite
uncommon at that time. Thus, it can be considered as one of the most innovative and pioneer in
the information technology sector. TCS had set a benchmark in this field and initiated the
concept of business process and knowledge process outsourcing.

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To determine the competitive advantage of TCS, strategy of the organization should be
considered. A strategy helps in planning the organizational action for the long term objectives.
TCS had effectively designed and implemented their strategies to enhance their business
portfolio. They designed their strategy to target the market in the developed and western
countries more effectively (Slack 2015). Their strategy involved their core competitive
advantage of delivering service at low cost. The strategy of TCS effectively complied with their
business scenario and competitive advantages which helped them in gaining favorable market
share in the western countries. The core competitiveness of TCS is the availability of low cost
and skilled employees in their home market which they used effectively in designing their
strategy to attract the foreign customers.
Another theory that they followed is the business model innovation. TCS adhered to this
theory effectively by initiating innovation in every step of this model (Serrat 2017). TCS first
identified their target customers and determined their requirement. Accordingly they went for
generating innovative ideas to deliver more value to their customers. In this due course, they
have changed the existing scenario of providing business solutions. Their innovative ideas
enabled the large organizations around the world to outsource their activities and gaining more
expertise at lower cost. It creates great value for the customers of TCS and helped their
customers to enhance their respective core competitiveness in the market.
CAGE framework is also effective in determining the competitiveness of the business
organizations. The first aspect of this model is the cultural distance. The less will be the cultural
distance between the organization and the target market the more will be their competitiveness
(Shenkar 2012). TCS provides personalized business solutions to their customers. In terms of
providing information technology, they customize the software according to the need and

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requirement of the customers. In addition, the outsourced jobs are being accomplished with the
help of the skilled employees who are being trained according to the requirement and culture of
the target market. Thus, TCS reduced the cultural distance between them and their customers.
The next aspect is administrative distance. India is having the favorable political relation with
majority of the countries where TCS operates. Moreover, there are no such strict legislations
regarding the outsourcing of business which had helped TCS to enhance their competitiveness.
However, in the recent time, various countries are initiating legislations to prevent outsourcing
which may have adverse impact on their performance.
The next aspect is geographic distance which is being effectively regulated by TCS with
the means of internet and other digital technologies. The last aspect is the economic distance.
The target customers for TCS are the multinationals and thus economic distance is not applicable
for them. Moreover, the advantage of TCS is the low cost which further helping them in
marinating the economic distance.
Competitive advantages of Qantas airways
Qantas airway is one of the leading and largest airline carriers in the world. It is being
founded in Australia in 1920 (Qantas.com 2017). They have driven the airline market with their
extensive generation of innovation. Few initiatives such as introduction of business class were
first initiated by them. Thus, innovation is the primary driving force for them. Moreover, the
approach that Qantas has initiated to attract their customers is much distinctive then the
conventional approaches by its competitors. They positioned themselves not just as an airline
carrier but also a lifestyle provider.

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The strategy of Qantas is being designed in such a way that it will provide their
customers effective service and will meet their visionary goals and objectives. As discussed
earlier, Qantas provides lifestyles to their customers and their strategy includes various aspects of
lifestyle other than just flying. Thus, strategy of them is well adhered with their vision and
mission. Innovation is also been considered by them as their one of the key driving forces.
According to the business innovation model, Qantas effectively determines the changing taste
and preference pattern of the customers and accordingly they drive their innovations which
create more value for their customers. Initiation of business class and premium economy class is
the few examples of their innovations which effectively meet the requirement of the market
(Volberda, Van Den Bosch and Heij 2013). Thus, Qantas enhanced the existing available
infrastructure in the airline industry by the generation of innovative ideas which further solidified
their position in the market.
According to the CAGE framework, Qantas effectively manage the cultural distance by
meeting the diversified preferences of the customers around the world. For instance, Qantas
offers food and other facilities for their Indian customers according to the Indian cultures and
traditions. Thus, it helps them to reduce the distance of them with their target customers.
Australia is currently having air service agreements with more than 100 countries which help
Qantas in providing effective service to major part of the global market. Thus, administrative
distance is also favorable for them. The next step is the geographic distance. However, in the
case of Qantas, geographic distance is the opportunity for them rather than being. This is due to
the reason that the core business activity of Qantas is to cover the geographic distance with their
fleet service. The last step is the economic distance. To cover this aspect, Qantas offers their fleet
service for various customer segments by having diversified service portfolio in their kitty

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(Harlacher and Reihlen 2014). However, the extended target segments for Qantas are the higher
end customers and with the enhancement of the global economy, the target market for them is
increasing. Thus, opportunity is there for them.
Conclusion
Having analyzed the drivers for the competitiveness of TCS and Qantas airways, it can be
concluded that they focus mainly on their innovations to create and enhance their competitive
advantage in the market. Moreover, generations of innovative ideas and adhering with the
strategy effectively is helping them to cater to the market more effectively. In addition, it is
helping them in reducing the distances as per the CAGE framework.

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Reference
Harlacher, D. and Reihlen, M., 2014. Governance of professional service firms: A
configurational approach. Business Research, 7(1), pp.125-160.
Qantas.com. (2017). Our Company | Qantas. [online] Available at:
https://www.qantas.com/travel/airlines/company/global/en [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017].
Serrat, O., 2017. Business model innovation. In Knowledge Solutions (pp. 499-507). Springer
Singapore.
Shenkar, O., 2012. Beyond cultural distance: Switching to a friction lens in the study of cultural
differences. Journal of International Business Studies, 43(1), pp.12-17.
Slack, N. (2015). Operations strategy. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tcs.com. (2017). About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). [online] Available at:
https://www.tcs.com/about-us [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017].
Volberda, H.W., Van Den Bosch, F.A. and Heij, C.V., 2013. Management innovation:
Management as fertile ground for innovation. European Management Review, 10(1), pp.1-15.
Wagner III, J.A. and Hollenbeck, J.R., 2014. Organizational behavior: Securing competitive
advantage.