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Learning to become a high reliability organization in the food retail business

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  • Ciravegna, Luciano
  • Brenes, Esteban R.

Abstract

This case discusses Selectos, a retail chain based in El Salvador, which was put under severe strain when Walmart entered its domestic market, threatening the leading position it had acquired through many decades of investment. The case illustrates that Selectos succeeded in competing Vis a Vis Walmart because it implemented the principles of high reliability organizations. First, before Walmart entered the market, the Salvadoran company invested time and financial resources to audit its routines, finding several areas of improvement. Second, its core strategy was to focus on continuous improvements in its operations. Third, it engaged its workforce, and especially the shop floor managers, in the process of executing its strategy at the whole corporate level. Fourth, through consultation with the managers of its functional areas, it enacted systems to manage unexpected events, ranging from hurricanes to violent attacks on its facilities (preparation for unexpected events). The case is designed to illustrate how a domestic firm from an emerging market competes with a leading multinational corporation, emphasizing the importance of organizational learning, especially the development of routines and mechanisms that allow for flexibility and adaptability to changes in conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ciravegna, Luciano & Brenes, Esteban R., 2016. "Learning to become a high reliability organization in the food retail business," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4499-4506.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:69:y:2016:i:10:p:4499-4506
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.03.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Junaid, Danish & He, Zheng & Afzal, Farman, 2022. "The impact of weak formal institutions on the different phases of the entrepreneurial process," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 236-249.
    2. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Ciravegna, Luciano & Melgarejo, Mauricio & Lopez, Luis, 2018. "Home country uncertainty and the internationalization-performance relationship: Building an uncertainty management capability," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 209-221.
    3. Brenes, Esteban R. & Ciravegna, Luciano & Acuña, Joseph, 2020. "Differentiation strategies in agribusiness – A configurational approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 522-539.
    4. José Ernesto Amorós & Luciano Ciravegna & Vesna Mandakovic & Pekka Stenholm, 2019. "Necessity or Opportunity? The Effects of State Fragility and Economic Development on Entrepreneurial Efforts," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(4), pages 725-750, July.
    5. Brenes, Esteban R. & Ciravegna, Luciano & Pichardo, Caleb A., 2019. "Managing institutional voids: A configurational approach to understanding high performance antecedents," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 345-358.
    6. Hung-Chung Su, 2017. "The impact of mindful organizing on operational performance: An explorative study," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 148-157, December.

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