Business Imitation as a Successful Strategy: a Review and Proposal

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Business Imitation as a Successful Strategy: A Review and Proposal Angelia Prince Shorter University Abstract Many of today’s businesses have found their success in imitating their competitors rather than just being innovative. By imitating a successful competitor managers are protected from being considered incompetent. Stakeholders of a company frown upon management who engage in actions that are not considered “standard”. Therefore if a company is to be considered competitive they must imitate other successful companies. A study is proposed to further examine how imitation can build success in companies and how imitation as an on-going process is affecting companies, stakeholders and consumers. Business Imitation as a Successful Strategy: A Review and Proposal Introduction Imitation is the conscious or unconscious behavior of copying others and through research has been found to be a successful method in building one’s business, sometimes more than innovation. It can be contrasted to innovation, which is an independent-minded move of leadership. Business imitation is the process or act of becoming more like a successful competitor operating in a similar environment. Imitation has gotten a bad name over the years. Entrepreneurs are taught early on that it is more important to be innovative and to think creatively, rather than “copy” the successful work of others. It is important to have a full understanding of what business imitation consists of to better understand why it is so successful or to understand some of the disadvantages as well. Review of Literature Shenkar (2010) reviewed the latest management developments across the globe and pinpointed practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. He found that business imitation has been given a bad name and are seen as me too players forced to play catch-up because they

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