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• 1. [Article] SeQuential: Sustainability and Growth in the Biofuels Business

  SeQuential, a vertically-integrated biodiesel company based in Portland, Oregon, pursued a more sustainable supply and production strategy than many competitors by securing inputs from used cooking oil ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: SeQuential: Sustainability and Growth in the Biofuels Business Author: Garten, Dave, Greene, Jacen, Niehaus, Carolyn, Aikath, Devdeep Year: 2017 SeQuential, a vertically-integrated biodiesel company based in Portland, Oregon, pursued a more sustainable supply and production strategy than many competitors by securing inputs from used cooking oil (UCO) rather than new crops. A fragmented U.S. biodiesel industry produced more than 1.25 billion gallons of the fuel in 2016 from a mix of virgin materials and UCO, but the environmental impact of crop-based biodiesel was increasingly controversial. Meanwhile, UCO collection had grown rapidly in recent years, and with strong forecasted growth, offered a potential additional revenue stream for vertically-integrated biodiesel firms. The price of the UCO used to produce SeQuential’s biodiesel and the fuel itself were driven by commodity indices, creating a highly volatile market. In addition, industry profitability was heavily reliant on government support. This support was manifested through funding for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and tax credits. The recent election of a U.S. President publicly opposed to climate change mitigation, and the re-election of a sympathetic U.S. Congress, worsened perennial uncertainty around the renewal of these policies. Tyson Keever, President and CEO of SeQuential, had guided the company through a period of major growth and vertical integration by overseeing a series of regional mergers and acquisitions. As a result, the company now faced growing pains linked to employee turnover, operational integration and efficiency, and instilling a culture of sustainability in all SeQuential employees. At the same time, SeQuential was developing a new strategy for future growth, while attempting to mitigate increased regulatory and market uncertainty. In this case, students are tasked with developing a series of strategic, mission-aligned growth proposals that address these challenges. Title: SeQuential: Sustainability and Growth in the Biofuels Business Author: Garten, Dave, Greene, Jacen, Niehaus, Carolyn, Aikath, Devdeep Year: 2017 SeQuential, a vertically-integrated biodiesel company based in Portland, Oregon, pursued a more sustainable supply and production strategy than many competitors by securing inputs from used cooking oil (UCO) rather than new crops. A fragmented U.S. biodiesel industry produced more than 1.25 billion gallons of the fuel in 2016 from a mix of virgin materials and UCO, but the environmental impact of crop-based biodiesel was increasingly controversial. Meanwhile, UCO collection had grown rapidly in recent years, and with strong forecasted growth, offered a potential additional revenue stream for vertically-integrated biodiesel firms. The price of the UCO used to produce SeQuential’s biodiesel and the fuel itself were driven by commodity indices, creating a highly volatile market. In addition, industry profitability was heavily reliant on government support. This support was manifested through funding for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and tax credits. The recent election of a U.S. President publicly opposed to climate change mitigation, and the re-election of a sympathetic U.S. Congress, worsened perennial uncertainty around the renewal of these policies. Tyson Keever, President and CEO of SeQuential, had guided the company through a period of major growth and vertical integration by overseeing a series of regional mergers and acquisitions. As a result, the company now faced growing pains linked to employee turnover, operational integration and efficiency, and instilling a culture of sustainability in all SeQuential employees. At the same time, SeQuential was developing a new strategy for future growth, while attempting to mitigate increased regulatory and market uncertainty. In this case, students are tasked with developing a series of strategic, mission-aligned growth proposals that address these challenges. Close

• 2. [Article] Assessing Strategic Intent in the Context of Competition and Absorptive Capacity

  High technology firms compete fiercely for their share of wealth. Strategic Management is a discipline that determines a firm’s intent and direction for creating a competitive advantage and wealth. Often, ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Assessing Strategic Intent in the Context of Competition and Absorptive Capacity Author: Sperry, Richard Chad Year: 2010 High technology firms compete fiercely for their share of wealth. Strategic Management is a discipline that determines a firm’s intent and direction for creating a competitive advantage and wealth. Often, strategies are set though polices that govern the firm’s products and services, how it positions itself to compete, the choice of scope and diversity to compete, as well as the administration polices used to define and coordinate work. Two prevailing economic theories that help explain how an economic phenomenon affects economic competition are Schumpeterian and Kirznerian. Both theories attempt to explain entrepreneurship and its effect on the economy. Firms that are able to learn and exploit technological opportunities before their competitors position themselves with a competitive position, while reaping the profits. The theory of Absorptive Capacity is predicated on the firm’s ability to predict more accurately the nature of technological advances through the accumulation of the firm’s knowledge by recognizing the value of new external information, assimilating it, and exploiting it commercially. This paper discusses expanding the Absorptive Capacity model developed by Cohen and Levinthal to include technical regime incentives and dynamically model Schumpeterian and Kirznerian competition when assessing the firm’s strategic intent Title: Assessing Strategic Intent in the Context of Competition and Absorptive Capacity Author: Sperry, Richard Chad Year: 2010 High technology firms compete fiercely for their share of wealth. Strategic Management is a discipline that determines a firm’s intent and direction for creating a competitive advantage and wealth. Often, strategies are set though polices that govern the firm’s products and services, how it positions itself to compete, the choice of scope and diversity to compete, as well as the administration polices used to define and coordinate work. Two prevailing economic theories that help explain how an economic phenomenon affects economic competition are Schumpeterian and Kirznerian. Both theories attempt to explain entrepreneurship and its effect on the economy. Firms that are able to learn and exploit technological opportunities before their competitors position themselves with a competitive position, while reaping the profits. The theory of Absorptive Capacity is predicated on the firm’s ability to predict more accurately the nature of technological advances through the accumulation of the firm’s knowledge by recognizing the value of new external information, assimilating it, and exploiting it commercially. This paper discusses expanding the Absorptive Capacity model developed by Cohen and Levinthal to include technical regime incentives and dynamically model Schumpeterian and Kirznerian competition when assessing the firm’s strategic intent Close