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1Malaysia Perwani Launched as Transformation Agent

Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday launched the 1Malaysia Perwani Community that would create a 100,000 strong women’s assembly as a national community transformation agent. The initiative was introduced under the National Blue Ocean Strategy to improve the welfare of the society through various activities for the benefits of local community.

The Borneo Post, March 18, 2013, Malaysia. (In English)

30 Books in 30 days – Remembering 15 years of the 1st Friday Book Synopsis – (Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne)

A brief synopsis of the Blue Ocean Strategy book is presented.

First Friday Book Synopsis, March 18, 2013, USA. (In English)

Blue Ocean Strategy in the Networked Society

Ericsson’s The Network Society Blog launches a series of blog posts that discuss how blue ocean strategy can be applied to telecommunications. The first post introduces the concept of blue ocean strategy and creates a strategy canvas for the telecom market on the example of two Asian telco operators.

Ericsson The Network Society Blog, March 12, 2013, Sweden. (In English)

OxygenBroadband Leverages New Partnership to Expand Network

OxygenBroadband Networks, one of Nigeria’s leading providers of social internet is expanding its network across the country riding on the back of new strategic alliances in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) hospitality, music, software industry – all geared towards further strengthening Nigeria’s broadband ecosystem. CEO, Wande Adalemo, stated:“We are focused on delivering an ecosystem to deepen broadband penetration in Nigeria. It is our blue ocean strategy aimed at enriching our partners and consumers. We are creating an ecosystem to deliver the value of broadband to Nigerians”.

Business Day, March 12, 2013, Nigeria. (In English)

Top Experts (13): Noemi Garcia Vico

Naomi Vico, Training Manager at Int AnyHelp recommends reading Blue Ocean Strategy book: “What I liked most? The new perspective from which to look at the market and the actual value and professional organizations oriented to developing talent and innovation”.

Paperblog, March 12, 2013, Spain. (In Spanish)

Lahad Datu: Muhyiddin Praises Army, Police on Ops Daulat

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin lauded the efforts of the police and armed forces’ in maintaining the peace and sovereignity of Sabah and Malaysia. “The on-going Ops Daulat is a good example of how both security agencies are working together under the National Blue Ocean Strategy. It is rare that both the police and the armed forces are working closely together for a common goal”.

The New Straits Times, March 12, 2013, Malaysia. (In English)

изкий уровень сотрудничества в Казахстане (The Low Level of Cooperation in Kazakhstan)

In Kazakhstan, the low level of cooperation and its detrimental effect on business is characterised not as a trend but as the epidemic. Also, the pejorative perception of competition seen as predatory does not help the business environment. The article concludes with recommendation of Blue Ocean Strategy book which author believes explains the issues raised in the article and helps to steer away from bloody ocean of competition to uncontested blue waters.

i-News.kz, March 11, 2013, Kazakhstan. (In Russian)

Jobs for More than 90,000 Housewives

The Human Resource Ministry of Malaysia is targeting to get jobs for more than 90,000 housewives this year under the ‘1 Malaysia Support for Housewives’ programme. The programme, introduced by the government through National Blue Ocean Strategy, is meant to provide supplementary income for the housewives and improve the overall household economics.

New Sabah Times, March 11, 2013, Malaysia. (In English)

From Crisis to Sustenance: Treasure is out there in the Blue Ocean

A brief summary of the major concepts of blue ocean strategy.

Daily Mirror, March 11, 2013, Sri Lanka. (In English)

Focusing on the Most Important 2 Feet in Marketing @HCLTech

CEO of HCL Technologies of India, Vineet Nayar, inspired by Blue Ocean Strategy book transformed the culture of the company by implementing “Employees First, Customers Second” strategy.

Customer Think, March 09, 2013, USA. (In English)

How to Do a “Blue Ocean Strategy®?”: Step 1

This blog dives into explaining how to apply blue ocean strategy in practice. Blue ocean strategy tools, such as strategy canvas, pioneer-migrator-settler map, and visual awakening, are explained in detail.

Executive Street, March 07, 2013, USA. (In English)

IGP: Morale High Among Cops and Armed Forces in Ops Daulat

Armed Forces Chief Jeneral Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said that besides high morale among the police and armed forces taking part in Ops Daulat agains armed Filipino invaders, what was also encouraging was the close cooperation between the police and soldiers as envisaged by the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS). Tan Sri Zulkifeli added: “They have embarked on a number of initiatives under the NBOS for the past two years”.

The Star, March 06, 2013, Malaysia. (In English)

Blue Ocean Strategy is pleased to announce its latest BOS Cases and accompanying Videos and Lecture Slides.

The case entitled, ‘Skype in the Voice-Over-IP Industry: A Commercially Viable Blue Ocean?’ illustrates the user experience of an avid Skype user who uses Skype’s voice and video offerings interchangeably for business and personal communication. This combined voice and video offering gives Skype users much higher value at lower costs than alternatives such as long distance calling where you cannot see each other, or the complexity and high set up costs for room-based video conferencing or the costs and hassles of business or leisure travel. The case illustrates the disconnect between Skype’s bifurcated pricing strategy based on business versus leisure use of their voice versus video calling functions when those boundaries clearly do not exist in the minds of their users. This paper case and the accompanying case exercises prepare the participants for an engaging class discussion on what constitutes Skype’s unprecedented voice and video offering and how one could set a strategic price even though there appears to be no seeming precedents for such an offering.

This is the first part of two case series of Zappos’s blue ocean strategic move as an innovative online shoe retailer. Case (A) focuses on how Zappos reconstructed the existing boundary of online footwear retail industry. It describes Zappos’s distinctive value proposition that is neither an offline nor online shoe store in the conventional sense. The case also introduces how Zappos broke the value-cost trade-off of the conventional online shoe store.

The second part of Zappos case, Case (B), focuses on Zappos’s people proposition, which led to high performance and raised barriers to imitation. It demonstrates the importance of fair process that builds a high level of trust and commitment in the company, which makes it difficult for competitors to imitate Zappos.

The case entitled, ‘The Nintendo Wii: Lessons Learned from Noncustomers’ illustrates that if companies wish to tap into latent demand and create organic growth, they must learn from noncustomers. The case demonstrates that if Nintendo attempted to compete head-to-head against the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft X-box they would likely have been further marginalized in the game console industry. Instead, Nintendo looked to the gaming industry´s noncustomers for insight: older non-game players, parents who wanted their children to play active games, the elderly, and very young children. Once Nintendo understood why these noncustomer groups shunned video games, they reconstructed elements across market boundaries to create a console based on simplicity, functionality, interactivity, with games that dramatically raised utility for these noncustomers. The case illustrates that a better solution to an existing problem is not good enough. To capture new demand companies need to focus on the demand side of the equation and redefine the problem itself. There are far more noncustomers than customers. They need to look systematically across established boundaries of competition and reconstruct buyer value elements across market, industry, buyer, and supplier boundaries to create new market space where a new level of demand is generated.

The case “Salesforce.com: Creating a Blue Ocean in the B2B Space” describes a series of blue ocean strategic moves made by Salesforce.com in the CRM application market. In particular, the case addresses the concern of business executives over the applicability of blue ocean strategy in the B2B area. B2B managers often find that they are locked into providing products of certain types and specifications to their immediate customers. But in fact, value innovation can take place on the three platforms of a business offering, i.e., product, service and delivery. Salesforce.com’s strategic moves provide an exemplary demonstration of how a company can effectively create and renew its blue ocean in the B2B field by value innovating on the product, service and delivery platforms alternately.

Government Turn Malaysia Into World’s Model Hub for Volunteer Programmes – Najib

Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said that the government aspires to turn Malaysia into the world’s model hub for volunteer programmes. 1Malaysia For Youth (iM4U), a flagship initiative under the National Blue Ocean Strategy, is one of the achivements which could portray a positive image for the country on the international stage, said Prime Minister. “The iM4U programme must be consiered part of the national social transformation programme as cultural attitude and noble values are values that are very important, the main column to take Malaysia to a developed country status”.

Bernama, March 02, 2013. (In English)

Jin Air’s 2012 Financial Performance Reaches New Heights

Jin Air has recorded its best-ever financial results since its establishments in 2008, with a higher than average growth rate when compared to general worldwide airline industry results. The success is attributed to implementation of blue ocean strategy through new route expansion where other low cost carriers are not present.

eTravel Blackboard Asia, March 01, 2013. (In English)

Revolutionary Thinkers: Michael Porter’s Strategy Game-Changer

The article acknowledges Michael Porter’s contribution to the field of strategy with his five forces analysis. Even though the tool is still useful and relevant, the article suggests that it has shortcomings and may have been superseded to some extent by theories that unlike Porter’s framework, assume dynamic conditions in which companies operate. Blue ocean strategy is mentioned as a framework that strategists look at to distance companies from competition and explain where new value comes from.

Leading Company, February 28, 2013. (In English)

What I … Thithi Nteta from Tee Tee is with Me

Thithi Nteta, a rising star on the fashion blogging scene of South Africa, shares her current reading list which includes Blue Ocean Strategy book.

Becoming you, February 27, 2013. (In English)

Rules for Living in a Niche

The article discusses opportunities and obstacles associated with creating niche products. Blue ocean strategy is said to be applicable in the broader context but the author explains that its tools and frameworks (such as strategy canvas and four actions framework) can also be applied to niche marketing to better understand the competitive landscape, customers needs and desirable product characteristics.

Companion, February 27, 2013. (In Russian)

The Future of Agriculture is Played in a Blue Ocean

The article discusses the dilemma of French farmers who on the one hand face threat of subsidies cuts and need to innovate to remain competitive, and on the other hand are under pressure to reorient towards sustainable production which does not yield as high levels of production as traditional methods which use high levels of pesticides. Blue ocean strategy is presented as a solution that allows to adopt eco-friendly innovations and swim out of red ocean of competition to a blue ocean of unexplored market space.

La Tribune, February 26, 2013. (In French)

15 Must-Read Books for Middle East Entrepreneurs

Wamda, a platform designed to empower entrepreneurs in the MENA region, selects Blue Ocean Strategy as one of the 15 must-read books for Middle East Entrepreneurs.

Wamda, February 26, 2013. (In English)

Malaysia Can Be a Global Cooperative Power Player

Executive Chairman of Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (CCM), Datuk Nik Ali Mat Yunus, said Malaysia can be a global cooperative power if industry players have a high-integrity administrative system that promotes capacity development. He also said: “In line with the blue ocean strategy introduced by the government, we should collaborate with other government agencies to ensure cooperatives in Malaysia develop to a higher level.”

New Straits Times, February 26, 2013. (In English)

Deputy Minister Commends Mindef for Excellent Performance

Deputy Defence Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, said that the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) of Malaysia had met the objectives of the key performance index due to quality works and excellent attitude. He also added that Mindef is now focusing on programs that further transform the department into a high performing agency: “We are focusing on other programmes such as the ‘5S’ programme, the National Blue Ocean Strategy and other related programmes. To add value to the agency’s capabilities, Mindef in collaboration with the Regional and Rural Development Ministry had embarked on the National Blue Ocean Strategy where we assist the poor to repair or build homes; build roads to the rural territories and conduct other welfare activities which benefit the people.”

The Borneo Post Online, February 26, 2013. (In English)

NPES Print Business Conference 2013 Day One – Session Two

Autoprint Machinery Manufacturers Director, CN Ashok, elaborating on Autoprint’s success said: “Products should have the features of a blue ocean. Identify the needs, develop products and give it to the market. …”

Print Week India, February 25, 2013. (In English)

Salesforce Kickoff

The article describes Salesforce strategy to be different from its competition from the company inception more than a decade ago. The author suggests that Salesforce has been applying blue ocean strategy.

Enterprise Irregulars, February 24, 2013. (In English)

Mission Blue Waters ‘GMI’

The article discusses the competition in the field of education in Thailand and how the Graduate School of Management and Innovation is hoping to sail in blue oceans through innovative curriculum design.

Bangkokbiznews.com, February 24, 2013. (In Thai)

Crime-fighting Housewives

Amanita (Peace Lady) project, under the National Blue Ocean Strategy, is showing success and will be scaled up nationwide in stages. Under the initiative, housewives in a neighbourhood will be assigned to a female officer from the district as their contact person. The housewives are seen as the “eyes and ears” of a community and are engaged to help police spot any criminal activity.

New Straits Times, February 22, 2013.(In English)

Call on Felda to Emulate Government in Reviewing Salary of Civil Servants on Maximum Pay

Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa, has called on Felda to emulate the government in reviewing the salary for high-performing civil servants on maximum pay. Chief Secretary also proposed to Felda to introduce a time-based appointment as being practiced in teaching and health sectors and adopt the National Blue Ocean Strategy in planning and implementing the initiatives to increase the income of the settlers.

Bernama, February 21, 2013. (In English)

Findings of MRB on Crisis and Marketing (Έρευνα της MRB για την κρίση και το marketing)

The findings of the Greek Marketing Institute provide a number of observations and recommendations as related to marketing in difficult economic times. Among other points, blue ocean strategy is described as a modern way to integrate innovation into the DNA of a business organization, giving the opportunity to travel to the blue waters where the competition is irrelevant.

Euro2day, February 21, 2013. (In Greek)

Blue Diplomacy

A former diplomat in the United States, Dr. Kinga Petro de Chalendar of Hungary, reflects on the power of blue ocean strategy and its applicability beyond the corporate sector. Dr. Kinga Petro argues that blue ocean strategy can be very well used in mediation to find common interest in an efficient way. Example of Béni Kállay, a major player in Hungary’s economic development after 1867 and the chief architect of modern state administration, law and order in Bosnia-Herzegovia, is provided to illustrate “blue diplomacy”.

Diplomata, February 2013, Hungary. (In Hungarian and English)

Social media value innovation: the hotel tipping point

The concept of value innovation is applied to hotels marketing strategy. Social Media Innovation is presented as value added.

Are Morch blog,February 19, 2013, USA. (In English)

Peace ladies geared to combat crime

Six senior women police officers have been appointed as ‘Peace Ladies’ or ‘amania’ to engage women in fighting crime in Penang. The initiative is implemented under the National Blue Ocean Strategy.

The Star, February 19, 2013, Malaysia. (In English)

W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne on competition and alternative markets

Graphic representation of blue ocean strategy concepts.

Star Business Club, February 18, 2013, USA.

The future’s agape: swimming the blue ocean in a post-Christian culture

Inspired by blue ocean strategy, David Schmelzer began Blue Ocean Faith, a non-profit dedicated to keeping Jesus relevant in diverse cultural context. He claims that traditional churches are not able to meet the challenges of modern times and there is a need for a different type of church which is relevant to modern audience.

Mountain Xpress, February 17, 2013, USA. (In English)

Do drones hold the key to solving our healthcare and deficit woes?

The concept of value innovation is explained on the example of drones, unmanned aerial vehicles. The article suggests the concept can be applied to other industries and the government can draw analogy from drones’ value innovation and further apply it to break down the value-cost trade-off. The article is accompanied by a video which further explains value innovation.

Innovation Excellence, February 8, 2013, USA. (In English)

Pernod Ricard innovates without moderation

Pernod Ricard, the world’s leading spirits company, recognizes the influence of blue ocean strategy in their approach to grow beyond existing operations.

Challenges, February 08, 2013, France. (In French)

How Turkey’s business superwoman steers empire in man’s world

Guler Sabanci is a Chairwoman and Managing Director of Sabanci Holding, Turkey’s largest financial and industrial conglomerate. She comments on her joining the family business after graduating from university in 1978 in the new tire manufacturing company: “The tire company was something new it was just coming up, a new venture in the group. When I graduated I guess I wanted to have blue ocean strategy”.

CNN, February 06, 2013, USA. (In English)

Zynga’s Mark Pincus explains: we’re not in harvest mode

Zynga Chief Executive, Mark Pincus, answers on the question of increasing competition on Facebook and how the company is becoming more independent: “We’ve always taken an approach in social gaming that we call blue ocean not red ocean. We’ve always thought how do we think about bringing a category of gaming to the mass market, to make it more social. The growth in our company historically has been driven by introducing tens of millions of people to gaming for the first time, or to a new category for the first time. …”

The Wall Street Journal Blog, February 5, 2013, USA. (In English)

Galaxy Note II – the blue ocean strategy to win

The article credits Samsung success of its Galaxy Note II phone to successful application of blue ocean strategy.

Tin Nhanh Viet.com, February 04, 2013, Vietnam.

(In Vietnamese)

The case for change at Casella: putting a strategic bounce into Yellow Tail wines

The article credits blue ocean strategy for the overwhelming success of Casella wines in the US. Then it discusses the challenge for Casella to retain market share in the US while at the same time raising its selling prices which is seen as mandatory for regaining profitability.

Leading Company, February 01, 2013, USA. (In English)

Top 10 books for the sales professional: social media, sales and marketing

Modern Tokyo Times, online information portal, recommends Blue Ocean Strategy as one of the top 10 books for the sales professional.

Modern Tokyo Times, January 31, 2013, Japan. (In English)

Apple versus the strategy professors

The performance and strategic direction of Apple is evaluated from the perspective of different approaches to strategy: Porter’s choice-making, Kim and Mauborgne’s blue ocean strategy, and Christensen’s disruptive innovation.

HBR Blog, January 29, 2013, USA. (In English)

A Estratégia do Oceano Azul – Descubra o Seu Caminho Para o Sucesso

The article is entirely dedicated to the concept of blue ocean strategy. First the autho r briefly explains the concept and then follows with examples of successful implementation of blue ocean strategy by describing Nintendo Wii and DS.

diHITT, January 14, 2013, Brazil. (In Portuguese)

Travel agents and blue ocean strategy

The Travel Research Online, a blog for travel agents community, run a series of 10 posts dedicated to blue ocean strategy theory and its practical application for travel agents.

Travel Research Online, Jan-Feb, 2013, USA. (In English)

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Blue Ocean Man – W Chan Kim

In this interview Professor Kim, co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy, talks about the differences between red and blue oceans, the power of value innovation, and how to inculcate blue ocean thinking into an organization.

Outlook Business, February 02, 2013. (In English)

Najib Launches Perak Urban Transformation Centre

Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, launched recently the Perak Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) another initiative under the National Blue Ocean Strategy. The UTC houses various government departments and agencies as well as private and non-governmental organizations to conveniently provide services to people.

The Star Online, February 15, 2013, Malaysia. (In English)

Use National Blue Ocean Strategy in work

Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa, urged public servants to practice the National Blue Ocean Strategy approach when carrying out their work to increase their productivity.

New Straits Times, February 07, 2013, Malaysia. (In English)

How a Blue Ocean Strategy Helped the Murugappa Group

Murugappa Group’s Executive Vice-Chairman, A. Vellayan, shares his experience in applying blue ocean strategy at the Murrugrappa Group, one of India’s leading business conglomerates.

The Hindu Business Line, January 24, 2013, India. (In English)

Blue Ocean Strategy

Royal Imex Chairman, Jhung Jin-chul, has successfully employed blue ocean strategy in the wig industry by focusing on human hair wigs. Royal Imex is currently the industry leader with lion’s share of the market.

The Korea Times, January 20, 2013, Korea. (In English)

Make Your Next Innovation Jam Work

Harvard Business Review blog points out that the training in the use of strategic innovation frameworks, such as blue ocean strategy, dramatically improves the business relevance of team outputs.

HBR Blog Network, January 18, 2013, USA. (In English)

Blue Ocean Strategy Covers More Than 50 Departments, Agencies

Chief Secretary to the Malaysian Government, Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa, said that the cooperation between the police and armed forces under the Blue Ocean Strategy involved more than 50 government departments and agencies and allowed the government to save substantial costs.

New Sabah Times, January 18, 2013, Malaysia.(In English)

Wawa’s New Boss Pledges a Bread Oven in Every Store

Wawa’s CEO, Chris Gheysens, creates a blue ocean strategy by reconstructing industry boundaries and combines gas station with food service in good location with great customer service. The CEO wants his business to be seen not as fast food but as Fast Casual.

En.Parset.com, January 17, 2013, USA. (In English)

Blue Ocean Strategy Global Current | Issue 1

Dear BOS Community,

The turn of a new year is a time not only to reflect on the past year, but also to strategize about the year ahead. We would like to start off 2013 with a call to create personal blue oceans and are pleased to present you with our newsletter, Global Current, with the latest news related precisely to this topic. We wish for you to create a positive difference in your life in this new year ahead. That is, be bold but also systematic as you embark on creating your own blue oceans.

Blue Oceans Ahead!

The BOS Team

Read more Subscribe now

Thought Leaders on Innovation

Professors Kim and Mauborgne, authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, discuss the importance of fair process in executing business strategy. “Fair process builds trust and commitment. In turn, trust and commitment produce voluntary cooperation. And voluntary cooperation leads people to go beyond the call of duty in executing strategy and in sharing their knowledge and applying their creativity.”

Workforce, January 17, 2013, USA. (In English)

Frost & Sullivan Applauds Mach 7 Technologies for Its Impressive Growth Strategy

Mach 7 Technologies, a software product development company exclusively focused on vendor neutral medical imaging solutions, wins the 2012 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for Entrepreneurial Company of the Year. The company has applied blue ocean strategy by catering to emerging or underserved healthcare IT markets.

PRZOOM, January 16, 2013, USA. (In English)

Thinking Strategy, Think Blue Ocean

Des Walsh, a social media strategist and business coach, chooses blue ocean strategy as his strategic organizing principle in 2013.

Deswalsh, January 7, 2013, Australia.(In English)

Salesforce Opens New Channels with Chatter

Denis Pombriant, CEO of Beagle Research Group LLC, discusses Salesforce.com blue ocean strategy. Salesforce.com, customer relationship management software and cloud computing company, launched its newest product – Chatter Screensharing that goes beyond traditional typing part of business communication to facilitate exchanging images.

SearchCRM, May, 2012, USA.(In English)

Make 2013 an Excellent Year, Najib Tells Civil Servants

Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, urged civil servants to ensure that the 2013 Budget is implemented efficiently and smoothly by focusing on the national transformation agenda. Prime Minister stressed that civil servants give emphasis on the implementation of the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS).

The Borneo Post, January 8, 2013, Malaysia. (In English)

How Any Company Can Harness Global Growth in 2013

Renée Mauborgne, co-author of the Blue Ocean Strategy, speaks during CEO summit “Redefining Reality: For Sustainable Profit Growth” about businesses facing ever competitive environment and critical strategies businesses can use to create profits and growth that is healthy and sustainable.

Fast Company, January 8, 2013, USA. (In English)

Cleansing Your Competitive Self in a “Blue Ocean”

A motivating story of how Blue Ocean Strategy has inspired and empowered Kay Green, CEO and President of RKG Marketing Solutions of Atlanta, to differentiate herself and create her own authentic brand.

Central Valley Business Times, December 25, 2012, USA. (In English)

What is Your Blue Ocean Strategy

Rob Adair, President of Pinnacle Solving, describes how Blue Ocean Strategy book has changed his career. By asking himself “What’s your blue ocean strategy?” Mr. Adair was able to devise his own blue ocean strategy and tremendously grow his business.

RadioINK, December 21, 2012, USA. (In English)

Building Your New Business in 2013

Matt Antonino, owner & SEO consultant at High on SEO, gives an inspiring call for breaking from red ocean of competition and creating your own, unique blue ocean.

SavvySME, January 9, 2013, Australia. (In English)

A Holiday Reading List: How to Get Inspired This Christmas

Brian Gardner, career consultant and contributor to the Leading Company magazine, recommends Blue Ocean Strategy as essential read for “strategy nuts”: “If you operate in a crowded market-place with little differentiation other than price, the book will challenge you. The authors argue that lasting success comes from creating ‘blue oceans’ – that is, untapped new market space ripe for growth”.

Leading Company, December 7, 2012, Australia. (In English)

6 Books for Inspiring Startups

Exame, a business magazine in Brazil, has selected Blue Ocean Strategy as one of the most inspiring books for startups: “The work brings a different way of putting the strategy into practice”.

Exame, December 11, 2012, Brazil. (In Portuguese)

The Top 25 Books of 2012

Exciting Commerce, magazine dedicated to e-commerce, has selected Blue Ocean Strategy as one of the top 25 books of 2012.

Exciting Commerce, December 16, 2012, Germany. (In German)

Andaman Adopts Blue Ocean Strategy

Andaman Property Management Sdn Bhd, the property division of Andaman Group, has adopted blue ocean strategy in its property developments. “We try not to go to overcrowded areas”, says Sales and Marketing director Dr Vincent Tiew.

Yahoo! News Malaysia, December 16, 2012, Malaysia. (In English)

PM Launches 1Malaysia Veterans Recognition Programme

Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, launched the 1Malaysia Veterans Recognition Programme (1MVRP) which outlines seven initiatives to look after the welfare and socio-economic condition of Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) veterans. The 1MVRP is another 1Malaysia initiative under the National Blue Ocean Strategy.

New Sabah Times, December 16, 2012, Malaysia. (In English)

Bestseller of All Time

Blue Ocean Strategy is selected as one of the 15 Best Business Books of the last decade in Russia by Секрет Фирмы or “Firm’s Secret” magazine.

Firm’s Secret, December 3, 2012, Russia. (In Russian)

10 Books That Help Leaders Keep Their Skills Sharp

Michael Koopman, CEO of getAbstract Inc., recommends 10 books that help orient firms’ leadership in the best possible direction. Modern leaders to remain successful must empower employees, focus on the individual, and drive innovation through partnerships. Blue Ocean Strategy is one of top 10 recommended books: “This breakthrough book is essential for any strategist or entrepreneur who wants to move out of intensively competitive, shark-infested waters and into an opportunity-filled, open ocean”.

Business Insider, December 3, 2012, USA. (In English)

Reinventing Brand Nepal

There are plenty of opportunities for Nepal to achieve the success that Switzerland and Dubai reached. Nepal needs to find alternative revenue sources as a means to lessen its dependence on foreign aid and it should stop competing in areas where it has no comparative advantage and focus on creating a blue ocean. This can be achieved through determined leadership and direction.

Nepali Times, November 29, 2012, Nepal. (In English)

BlueKai: Not Just a Data Warehouse Anymore

BlueKai is an Ad tech firm that derived its name from Blue Ocean Strategy book. It created an untapped market originally by operating the Nasdaq for companies to buy and sell consumer data. However, over the last year and half it ventured beyond that market of just buying and selling data to helping companies get the most out of it. BlueKai built data management platform where companies could store their own data and cross-reference it with third-party data to segment the audience for ad targeting.

ADWEEK, December 4, 2012, USA. (In English)

Mom’s the Word

Typically credit union marketers focus their marketing efforts on market segmentation to appeal to various groups of customers with their offerings. The article argues that this marketing strategy, even though it might be correct, is difficult to reconcile with the overall branding strategy. Common practice among credit unions is to construct marketing and branding strategies that do not alienate any group of the customers. This approach however poses a risk of not appealing to any group. Verity Credit Union followed a blue ocean strategy and focused on mothers as the most influential group of customers.

CU Management, December 2012 – Vol.: 35 No. 12 ,USA. (In English)

Najibnomics to Include Happiness Index

Najibnomics, based on principles of blue ocean strategy, encompasses the creative and innovative ideas, policies, strategies and programmes of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to lead Malaysia towards high income and developed economy by 2020 and now includes also a national happiness index as an indicator of well being of the people. “We’re putting in one (more) element – happiness.We must ensure there are parallel growth, distribution and happiness,” Finance Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah said after presenting “Najibnomics: A New Framework for Malaysia’s Economic Development” at the MIER National Economic Outlook Conference 2013-2014.

The Sun Daily, December 6, 2012, Malaysia. (In English)

Crown Jewel of Infrastructure: Emaar’s Delhi Property

Emaar is a Dubai real estate company known for luxury buildings. It entered Indian market through a partnership with Indian real estate competitor MGF and the company known now as Emaar MGF has built many luxury structures across the country. Apart from the success in major cities, Emaar MGF has pursued blue ocean strategy and looked for the market where there were no competitors. It created a new market by venturing into tier-2 city market, which turned out to be a successful expansion strategy.

Go Articles, November 29, 2012, India. (In English)

The Stressful Task of Choosing and Blue Ocean Strategy

The article argues that in order for companies to survive in increasingly competitive markets, they have to merge the low-cost strategies, differentiation and focus, instead of using them separately. An example of Casella Wines is presented to describe the argument.

Administradores.com, December 5, 2012, Brazil. (In Portuguese)

Ewart: Red Ocean blues challenge Poseidon

Poseidon Concepts, a Canadian energy service and supply company met a real business success with their Blue Ocean Strategy : innovative fracking fluid tanks. Competitors saw the tank market emerge and moved into this blue ocean. It's now a Red Ocean full of sharks. Regardless of the hurdles, Poseidon continues to innovate but needs to prove that it can adapt and create new markets again.

Calgary Herald, November 17, 2012, Canada. (In English)

How Asus is challenging established PC firms and what India can learn from it

Asus, a Taiwanese PC Company founded in 1989 encountered a real success with their notebook. Jerry Shen, CEO of Asus, gives us the eight steps followed by his company to get to this success. One of them was a Blue Ocean Strategy tool : the ERRC grid. “We enhance and raise the cost of the features that the customers want and we eliminate the features that customers don't care about” explains Shen.

The Economic Times, November 16, 2012, India. (In English)

Blue Ocean Strategy can be effective at all levels of public service – Sukarti

Sabah State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman said blue ocean strategy has been effective in providing sound management. He said the strategy can be implemented at all levels of public service and can cut costs in management operations to achieve desired results.

New Sabah Times, November 18, 2012, Malaysia. (In English)

Creating Blue Ocean Opportunity for Yourself

The author recommends blue ocean strategy to explore new opportunities for yourself by finding your own way, creating successes along paths that have not yet been travelled.

Blogging4jobs, November 5, 2012,USA. (In English)

UnityKapital Targets N1 Billion Profit in 2013

UnityKapital Assurance Plc, a Nigerian insurance company, is targeting an after-tax profit of over N1 billion in 2013, a 100% increase over 2011. To achieve its target, the company is looking beyond existing product offerings, targeting a large pool of uninsured Nigerians. A dedicated department has been set up to drive their foray into the unchartered waters of the Nigerian insurance market, a potential blue ocean.

All Africa, November 13, 2012, Nigeria. (In English)

1Malaysia Call Centre (1MOCC) launched

Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Razak today launched the 1 Malaysia Call Centre (1MOCC), a one-stop solution centre for people to ask questions, complaint or make suggestions on public service. The 1MOCC is a national flagship project under the National Blue Ocean Strategy.

The New Straits Times November 12,2012, Malaysia.

(In English)

Finding Your Niche

Author of this article discusses how value innovation can help attract new clients. A financial advisory service for families with special-needs children is presented as an example of a successful application of Blue Ocean Strategy in the financial sector.

Financial Advisor Magazine, November 2012, USA. (In English)

Hearty Mart: Endearing Success of a Small-Town Retailer

Founder of Hearty Mart (HM) supermarket, Nadeem Jafri, says his venture is a blue ocean strategy. Identifying an untapped market space where no other organized retail chains were present, Jafri started Hearty Mart Enterprises, a wholesale supplier to hotels. Merging with Ashish Enterprises, a supplier to highway hotels, HM Enterprises has grown into a food company with interests across the entire farm-to-shelf value chain.

Forbes India, November 7, 2012, India. (In English)

All Four Years of Chemical Engineering Now at ITB

Brunei Darussalam is making steps to improve the country’s education system. For the first time since its establishment, the Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) has created a fully local four-year degree programme in Petroleum and Chemical Engineering that will enable both the oil and gas as well as downstream industries to recruit high calibre locals. To achieve international recognition by 2018, ITB has applied blue ocean strategy to focus on teaching, research, and social engagement as the three main areas for development.

Brudirect.com, November 7, 2012, Brunei.

(In English)

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Rethinking Glaucoma as a Practice-Building Strategy

This article presents glaucoma treatment as a blue ocean. It argues for creating a new market space, shifting the focus from supply (traditional glaucoma treatments) to demand (what patients want), and presents value innovation (canoplasty and iTrack microcatheter).

Glaucoma Today, December 2012, USA. (In English)

Job Forecast Looking Up for Louisiana

The state of Louisiana is adding jobs at a faster rate than other states in the US, with number of jobs projected to increase by 13.6 percent from 2010 to 2020. Petrochemical and healthcare industries are major drivers of growth. Louisiana Economic Development's blue ocean strategy is given a major credit for changing economic outlook of the state.

The Advocate, November 3, 2012, USA. (In English)

Diamond in Cream

Former CFO of Agama Trade, the largest distributor of fish and seafood in Russia, sailed its own blue ocean by creating a company that sells fresh dairy products, without preservatives.

Agency Business Monitoring November 1st, 2012, Russia.

(In Russian)

Is Google Following Blue Ocean Strategy?

This blog post argues that Google has mastered blue ocean strategy. The author cites the latest invention of Google Maps for trekkers (360-views of hiking and biking trials) as an example of successful application of BOS.

Khandoker’s Marketing Blog, October 28, 2012, Bangladesh. (In English)

STX Chief Discusses Blue Ocean Opportunities with Myanmar’s President

The President of Myanmar met with STX Group (the world’s fourth-largest ship and plant manufacturer) chairman and discussed plans to unlock blue ocean opportunities in infrastructure building projects in Myanmar. The President invited the group to invest in three special economic zones which are underway in Myanmar and to cooperate in solar power generation for supply of electricity to rural areas, infrastructural development and dockyards.

Newspost, October 10, 2012, Korea. (In Korean)

Strategic Framework NERLEI 2020

“Strategic Framework NERLEI 2020” outlining future vision for 2020 of the Leiria region in Portugal is based on blue ocean strategy. The framework will be announced by the Regional Business Association of Leiria region.

Leiria Economica, October 2012, Portugal.

(In Portuguese)

Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue ocean strategy is applied to Andrew Peller, a Canadian wine producing company. The company focuses on young adult drinkers for a new product launch.

Reflection on Entrepreneurship , October 17, 2012, Canada. (In English)

Eradication of Poverty Pays Off

Malaysian government’s effort to eradicate poverty under the National Key Result Area was a success, with 44,535 households now being removed from the hardcore poor category. “Among the factors contributing to the success was joint efforts between all ministerial and enforcement agencies to implement the blue ocean strategy,” said the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

The Malay Mail, October 10, 2012, Malaysia. (In English)

Bringing Blue Ocean Strategy to FMCG Markets

Dusseldorf, Simon, E.F.M. Wubben. Proceedings in Food System Dynamics, Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2012

This academic article aims at testing the applicability of BOS in Fast-Moving-Consumer-Good-Markets (FMCG). The main objective was to investigate whether the application of BOS enables the identification of an uncontested market, or not. The strategy canvas, six paths framework, four actions framework, and the sequence of BOS were employed. The paper confirms that the BOS enables the identification of an untapped market.

David Brooks: Competitiveness vs Creativity: GE vs Apple

In this Forbes article, Steve Denning contrasts GE, a company focused on producing short-term value for shareholders, and Apple, a company dedicated to innovation and constant delight of customers. Article suggests creating blue oceans and applying imagination from the perspective of the customer thus creating boundless opportunities.

Forbes, April 2012, US.

30 Books Every Entrepreneur Must Read in 2012

Forbes magazine recommends “Blue Ocean Strategy” by Kim & Mauborgne as one of the 30 books every entrepreneur must read.

Forbes, February 2012, US.

2012 World's 50 Best Business School Professors

Professor Mauborgne was selected in 2012 as one of the World's 50 Best Business School Professors by Fortune.com.

Fortune.com, October 2012, US.

Applying Blue Ocean Strategy to the Foundation of Accountable Care

Commentary by Shari J. Welch and Bob Edmondson. American Journal of Medical Quality, 2012

Health care leaders should apply blue ocean strategy to redefine and optimize health care delivery. This commentary argues for applying BOS to determine which factors that the industry currently competes on should be eliminated and reduced and which factors should be raised and created to open up new market space and create a leap in health care performance. The authors suggest that other similar blue ocean strategic moves can be conceived by applying the Four Actions framework to reduce costs while driving up value and creating new demand.

Synthesizing a blue ocean. Master thesis of Daniel Vester

The purpose of this Master Thesis was to determine how electronic musical instrument companies could use innovation strategies to add value to their products and create new business markets beyond their core. Blue Ocean Strategy was compared to traditional competitive strategies such as Porter’s Five Forces, and subsequently chosen because of its relevance towards the electronic musical instrument industry.

Master Thesis, Industrial and Strategic Design; School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Aalto University, April 2012.

With the Blue Ocean Strategy, Oman can be a regional model for growth

Full of natural and human resources, The Sultanate of Oman is argued to be ideally suited to embrace Blue Ocean Strategy. The author discusses that if you add strategic thinking to the development of human capital, through Blue Ocean Strategy , Oman will be able to make a quantum leaping progress, and can be a model for other Arab countries.

Omanet.om, October 21, 2012, Oman.

La poule au lait d’or

Andrei Krivienko left his position as CFO of a chain of seafood on December 31, 2008. But finding a new job in a context of economic crisis was not easy. Andrei has found the key to success in the book of W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, The Blue Ocean Strategy. The book explains, among other things, that the best way to overcome the competitive struggle is never to enter. Andrei Krivienko decided to dive into another blue ocean, devoid of any predator. Aware of the very limited supply of fresh produce in supermarkets in Moscow - which, according to the contractor, "are more interested in price and the preservation of food and the quality" - Krivienko decided to start selling fresh dairy products with very short expiration times. In just three years, Krivienko managed to make his company Izbionka the leader in the sales of fresh dairy products.

Le Courrier de Russie, October 12, 2012, Franco-Russian Bi-monthly Magazine, Russia. (In French)

October 2012 Blue Ocean Strategy Open Enrolment Program

The October 2012 Blue Ocean Strategy Open Enrolment Program has a rich mix of top executives from 20 different countries who are coming together for four days to explore how to put the concept, tools and frameworks of BOS into action in the rich array of their countries : Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, The Netherlands and United Kingdom.

Click here to get more information on the Blue Ocean Strategy Open Enrolment Program

Why Europe Is Failing to Prevent the Spread of the Euro Crisis

This article argues that Blue Ocean Strategy is the solution to Europe’s problems. Europe needs to embrace creativity and innovation and create new market space, otherwise it is argued that it will end up becoming a very well-experienced butler to China and Asia in general.

The Huffington Post, News Website, October 11, 2012, US.

INSEAD, Wharton Re-Sign Educational Alliance

INSEAD and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania have signed an agreement to continue their educational alliance for another three years. Blue Ocean Strategy courses are mentioned as a reason of why many Wharton students choose INSEAD.

SF Gate, Daily Newspaper, October 1, 2012, US.

Presidential Candidate Ahn : Cooperation Between North & South Korea to Create Blue Ocean Opportunities

Independent Presidential Candidate Ahn Cheol-soo said that South Korea must pursue closer ties with "northern economies" if it wants to make the next leap forward. By building up the North's logistics infrastructure, SMEs can gain access to more business opportunities, while at the same time helping contribute to closer inter-Korean cooperation," the candidate claimed. He said such an arrangement will lead to an economic "blue ocean" environment that can help all sides.

Yonhap News Agency, October 9, 2012, Korea. (In Korean)

Kick-off: Reinvent Your Sales Success – More Growth and More Jobs

Henrik Lau, Director of KPMG Strategy and adviser on the Blue Ocean Strategy, project management, competitor and market analysis, etc., argues that Danish companies with good innovation capabilities and a creative approach have a unique chance to create new export opportunities, which will also help to create more jobs in Denmark.

SCM, Business Magazine, October 1, 2012,Denmark.

(In Danish)

Red Ocean Marketing

This drawing was done by Iqbal Sachdeva, Former Secretary of Public Relations Society of India.

October 7, 2012.

Alfa Insurance and Go2UA Started Cooperation in Travel Insurance

The two companies signed an agreement to cooperate together. Go2UA is an innovative online resource that provides users with a new approach to the organization of travel and leisure. Alfa Insurance is a UK based insurance company. Both companies set course to apply Blue Ocean Strategy and discover new segment in the area for sales of insurance services, innovative products and unique projects in the market.

VSESMI.RU, News Website, October, 11, 2012,Russia. (In Russian)

Thinking Outside the Box

The Chief Secretary to the Malaysian Government said that civil servants should “think outside the box” and be creative when carrying out their respective duties. “Think outside the box, like the Blue Ocean Strategy, just imagine the possibilities if civil servants were to implement the business model,” said the Chief Secretary to a meeting of federal and state civil servants on Thursday (Oct 11).

Selangor Times, Weekly Newspaper, October 12, 2012,Malaysia.

“On s’est rendu incomparable pour éviter la guerre des prix.”

In this interview, Michel Perrinet - CEO of Octave.Biz , a French e-commerce software editor, talks about its Blue Ocean Strategy on Cloud Computing that allowed Octave.Biz to distance itself from its many competitors and to have a 40% increase of annual growth in the last three years.

Le Journal des Entreprises, September 2012,Monthly Business Newspaper, France.

(In French)

Without a Strategy Your Business is Doomed.

In this article, the author gives tips to create a Blue Ocean Strategy for your business.

The New Age, October 2, 2012, Daily Newspaper, South Africa (In English)

The Untruths and Truths about Blue Ocean Strategy.

Professor Andrew Shipilov and Professor Fares Boulos, who taught Blue Ocean Strategy for executives at INSEAD for the past 10 years, discuss the three most frequent misconceptions executives have about Blue Ocean Strategy and the results they have seen when the theory was applied in action.

Le Cercle, Les Echos, September 28, 2012, France ( In English)

Blue Oceans are Possible in the Era of Rapid Transformation.

Interview with Blue Ocean Strategy authors Professors Kim Chan and Renée Mauborgne.

CEIBS Business Review, September, 2012.