Southwest airline - Essay Example

Competitive Strategy for Southwest Airlines Competitive Strategy for Southwest Airlines A competitive strategy defines how well a business firm maintains competitiveness in a particular market and in the case of southwest airline the market is the airline market. It involves a framework that guides the firm to a competitive positioning and this is enhanced by the strategic managers. Through its competitive strategy, southwest airline is able to respond strategically to the threats and opportunities that result from the competitors.

The competitive strategies of different firms may be in terms of cost leadership, focus and differentiation. The competitive strategy for Southwest Airline is the use of cost leadership. The aim of this strategy is to be a producer who maintains low costs in production compared to the competitors. It is also more applicable in a market that uses price as the deciding factor (Pearce &Robinson, 2014).The strategic managers of Southwest Airline use this strategy in a way that they strategically select the production and marketing methods that lead to a reduction in cost.

They ensure that the airline uses lower cost carriers to control and reduce costs and to ensure that they operate at lower costs compared to the legacy carriers. With the low operation costs, Southwest Airline is able to maintain a large share of the market since it is able to provide efficient services at low costs. Efficient use of this strategy is enhanced by conducting a SWOT analysis that enables the firm to discover the strengths and weaknesses that it possesses as well as the opportunities and threats available in the market.

The effectiveness of this strategy also is maintained if the firm is able to maintain the quality of services despite the reduction in cost (Pearce & Robinson, 2014).ReferencePearce, J. A., & Robinson, R. B. (2014). Strategic management: Planning for domestic & global competition.