EAE News
Generating corporate development strategies for an industrial cluster
30 de November de 2020
The success and growth of an industrial cluster depends not only on efficient, thorough planning that enables it to compete at a global level, but also and most importantly on sustainable development that ensures the healthy and enriching coexistence with all the surrounding area.
The Port of Barcelona, renowned as one of the country’s largest clusters, is one of the best examples to demonstrate which corporate development strategies can be applied to a project of this scale to boost the corporate value and strengthen relations with all the stakeholders.
To find out more about this case and get a more in-depth insight into the latest corporate development strategies, EAE Business School welcomed Pedro Arellano, the Assistant General Manager and Director of Corporate Development at the Port of Barcelona, to discuss the key points on this issue in a new edition of EAE On Session.
Do you want to know how to generate value for all the stakeholders in a corporate cluster? Let’s find out!
Corporate challenges
First of all, Arellano explained that the key factor is having a clear idea of the corporate challenges. To achieve a sustainable, impactful strategy, we have to set precise challenges that enable us to build the route forward. The three main challenges in this respect are being competitive at a global level, being sustainable with the surrounding environment, and being perceived as a positive influence by your stakeholders.
Financing methods and shareholder relations have changed a great deal in recent years. With this in mind, Arellano emphasized that a sustainable corporate development strategy involves maintaining the traditional investment and financial side of things, while also introducing multiple and varied activities that generate value for all the stakeholders.
How to achieve a sustainable strategy
To achieve a sustainable strategy, we have to take several aspects into account, such as how to apply advanced management models, facilitating the stakeholders’ knowledge and promoting the discussion of new ideas. To achieve this, Arellano explained that is it crucial to generate conditions for corporate change that facilitate and streamline these key factors.
“Creating more global relations is also very important for making the corporation viable and competitive. Therefore, we have to work on and strengthen these relations based on initiatives of real interest and mutual benefit.
The Advisor Role in Corporate Change
One of the most important profiles for accompanying the cluster throughout the process of creating this culture of change is the corporate change advisor. Arellano explained that this profile has the following key aims:
- Accompanying the change process in all areas and aspects of the industrial cluster.
- Involvement in advancing key initiatives and projects for the future.
- Ensuring that real business opportunities are generated.
- Generating new conditions for future change.
Port of Barcelona
“What makes the case of the Port of Barcelona more complex is that it interacts in various dimensions”, explained Arellano. “Everything you do affects the port, the city, the region, the logistics chains, etc. Therefore, this makes it very different to other corporate developments. Our mission here is to be Europe’s solution port in the Mediterranean, creating value for society and all our stakeholders.
The strategy of the Port of Barcelona focuses on creating public value, which it achieves through various relationships, with purpose, influence and cooperation. Moreover, it takes the following points into account:
- Identifying the expectations of each stakeholder.
- Specifying strategic issues to enable interaction with stakeholders.
- Identifying and integrating existing public/private realities.
- Creating meeting contexts or spaces to activate relations.