The study aims to increase our knowledge of how a retailer can survive in recession economy by changing its competitive strategy. In particular, the study is to identify those strategies that can help retailers to maintain successful performance despite turbulence in the operational environment. A case study approach is employed to explore a whole picture of a successful retailer's actions and strategy to scope with down turn economy. Results of the study show that retailers can maintain and improve their performance in times of crisis by adjusting their competitive strategies properly. We found that in recession period, retailers need to exercise a combination of competitive strategies including low cost focus and differentiation focus strategy. To be able to enhance low cost strategy, retailers need to have logic logistic center, to increase effectiveness of employees, and to reduce wastes from right-ordered for fresh food products, to strictly utilize first-in-first-out food product displaying methods. For focus strategy, firms need to pull unprofitable products from the shelves, and to focus on profit-driven product selection, to focus their promotion campaign on the most effective time and channel. In differentiation strategy, retailers need to be more selective for which products to offer, and to be more creative in their promotion program.

This article aims to investigate role of foreign parent control of international joint ventures (IJVs) in gaining sustainable competitive advantages from partnership with local firm through achieving 1) accesses to local firm's proprietary resources, 2) promoting knowledge and skills acquisition, 3) economies of scale and scope, 4) market position. Foreign parent firm control is conceptualized across three dimensions including the control mechanism, the control focus, and the extent of control. As foundation theories, resource dependent theory and organizational learning theory are employed. Our empirical evidence is based on the survey data collected from Finnish firms that established IJVs with local firms in the 1990s. The empirical evidence shows that in order to achieve successfully competitive advantages when entering IJVs, foreign parent firms need to have comparable IJV control structures which fit with their intended specific competitive advantages.