In an earlier Viewpoint, I introduced the concept of sustainability as newspapers pursue a commercial production strategy (see Newspapers & Technology, July 2007).

I emphasized that technology alone does not necessarily translate to a competitive advantage — much less a sustainable one. One should think of technology as a complement to the operational capabilities that a newspaper possesses and not as a provider of the skills or capabilities that one is lacking.

Commercial production requires a competence along various competitive dimensions — some of which may not mesh with a newspaper’s traditional emphasis.

Strategies key

It’s been abundantly documented that firms that align their operational strategy with their business strategy generally exhibit higher performance. Operations have an effect on business strategy. Reciprocally, business strategy should have an effect on operations.

Do you know what your newspaper’s business and operational strategies are? Business strategies are fairly straightforward: You are either going to compete on the basis of price or differentiation. To pursue either strategy, a newspaper has to translate its goals into an operations strategy — spanning the traditional competitive dimensions of cost, quality, speed and flexibility.

In turn, these four dimensions must be broken down further into operational capabilities that a newspaper possesses or intends to emphasize.

Some operations may excel in quality improvement programs while others may shine in productivity efficiency.  The former focuses on the competitive dimension of quality while the latter focuses on cost control.

The advent of semi-commercial

The vast majority of newspapers see their primary goal as the gathering and delivery of local news and associated content.

As such, the newsroom, advertising and production departments are aligned along the common goal of actively gathering, bundling, producing and distributing the daily news in an expeditious fashion.

Commercial production, on the other hand, requires a newspaper to fine-tune capabilities among myriad competitive dimensions in order to contend successfully.

As a newspaper seeks commercial work, cost, quality, speed and flexibility will all play an important role. More importantly, all of these attributes have to be maintained in a world where margins can be razor-thin.

A business professor recently asked me to describe a newspaper’s attributes of quality. It’s a fair question and one that any newspaper must consider before embarking on a newspaper/commercial production strategy.

While a newspaper’s quality traditionally focuses on the excellence of its editorial and creative content, commercial production also requires an equally high commitment to quality reproduction.

Many newspapers are attempting to bridge this gap by retooling their operations to handle both newspaper and commercial production.

A careful examination of their operational capabilities is also a must. Their resources, combined with the proper business strategy, is the foundation for success.

David Zepeda, an industry consultant and an Operations and Management Science doctoral student at the University of Minnesota, can be reached at zepe0003@umn.edu.