Strategic Management and Competitive advantage
Chapter 1: What is Strategy and the Strategic Management Process?
A firm`s strategy is defined as its theory about how to gain competitive advantage.
The greater the extent to which these assumptions and hypotheses accurately reflect how
competition in this industry evolves, the more likely it is that a firm will gain a competitive advantage
from implementing its strategies.
The Strategic Management Process
The strategic management process is a sequential set of analyses and choices that van increase the
likelihood that a firm will choose a good strategy (strategy that gains competitive advantage).
A Firm`s mission
A firm`s mission is its long-term purpose. Mission defines what a firm aspires to be in the long run
and what it wants to avoid in the meantime.
Some missions may bit affect firm performance; none impact
Some missions can improve firm performance; positive impact
Some missions can hurt firm performance; negative impact
Objectives
Whereas a firm`s mission is a broad statement of its purpose and values, its objectives are specific
measurable targets a firm can use to evaluate the extent to which it is realizing its mission.
External and Internal Analysis
By conducting an external analysis, a firm identifies the critical threats and opportunities in its
competitive environment. It also examines how competition in this environment is likely to evolve
and what implications that evolution has for the threats and opportunities a firm is facing.
Internal analysis helps a firm identify its organizational strengths and weaknesses. It helps a firm
understand which of its resources and capabilities are likely to be sources of competitive advantage
and which are less likely to be sources of such advantages. It can help to identify the areas that
require improvement and change.
Strategy Choice
A firm is ready to choose its theory of how to gain competitive advantage. The strategic choices fall
into two large categories:
- Business-level strategies; are actions firms take to gain competitive advantages in a single
market or industry.
o Cost leadership (Chapter 4)
o Product differentiation (Chapter 5)
o Flexibility (Chapter 6)
o Collusion (Chapter 7)
Chapter 1: What is Strategy and the Strategic Management Process?
A firm`s strategy is defined as its theory about how to gain competitive advantage.
The greater the extent to which these assumptions and hypotheses accurately reflect how
competition in this industry evolves, the more likely it is that a firm will gain a competitive advantage
from implementing its strategies.
The Strategic Management Process
The strategic management process is a sequential set of analyses and choices that van increase the
likelihood that a firm will choose a good strategy (strategy that gains competitive advantage).
A Firm`s mission
A firm`s mission is its long-term purpose. Mission defines what a firm aspires to be in the long run
and what it wants to avoid in the meantime.
Some missions may bit affect firm performance; none impact
Some missions can improve firm performance; positive impact
Some missions can hurt firm performance; negative impact
Objectives
Whereas a firm`s mission is a broad statement of its purpose and values, its objectives are specific
measurable targets a firm can use to evaluate the extent to which it is realizing its mission.
External and Internal Analysis
By conducting an external analysis, a firm identifies the critical threats and opportunities in its
competitive environment. It also examines how competition in this environment is likely to evolve
and what implications that evolution has for the threats and opportunities a firm is facing.
Internal analysis helps a firm identify its organizational strengths and weaknesses. It helps a firm
understand which of its resources and capabilities are likely to be sources of competitive advantage
and which are less likely to be sources of such advantages. It can help to identify the areas that
require improvement and change.
Strategy Choice
A firm is ready to choose its theory of how to gain competitive advantage. The strategic choices fall
into two large categories:
- Business-level strategies; are actions firms take to gain competitive advantages in a single
market or industry.
o Cost leadership (Chapter 4)
o Product differentiation (Chapter 5)
o Flexibility (Chapter 6)
o Collusion (Chapter 7)
