Corporate Strategy [antikvár]

PREFACEHistorically, the strategy field has been broken into two discrete fields of study: business level strategy, focusing on competitive advantage within an industry, and corporate level strategy, focusing on the overall plan for managing a diversified firm. Pedagogically and intellectually, this book is an attempt to bridge the schism between these two levels of analysis, and present a unified treatment of the sources of superior economic performance.As its subtitle suggests, the book analyzes strategy in terms of a "Resource-based approach." At the heart of this view is the idea that corporate as well as competitive advantage is based on the unique resources of a firm, and the way those resources are deployed in particular competitive settings. The choice of firm boundaries, and the organizational mechanisms that bring strategy to fruition are also essential, and are examined in similar depth.The view of strategy presented here is dynamic. The presentation traces the growth and development of firms, beginning with single-line businesses and gradually reaching to large diversified and vertically integrated firms. This progression reinforces the inextricable link between corporate and business strategy, thus deepening the traditional understanding of both. It also demonstrates that corporate advantage is usually realized at the business level, through the enhanced performance of individual business units.The book is founded upon established research traditions. In particular, a number of insights are drawn from two distinct bodies of research: the resource-based view of the firm, which has gained prominence in the field of strategic management; and organizational economics, in particular transactions cost analysis and agency theory. Both of these theoretical traditions have made a substantial contribution to the arguments advanced here.Also included in the book is a substantial amount of material that is not available elsewhere. Most importantly, it introduces a unique approach to corporate strategy that the authors have developed over many years of research, teaching, and consulting on the topic. Ideas such as the "Zone of Value Creation," linking industry and competitive analysis with the resource-based view of the firm, and the "Corporate Strategy Triangle," a unique framework for the assessment of corporate advantage, are new intellectual developments that are deeply woven into the central thesis of the text.This book is an outgrowth of a corporate strategy course we developed and have taught at the Harvard Business School for the past five years. The course has attracted a wide range of students, including those who intend to be consultants, investment bankers, or stock analysts, as well as those who will run family businesses, or look to long-term careers as general managers in major industrial or consumer goods firms. This diversity testifies to the fundamental nature of the ideas and to the range of companies and settings to which they apply. In addition, in executive programs, the ideas have also been well received by seasoned managers whose primary objectives are to acquire useful, pragmatic management tools.