Re-Examination of the Meaning of Strategy

• Activity Number: 502
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 6, 2014 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Business and Economic Statistics Section
• Author(s): Chandra Aleong*+ and John Aleong
• Companies: Delaware State University and University of Vermont
• Keywords: Strategy ; Strategy Models ; Customer ; Marketplace

Abstract

Given that the strategic question that drives business today seems to rely more on customers and the marketplace rather than on the production process and the product, the research topic for this paper is to determine whether the two major strategy models, Michael Porter's five forces model and the resource-based model are still relevant to today's businesses. These two models might have emphasized points along the value chain that are now considered to be important for operational efficiency but might not necessarily be vital for strategic direction or competitive advantage. Anticipating, providing, and meeting the complete and comprehensive needs of the customer means taking another look at how to incorporate products or services with all the intrinsic criteria that the marketplace is demanding. This means examining what successful companies like Nordstrom or IBM are doing. The hustle, the continuous refreshing of options, and the instant customer feedback, all point to a far more nimble process than the cornerstones used to build the well-known models of strategy.