A systematic comparative analysis and synthesis of two business‐level strategic typologies

Abstract

Two important business‐level strategic typologies were systematically evaluated, analyzed and compared in this study: Porter'S Overall Cost Leadership, Differentiation, Focus, and ‘Stuck in the Middle’ generic competitive strategies, and Miles and Snow'S Defender, Prospector, Analyzer, and Reactor types of organizational adaptation. On the basis of strategic theory, and following a pilot study, 31 strategic variables were evaluated by judges on a seven‐point maximum‐minimum scale, for each strategy, within its typology. Analysis of variances and concordance among judges regarding the ranking of the strategies on each variable were examined, and a strategic profile was built for each strategy. Proximities between strategies of the two typologies were analyzed using monotonic multidimensional scaling. The analysis indicated similarities and differences between the two typologies. A synthesis of the two typologies is suggested along two dimensions: internal consistency of the strategy, and level of proactiveness.

Management control systems in innovation companies: a literature based framework

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“…In fact, a differentiation strategy relies on strong marketing abilities, product engineering skills, and creative ideas, which are more closely associated with a strategic orientation. In contrast, cost-focused leadership strategies are related to more defensive and conservative orientations (Miles and Snow, 1978;Segev, 1989), because they emphasize process engineering skills, tight cost controls, and efficient distribution systems (Porter, 1980). These differences among competitive strategies suggest that firms seeking to renew or strengthen themselves by adopting a more strategic orientation should achieve better performance when their managers implement differentiation strategies focused on innovation and creativity (Entrialgo et al, 2001).…”

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