Element contents
Series: Elements in Business Strategy
Tools for Strategy
A Starter Kit for Academics and Practitioners
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 August 2020
Summary
This Element discusses the concept and applications of strategy tools. Strategy tools are frameworks, techniques, and methods that help individuals and organizations to create their strategies. After a brief overview of different ideas on strategy and strategic thinking, we move on to define and discuss what strategy tools are and elaborate on the promise and perils of using them to implement strategic management. We review the most commonly used, classic tools and techniques, but also less well-known tools of the strategy trade, as proposed by scholars writing in the leading strategy journals. We conclude by offering suggestions on how to improve strategic design and the effectiveness of the resultant strategy through the selective use of the most appropriate tools. Overall, this Element provides a quick overview of the tools that are available to those tasked with creating organizational strategies and making strategic decisions.
Information
- Type
- Element
- Information
- Series: Elements in Business StrategyOnline ISBN: 9781108883757Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication: 24 September 2020
References
Achtenhagen, L., Melin, L., & Naldi, L. (2013). Dynamics of business model strategizing, critical capabilities and activities for sustained value creation. Long Range Planning, 46(6), 427–42.Google Scholar
Ackermann, F., & Eden, C. (2011). Strategic management of stakeholders: Theory and practice. Long Range Planning, 44(3), 179–96.Google Scholar
Bach, D., & Allen, D. B. (2010). What every CEO needs to know about nonmarket strategy. MIT Sloan Management Review, 51(3), 41–8.Google Scholar
Bagloee, S. A., Tavana, M., Asadi, M., & Oliver, T. (2016). Autonomous vehicles: Challenges, opportunities, and future implications for transportation policies. Journal of Modern Transportation, 24(4), 284–303.Google Scholar
Banker, R. D., Hsi–Hui, C., & Majumdar, S. K. (1996). A framework for analyzing changes in strategic performance. Strategic Management Journal, 17(9), 693–712.Google Scholar
Bartlett, C. A., & Ghoshal, S. (1990). Matrix management: Not a structure, a frame of mind. Harvard Business Review, 68(4), 138–45.Google Scholar
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120.Google Scholar
Barney, J. (1995). Looking inside for competitive advantage. Academy of Management Perspectives, 9(4), 49–61.Google Scholar
Barrick, M. R., Thurgood, G. R., Smith, T. A., & Courtright, S. H. (2015). Collective organizational engagement: Linking motivational antecedents, strategic implementation, and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 58(1), 111–35.Google Scholar
Bassi, L., & McMurrer, D. (2007). Maximizing your return on people. Harvard Business Review, 85(3), 115–23.Google Scholar
Berisha Qehaja, A., Kutllovci, E., & Shiroka Pula, J. (2017). Strategic management tools and techniques: A comparative analysis of empirical studies. Croatian Economic Survey, 19(1), 67–99.Google Scholar
Brouthers, K. D., & Roozen, F. A. (1999). Is it time to start thinking about strategic accounting? Long Range Planning, 32(3), 311–22.Google Scholar
Brown, J. S. (2004). Minding and mining the periphery. Long Range Planning, 37(2), 143–51.Google Scholar
Burgelman, R. A., Floyd, S. W., Laamanen, T., Mantere, S., Vaara, E., & Whittington, R. (2018). Strategy processes and practices: Dialogues and intersections. Strategic Management Journal, 39(3), 531–58.Google Scholar
Campbell, A., Goold, M., & Alexander, M. (1995). Corporate strategy: The quest for parenting advantage. Harvard Business Review, 73(2), 120–32.Google Scholar
Chirico, F., Sirmon, D. G., Sciascia, S., & Mazzola, P. (2011). Resource orchestration in family firms: Investigating how entrepreneurial orientation, generational involvement, and participative strategy affect performance. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 5(4), 307–26.Google Scholar
Christensen, C. M. (1997). Making strategy: Learning by doing. Harvard Business Review, 75(6), 141–56.Google Scholar
Clark, D. N. (1997). Strategic management tool usage: A comparative study. Strategic Change, 6(7), 417–27.Google Scholar
Combs, J. G., Russell Crook, T., & Shook, C. L. (2005). The dimensionality of organizational performance and its implications for strategic management research. In D. J. Ketchen & D. D. Bergh (Eds), Research Methodology in Strategy and Management (pp. 259–286). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.Google Scholar
Cummings, J. L., & Holmberg, S. R. (2012). Best–fit allianc partners: The use of critical success factors in a comprehensive partner selection process. Long Range Planning, 45(2/3), 136–59.Google Scholar
Currie, W. L., & Seddon, J. J. M. (1992). Managing AMT in a just-in-time environment in the UK and Japan. British Journal of Management, 3(3), 123–36.Google Scholar
Day, G. S. (2007). Is it real? Can we win? Is it worth doing? Harvard Business Review, 85(12),110–20.Google Scholar
Duck, J. D. (1993). Managing change: The art of balancing. Harvard Business Review, 71(6), 109–18.Google Scholar
Duncan, W. J., Ginter, P. M., & Swayne, L. E. (1998). Competitive advantage and internal organizational assessment. Academy of Management Executive, 12(3), 6–16.Google Scholar
Eden, C. (1990). Strategic thinking with computers. Long Range Planning, 23(6), 35–43.Google Scholar
Foster, M. J. (1993). Scenario planning for small businesses. Long Range Planning, 26(1), 123–9.Google Scholar
Frost, F. A. (2003). The use of strategic tools by small and medium-sized enterprises: An Australasian study. Strategic Change, 12(1), 49–62.Google Scholar
Gadiesh, O., & Gilbert, J. L. (1998). How to map your industry’s profit pool. Harvard Business Review, 76(3), 149–62.Google Scholar
Gates, S., & Very, P. (2003). Measuring performance during M&A integration. Long Range Planning, 36(2), 167.Google Scholar
Ghemawat, P. (2001). Distance still matters: The hard reality of global expansion. Harvard Business Review, 79(8), 137–47.Google Scholar
Golsorkhi, D., Rouleau, L., Seidl, D., & Vaara, E. (Eds). (2010). Cambridge Handbook of Strategy As Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gunn, R., & Williams, W. (2007). Strategic tools: An empirical investigation into strategy in practice in the UK. Strategic Change, 16(5), 201–16.Google Scholar
Hall, R. (1993). A framework linking intangible resources and capabilities to sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 14(8), 607–18.Google Scholar
Hambrick, D. C., & Fredrickson, J. W. (2001). Are you sure you have a strategy? Academy of Management Executive, 15(4), 48–59.Google Scholar
Hammond, K. R. (2010). Intuition, no! … quasirationality, yes! Psychological Inquiry, 21(4), 327–37.Google Scholar
Hatak, I., & Snellman, K. (2017). The influence of anticipated regret on business start-up behaviour. International Small Business Journal, 35(3), 349–60.Google Scholar
Helms, M. M., & Nixon, J. (2010). Exploring SWOT analysis – where are we now? A review of academic research from the last decade. Journal of Strategy and Management, 3(3), 215–51.Google Scholar
Heracleous, L., & Langham, B. (1996). Strategic change and organizational culture at hay management consultants. Long Range Planning, 29(4), 485–94.Google Scholar
Higgins, J. M. (1996). Innovate or evaporate: Creative techniques for strategists. Long Range Planning, 29(3), 370–80.Google Scholar
Huff, A. S., Floyd, S. W., & Sherman, H. D. (2009). Strategic Management: Logic and Action. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Irwin, D. (2002). Strategy mapping in the public sector. Long Range Planning, 35(6), 637–47.Google Scholar
Jarzabkowski, P. (2005). Strategy As Practice: An Activity-Based Approach. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Jarzabkowski, P., & Kaplan, S. (2015). Strategy tools in use: A framework for understanding ‘technologies of rationality’ in practice. Strategic Management Journal, 36(4), 537–58.Google Scholar
Kaplan, R. S. (2009). Conceptual foundations of the balanced scorecard. In C. S. Chapman, A. G. Hopwood, & M. D. Shields (Eds), Handbook of Management Accounting Research, Vol. 3 (pp. 1253–69). Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Kaplan, R. S., & Anderson, S. R. (2004). Time-driven activity-based costing. Harvard Business Review, 82(11), 131–8.Google Scholar
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2000). Having trouble with your strategy? Then map it. Harvard Business Review, 78(5), 167–76.Google Scholar
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2004). Measuring the strategic readiness of intangible assets. Harvard Business Review, 82(2), 52–63.Google Scholar
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2007). Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system. Harvard Business Review, 85(7/8), 150–61.Google Scholar
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2008a). Mastering the management system. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 62–77.Google Scholar
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2008b). The Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Publishing.Google Scholar
Kettinger, W. J., & Teng, J. T. C. (1998). Aligning BPR to strategy: A framework for analysis. Long Range Planning, 31(1), 93–107.Google Scholar
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (1999). Creating new market space. Harvard Business Review, 77(1), 83–93.Google Scholar
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2002). Charting your company’s future. Harvard Business Review, 80(6), 76.Google Scholar
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2005). Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Publishing.Google Scholar
Kohtamäki, M., & Einola, S. (2017). Participative strategy process in the city of Vaasa. In Johnson, G, Whittington, R, Scholes, K, Angwin, D, & Regnér, P (Eds.), Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases (pp. 525–31). Harlow: Pearson.Google Scholar
Laine, P. M., & Vaara, E. (2015). Participation in strategy work. In D. Golsorkhi, L. Rouleau, D. Seidl, & E. Vaara (Eds), Cambridge Handbook of Strategy As Practice (pp. 616–31). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
MacKay, R. B., & McKiernan, P. (2018). Scenario Thinking: A Historical Evolution of Strategic Foresight. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
MacMillan, I. C., & McGrath, R. G. (1995). Discovery-driven planning. Harvard Business Review, 73(4), 44–54.Google Scholar
MacMillan, I. C. & McGrath, R. G. (1996). Discover your products’ hidden potential. Harvard Business Review, 74(3), 58–73.Google Scholar
Maitland, E., & Sammartino, A. (2012). Flexible footprints: Reconfiguring MNCs for new value opportunities. California Management Review, 54(2), 92–117.Google Scholar
Maurer, M., Gerdes, J. C., Lenz, B., & Winner, H. (2016). Autonomous Driving: Technical, Legal and Social Aspects. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. S. (2011). Creating and capturing value: Strategic corporate social responsibility resource–based theory, and sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1480–95.Google Scholar
Miller, K. D., & Waller, H. G. (2003). Scenarios, real options and integrated risk management. Long Range Planning, 36(1), 93–107.Google Scholar
Mills, R. W., & Weinstein, B. (1996). Calculating shareholder value in a turbulent environment. Long Range Planning, 29(1), 76–83.Google Scholar
Minzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., & Lampel, J. (2005). Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Minzberg, H., & Waters, J. A. (1985). Of strategies, deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal, 6(3), 257–72.Google Scholar
Narayandas, D. (2005). Building loyalty in business markets. Harvard Business Review, 83(9), 131–9.Google Scholar
Neilson, G. L., Martin, K. L., & Powers, E. (2008). The secrets to successful strategy execution. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 60–70.Google Scholar
O’Higgins, E., & Weigel, J. (1999). HOB: A new tool for tracking and increasing value added. Long Range Planning, 32(1), 65–74.Google Scholar
Paroutis, S., Franco, L. A., & Papadopoulos, T. (2015). Visual interactions with strategy tools: Producing strategic knowledge in workshops. British Journal of Management, 26, S48–S66.Google Scholar
Piercy, N., & Morgan, N. (1991). Internal marketing: The missing half of the marketing programme. Long Range Planning, 24(2), 82–93.Google Scholar
Priem, R. L. (2007). A consumer perspective on value creation. Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 219–35.Google Scholar
Porter, M. E. (1980/2008). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Repenning, N. P., & Sterman, J. D. (2001). Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened: Creating and sustaining process improvement. California Management Review, 43(4), 64–88.Google Scholar
Robertson, C. J., & Crittenden, W. F. (2003). Mapping moral philosophies: Strategic implications for multinational firms. Strategic Management Journal, 24(4), 385–92.Google Scholar
Rockart, J. F., & Hofman, J. D. (1992). Systems delivery: Evolving new strategies. Sloan Management Review, 33(4), 21–31.Google Scholar
Rudder, L., & Louw, L. (1998). The SPACE matrix: A tool for calibrating competition. Long Range Planning, 31(4), 549–59.Google Scholar
Schoemaker, P. J. (1993). Multiple scenario development: Its conceptual and behavioral foundation. Strategic Management Journal, 14(3), 193–213.Google Scholar
Schoemaker, P. J. H. (1995). Scenario planning: A tool for strategic thinking. Sloan Management Review, 36(2), 25–40.Google Scholar
Shay, J. P., & Rothaermel, F. (1999). Dynamic competitive strategy: Towards a multi–perspective conceptual framework. Long Range Planning, 32(6), 559–72.Google Scholar
Slywotzky, A. J., & Drzik, J. (2005). Countering the biggest risk of all. Harvard Business Review, 83(4), 78–88.Google Scholar
Snellman, K. (2017). The role of emotions in new venture creation. Doctoral dissertation, Aalto University.Google Scholar
Spee, A. P., & Jarzabkowski, P. (2009). Strategy tools as boundary. Strategic Organization, 7(2), 223–32.Google Scholar
Spender, J. C. (2014). Business Strategy: Managing Uncertainty, Opportunity, and Enterprise. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Stonehouse, G., & Pemberton, J. (2002). Strategic planning in SMEs: Some empirical findings. Management Decision, 40(9), 853–61.Google Scholar
Toivanen, J., Toivonen, H., Valitutti, A., & Gross, O. (2012). Corpus-based generation of content and form in poetry. In M. L. Maher, K. Hammond, A. Pease, R. Pérez y Pérez, D. Ventura, & G. Wiggins (Eds), Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Computational Creativity (pp. 175–9). Dublin: University College Dublin.Google Scholar
Treacy, M., & Sims, J. (2004). Take command of your growth. Harvard Business Review, 82(4),127–33.Google Scholar
Vardi, N. (2010). The world’s biggest illicit industries. Forbes Magazine, 11 June. www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/biggest-illegal-businesses-business-crime.html#1b7493d65b98Google Scholar
Vesalainen, J., & Hakala, H. (2014). Strategic capability architecture: The role of network capability. Industrial Marketing Management, 43(6), 938–50.Google Scholar
Vlaskovits, P. (2011). Henry Ford, innovation, and that ‘faster horse’ quote. Harvard Business Review, 29(08). https://hbr.org/2011/08/henry-ford-never-said-the-fast#comment-sectionGoogle Scholar
Vuorinen, T., Hakala, H., Kohtamäki, M., & Uusitalo, K. (2018). Mapping the landscape of strategy tools: A review on strategy tools published in leading journals within the past 25 years. Long Range Planning, 51(4), 586–605.Google Scholar
Wawarta, C. A., & Paroutis, S. (2019). Strategy tools in open strategizing: Blessing or curse for making strategy more actionable? In Academy of Management Proceedings (p. 16778). Briarcliff Manor, NY: Academy of Management. https://journals.aom.org/doi/pdf/10.5465/AMBPP.2019.270Google Scholar
Whittington, R. (2006). Completing the practice turn in strategy research. Organization Studies, 27(5), 613–34.Google Scholar
Wright, R. P., Paroutis, S. E., & Blettner, D. P. (2013). How useful are the strategic tools we teach in business schools?. Journal of Management Studies, 50(1), 92–125.Google Scholar
Ylimäki, J. (2014). A dynamic model of supplier–customer product development collaboration strategies. Industrial Marketing Management, 43(6), 996–1004.Google Scholar
Zeithaml, V. A., Rust, R. T., & Lemon, K. N. (2001). The customer pyramid: Creating and serving profitable customers. California Management Review, 43(4), 118–42.Google Scholar
Accessibility standard: Unknown
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this element is currently unknown
and may be updated in the future.
- 19
- Cited by