Skip to content
Product cover

Which Strategy When?

September 21, 2011 | Christopher B. Bingham, Nathan R. Furr, Kathleen M. Eisenhardt | Strategy

Markets are changing, competition is shifting, and businesses are suffering or perhaps thriving. Whatever the immediate circumstances, corporate managers ask the same questions: Where do we go from here, and which strategy will get us there? To understand how to choose the right strategy at the right time, the authors analyzed the logic of the leading strategic frameworks used in business and engineering schools around the world. They matched those frameworks with the key strategic choices faced by dozens of industry leaders at different times, during periods of stability as well as change.

Two insights emerged from their analysis. First, the frameworks divided into three archetypes: strategies of position, strategies of leverage and strategies of opportunity. What’s right for a company depends on its circumstances, its available resources and how management combines those resources. Second, many of the assumptions about competitive advantage didn’t hold. For example, although strategy gurus talk about strategically valuable resources, sometimes competitive advantage came from very ordinary resources assembled well.

To figure out when it makes sense to pursue strategies of position, leverage or opportunity, the authors advise managers to understand their company’s immediate circumstances, take stock of their current resources and determine the relationships among the various resources. Understanding these factors, they argue, will help managers select the right strategic framework.

Purchase Options

Educator and Student Discounts Available. Learn more »

  BENCHMARKS  
Loading Time: Base Classes  0.0021
My Controller Construct  0.0004
Build Nav  0.0006
Controller Execution Time ( Products / Route )  0.1103
Total Execution Time  0.1125
  GET DATA  
No GET data exists
  MEMORY USAGE  
1.5549 MB
  POST DATA  
No POST data exists
  URI STRING  
store/which-strategy-when
  CLASS/METHOD  
products/route
  DATABASE:  MITSLOAN_DEV   QUERIES: 68  (Hide)
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0005  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'a1fdd1b9e07f6e2f9a98cb1e496c7b63'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0003  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS cat_id
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `url_friendly` =  'which-strategy-when'
AND `parent_id` =  1 
0.0031  

SELECT c.parent_id, c.format_id
                    FROM products AS p, products AS c
                    WHERE p.prod_id = c.parent_id AND
                        c.avail_id IN ('A','B','D') AND
                        c.type_id = 'V' AND
                        (
                            c.sku = 'which-strategy-when' OR
                            if(c.format_id = 'Certificate', '', p.url_friendly) = 'which-strategy-when'
                        )
                    LIMIT 1 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  627 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '627' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '627'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '627' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_flags__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '627' 
0.0001  

SELECT `sku`
FROM (`products__xsell`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '627'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0684  

SELECT `products`.`parent_id`
FROM (`transaction_lines`)
JOIN `products` ON `products`.`sku` = `transaction_lines`.`sku`
JOIN `product_categories__products` ON `products`.`parent_id` = `product_categories__products`.`prod_id`
WHERE `products`.`avail_id` =  'A'
AND TO_DAYS(transaction_lines.updated_at) < (TO_DAYS(NOW()) - 90)
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` IN ('249') 
GROUP BY `products`.`parent_id`
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC
LIMIT 6 
0.0003  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '361' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '361' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '361'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0068  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '3961' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '3961' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '3961'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0003  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '35' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '35' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '35'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '179' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '179' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '179'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '489' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '489' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '489'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '2465' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '2465' 
0.0009  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '2465'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0004  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '627'
AND `kind` =  'image_600x600'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `media`.`media_id` =  '306' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`mime_types`)
WHERE `mime_types`.`extension` =  'jpg' 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`media_metadata`)
WHERE `media_id` =  '306' 
0.0003  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '627'
AND `kind` =  'gallery_image'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `avail_id` IN ('A', 'B', 'C', 'H') 
AND `parent_id` =  '627'
AND `type_id` =  'V'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `title` 
0.0001  

SELECT `c`.`format_id`, `c`.`price`, `c`.`sale_price`
FROM (`products` AS c)
WHERE `c`.`prod_id` =  '628'
LIMIT 1 
0.0003  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '628'
AND `kind` =  'thumbnail'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0002  

SELECT `product_categories__products`.`cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
JOIN `product_categories` ON `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` = `product_categories`.`cat_id`
WHERE `product_categories__products`.`prod_id` =  '627'
AND `product_categories`.`parent_id` =  1
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261)  
0.0004  

SELECT `cat_id` AS id, `parent_id` AS parent, `status_id`, `name`, `description`, `url_friendly`, `page_title`, `meta_keywords`, `meta_description`, `position`, `updated_at`
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `cat_id` != 1
ORDER BY `parent_id`, IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `name` 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `parent_id` =  1
AND `cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261) 
ORDER BY `name` 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`site_settings`)
WHERE `option_key` =  'announcement' 
  HTTP HEADERS  (Show)
  SESSION DATA  (Show)
  CONFIG VARIABLES  (Show)