Preface

Summary

Getting started

The aim of this book is to provide a concise presentation of the theory and practice of strategic management, with particular emphasis on effective, responsive strategy-making processes. The scope is comprehensive and research-based and yet presents the content in an accessible manner, ready to be applied in management practice. The book presents conventional and newer tools for practical strategy analysis and considers the associated strategy process expressed in an integrative strategy model, where strategic responsiveness is a necessary precursor for organizational adaptation. These themes are anchored in the core elements of strategic management, together with inputs from current research efforts. Hence, the book can be used as a general strategy textbook in contemporary MBA programs where there is a need for a succinct overview of the field. By adding selected reference articles and related case studies, it can form a solid base for graduate classes in strategic management. It may also serve as a useful foundation for different executive programs where participants want to probe the strategy field, challenge their current thinking, and consider approaches to effective strategy making that can be applied to their own organizations. With a general grounding in the strategy literature including key references, it might even serve as a useful core text for PhD students with a general interest in the strategic management field.