A business strategy is an overarching plan of action to achieve one or more goals. Setting goals, assessing the external environment, evaluating the internal structure, and settling on a course of action are all components of business strategy (Primavesi, 2021, p.2406). Business strategy involves deciding what goods and services to sell, figuring out how much to charge for them, deciding how to reach customers, how to advertise, and how much money to invest. The key elements of a winning business strategy are recognizing opportunities for competitive advantage, creating strategies for exploiting those opportunities, assessing existing resources and competencies, and formulating a desirable organizational structure.
Business Management Concepts, Models, and Theories
There are six distinct phases of industry development, as suggested by models of industry evolution: emergence, expansion, maturity, decline, rejuvenation, and renewal. A new economic sector emerges during the emergence phase. In the growth phase, businesses increase their operations and compete more aggressively. When an industry has matured, stability and fierce rivalry set in (Cardinale, 2020,p.180). The decline phase is when an industry suffers due to technological advances and shifting consumer tastes. When an industry is rejuvenated, it rises again after experiencing a decline. Businesses are given a fresh lease on life during renewal, and innovative goods and services are developed. A company’s ability to foresee and prepare for disruption depends on its knowledge of the many phases of an industry’s life cycle (Cardinale, 2020, p.181). To get an edge in a competitive market, one company used industry evolution models to spot potential hotspots for innovation and capitalizes on emerging trends. A company can also utilize the models to look forward to shifts in the market and plan accordingly. Hence, industry development phases enable businesses to gauge the market, determine shifts, and take advantage of opportunities. Finally, corporate strategy models like the McKinsey 7Cs and the BCG Matrix can be used to analyze the various components of a company’s strategy and spot areas where innovation is possible. According to the McKinsey 7Cs model, a company’s strategy should center on seven factors: customers’ demands, internal resources, external pressures, the market environment, the cost of doing business, and the availability of appropriate communication channels (Al Khoury et al., 2022, p.10).
Strategic Analysis Tools
Under this approach, the company actively seeks new opportunities and takes calculated risks to develop superior products and services. On the other hand, a reactive strategy entails the company adjusting to the external environment as it evolves. Apple Inc. is an excellent case study on the benefits of taking preventative measures. With the help of its “Think Different” advertising strategy, Apple was able to set itself out from the competition and eventually become the most valuable brand in the world (Primavesi, 2021, p.1). Apple’s approach is grounded in a culture of innovation, which fuels the development of groundbreaking new products and services. Because of its unique strategy, Apple has become one of the world’s most successful corporations, allowing it to outperform its rivals consistently. Thus, innovation adoption theory explains that a company’s approach to innovation strategy determines how they adopt new strategies.
Additionally, Strategic Management Theory explains that businesses must conduct in-depth analyses of their environments and craft strategies to help them achieve their goals. To keep up with the competition, businesses must be able to analyze the market, spot emerging opportunities, and make sound judgments (Biswas et al., 2022, p.1706). In addition, businesses can use innovation to give themselves an edge in the market. To be competitive, businesses need to develop new competitive advantages consistently. Amazon is a good example of a corporation that has used new approaches to get an edge in the market. Because of its creative business model, Amazon can swiftly react to shifting market conditions and create novel products and services. Amazon has been successful in the e-commerce market because of the creative approaches it has used. Amazon has succeeded, whereas its rivals have failed by catering to its consumers’ specific demands and needs. Amazon’s inventive techniques have helped them win over existing and new customers. Hence, strategic management theory explains that when businesses carry out an in-depth analysis of their businesses, it will enable them to achieve their objectives.
Business and Corporate Strategies
Creating innovative business models is a prime example of the interplay between strategy and innovation to produce and offer value to customers while simultaneously producing income and profits; businesses need a strategic business strategy. Strategic business models rely heavily on innovation since it allows companies to discover fresh paths to value creation and consumer satisfaction. Innovation, for instance, is crucial to Amazon’s economic model (Clauss et al., 2021, p.768). Amazon was once an online bookstore but has now expanded to sell virtually anything imaginable. They consistently explored new technological, logistics, and supply chain administration approaches. Amazon’s strategic business plan is based on giving customers value through a large product catalog, competitive pricing, and prompt, dependable delivery. Therefore, the business model reveals how strategy and innovation enable businesses to offer value to customers while generating profits.
Finally, it is possible to use innovation to propel the development of entire markets. Industry evolution describes any industry’s natural change process (Cattani & Malerba, 2021, p.276). To adapt to changing market conditions, businesses rely heavily on innovation to launch new products and services. The automotive industry, for instance, has evolved thanks to Tesla’s smart use of innovation. Tesla’s emphasis on electric vehicles and renewable energy has shaken up the conventional auto business and given rise to a new market for such automobiles. This has compelled conventional automakers to adopt new technologies and strategies or risk falling behind the competition. Therefore, innovation boosts market evolution, enabling businesses to adapt to changing environments.
Conclusion
Businesses can greatly benefit from applying business strategy, management theories, and strategic planning instruments. Establishing objectives, analyzing relevant internal and external issues, and settling on a course of action are all components of a sound business strategy. Businesses can benefit from analyzing competition, new product development prospects, and market shift predictions made possible by management theories such as Porter’s Five Forces model, NSoff’s Matrix, and industry evolution models. The Innovation Adoption Hypothesis and the Strategic Management Theory are two of the many strategic tools that emphasize the value of innovation to a company’s performance and demonstrate the interplay between strategic planning and innovation in developing novel business models. By grasping these ideas and putting them into practice, businesses may satisfy customers, succeed in their missions, and turn a profit.
References List
Al Khoury, G. et al. (2022) “The requisite role of emotional intelligence in customer service in the retail banking sector,” International Journal of Organizational Analysis [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoa-04-2022-3229.
Biswas, S.R. et al. (2022) “Ecocentric leadership and voluntary environmental behavior for promoting sustainability strategy: The role of psychological green climate,” Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(4), pp. 1705–1718. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2978.
Cardinale, R. (2020) “The industrial policy role of European state-invested enterprises in the 21st Century,” The Routledge Handbook of State-Owned Enterprises, pp. 179–200. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351042543-10.
Cattani, G. and Malerba, F. (2021) “Evolutionary approaches to innovation, the firm, and the dynamics of industries,” Strategy Science, 6(4), pp. 265–289. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2021.0141.
Clauss, T. et al. (2021) “Strategic Agility, Business Model Innovation, and Firm Performance: An empirical investigation,” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 68(3), pp. 767–784. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1109/tem.2019.2910381.
Goyal, A. (2021) A critical analysis of Porter’s five forces model of competitive advantage, SSRN. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3765758 (Accessed: April 5, 2023).
Haque, M.G. et al. (2021) “Micro Financial Sharia non-bank strategic analysis: A study at BMT Beringharjo, Yogyakarta,” Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI-Journal): Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(2), pp. 1677–1686. Available at: https://doi.org/10.33258/birci.v4i2.1829.
Kafetzopoulos, D. (2022) “Environmental dynamism and sustainability: The mediating role of innovation, strategic flexibility and HR development,” Management Decision [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/md-06-2022-0759.
Kukartsev, V. et al. (2022) “Methods and tools for developing an organization development strategy,” 2022 IEEE International IOT, Electronics and Mechatronics Conference (IEMTRONICS) [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1109/iemtronics55184.2022.9795707.
Primavesi, C. (2021) Analyzing the sustainability of Apple’s competitive advantage, Handle Proxy. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/144880 (Accessed: April 5, 2023).
Zanten, J.A. and Tulder, R. (2021) “Analyzing companies’ interactions with the Sustainable Development Goals Through Network Analysis: Four corporate sustainability imperatives,” Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(5), pp. 2396–2420. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2753.