Strategic Analysis in 3D A tentative approach to frame a lifelike picture of strategic analysis

Abstract

During years of studies at different universities a vast number of models on strategic development have been taught. Depending on which university, department and teacher one has there will be different models taught and different kinds of criticism passed upon the models. This results in confusion for students in the end not knowing which model is appropriate for which given situation. The same issue is anticipated to be experienced by people working in different companies challenged with the difficult work of analyzing the company and its market to create the perfect strategy that the whole company will be imbued with and lead it towards success. Though surprisingly little has been written in the field of strategic analysis model classification and thus the ultimate way to combine the different models that exist for the best possible result, this study is an attempt to change that. An analysis model to classify the different strategic analysis models will hopefully bring the analyst a step closer into being able to choose the models for the analysis with a better precision and with a better argument to why. To test the models accuracy there is an example of a medium-sized construction company active in the Gothenburg region analyzed with four differently classified models. They should be seen for what they are and that is an attempt to shed some light in the complex world of finding the right tools for analyzing a company and its environment in the best possible way to obtain the most accurate and an all-embracing picture. The main conclusion of this thesis is that a perfect combination of strategic analysis models not only can be identified by covering the three dimensions, but a palette of models with different characteristics needs to be found.

In this study there are three different strategic analysis model classification categories (dimensions) in focus and four strategic analysis models chosen to be classified by the dimensions and tested within the company mentioned above. The three classification categories used in this study are; Internal versus External, Activities-based versus Resources-based and Dynamic versus Static. The strategic analysis models chosen for the purpose of this study are; Porter’s five forces, shareholder value oriented strategy, the value shop and resource based view.