Aligning for advantage : competitive strategies for the political and social arenas
/ Thomas C. Lawton, Jonathan P. Doh, and Tazeeb Rajwani.
- Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2014.
- xvii, 237 pages : illustrations : 24 cm.
Pt. 1. Foundations of alignment — 1. Establishing alignment — 2. Origins of engagement — 3. Rationalizing complexity — pt. 2. Pathways to influence — 4. Responding to uncertainty — 5. Individual versus collective action — 6. Designing nonmarket architecture — pt. 3. Creating aligned strategy — 7. Sensing to incubate interest — 8. Shaping information value — 9. Aligning with stakeholders — pt. 4. Delivering with impact — 10. Ensuring balance — 11. Embracing new frontiers — 12. Leading for advantage.
In today's multipolar world economy, strategic alignment is a key determinant of competitive advantage. Coca-Cola, Danone, Diageo, DuPont, Lufthansa and Tata are some of the companies that strive for a pragmatic approach to balancing competitive strategies with political and social obligations. Aligning for Advantage argues that to build and sustain corporate success, companies must synchronize business objectives and market positions with political and regulatory activism and social and environmental engagement. Moreover, to be credible and realizable, these external market and nonmarket strategies need to be equally attuned with corporate vision, values, and culture. The book advances a managerial process and conceptual framework for aligning corporate strategy. In some cases alignment may mean deep, strategically embedded partnerships with governments, NGOs, or other stakeholders. In others, alignment may take the form of looser, temporary collaborations with outside organizations. No matter the approach, the relationship between nonmarket and market strategies should be deliberate and genuine, not accidental or artificial. Truly aligned strategies should reconcile and modulate sometimes conflicting external demands in a way that is appropriate for the corporation's geographic and market positions. In the end, companies must leverage their overall nonmarket strategy as a source of competitive advantage.
9780199604753
Strategic planning Business planning
Bibliography MSc - International Business: Issues and Trends in International Business