O&E: Positioning School

Question 1

What premises from Design school and Planning school did Positioning school add:

Answer 1

• Emphasis on the importance of the strategies themselves (not just the process).
• Opened up the prescriptive side for detailed investigation.

Question 2

What are revolutionary ideas of the positioning school:

Answer 2

• Only certain strategies are desirable in each industry.
• Organizations aim to occupy defensible positions against competitors.
• Easily defended positions lead to higher profits → more resources → growth opportunities.
• Belief in environmental determinism: the environment dictates how to gain competitive advantage.

Question 3

What are the key premises of the Positioning School?

Answer 3

• Strategy making is a controlled, conscious process (like Planning School).
• Strategies are fully developed, deliberate, formalized, then implemented.
• Best suited for stable environments.
• Focus on strategy content (what strategy is, not just how).
• There are a limited number of generic strategies.
• Only certain positions in an industry are desirable and lead to higher profits.
• Strategies are generic, identifiable marketplace positions.
• Analysts are important, but CEO is still the main strategist.

Question 4

What are the three waves of the Positioning School?

Answer 4

1. Early Military Writings
2. Consulting Imperatives (1970s)
3. Empirical Work (1980s)

Question 5

What are the 4 kinds of positioning school research?

Answer 5

• Single Static: Focus on one generic strategy and find favorable industry conditions.
• Cluster Static: Combine individual strategic positions into integrated strategies.
• Single Dynamic: Study effects of a single change (e.g., first mover advantage, game theory).
• Cluster Dynamic: Analyze clusters of relationships in a changing environment (most complex).

Question 6

What are the main critiques of the Positioning School?

Answer 6

• Focus is too economic
• Context is limited
• Strategy is developed in offices
• concern too narrow, fails to be nuanced.
• Separates thinking from acting.
• Overfocus on competition
• No room for new market creation.