Strategy for action II. Strategy formulation, development and control

The innovative and unique feature of this short series on strategic management (two conceptually related, but independent volumes), which sets it apart from the myriad of books on the subject, is that it does not contain one single theoretical concept that cannot be translated into practice Its aim is providing university students and practitioners with a practical, decision-making, and action-oriented overview of the strategic management process The objective is reached through the adoption of a set of logical and judgmental models, which show the operational interrelationships among the relevant factors that have an impact on firms’ competitiveness and that are or can be translated into spreadsheet frameworks The innovative and unique feature of this book is that it does not contain theoretical concept that cannot be translated into practice. This second volume expands the analysis of the strategic decisions, emphasizing the importance of a sustainable competitive advantage, and proposing an integrated conceptual and operational framework (the “Strateco Dashboard”), that complements and significantly improves the recent and well-known Blue Ocean approach to strategy development. Finally, it addresses the measurement of the performance of strategy in terms of value creation, highlighting differences and similarities, as well as strengths and weaknesses, of the main metrics. Furthermore, it proposes a comprehensive and operational framework for the assessment of the financial feasibility of strategy, through the measurement of the impact of the planned strategic moves on financial needs and the evaluation of their financial sustainability.