Contemporary Strategy Analysis ^{3rd Ed.}

In this most accessible strategy text, Robert M. Grant combines clarity of exposition with concentration on the fundamentals of value creation and an emphasis on practicality.

1. The Concept of Strategy
• The Concept of Strategy
• Introduction and Objectives
• The Role of Strategy in Success
• A Framework for Analyzing Business Strategy
• A Brief History of Business Strategy
• The Distinction Between Corporate and Business Strategy
• Different Approaches to Strategy: Design versus Process
• The Different Roles of Strategy Within the Firm
• The Role of Analysis in Strategy Formulation
• Summary
2. Tools of Strategic Management
• Goals, Values, and Performance
• Introduction and Objectives
• Strategy as a Quest for Profit
• Practical Issues in Linking Value-Based Management to Strategy
• Values and Mission
• Summary
• Analyzing the industry Environment
• Introduction and Objectives
• From Environmental Analysis to Industry Analysis
• The Determinants of Industry Profit: Demand and Competition
• Analyzing Industry Attractiveness
• Applying Industry Analysis
• Defining Industries: Identifying the Relevant Market
• Beyond the Five Forces Model: Dynamics, Game Theory, and Cooperation
• Opportunities for Competitive Advantage: Identifying Key Success Factors
• Summary
• Intra-Industry Analysis
• Introduction and Objectives
• Segmentation Analysis
• Strategic Groups
• Competitor Analysis
• Summary
• Analyzing Resources and Capabilities
• Introduction and Objectives
• The Role of Resources and Capabilities in Strategy Formulation
• The Resources of the Firm
• Organizational Capabilities
• Appraising the Profit-Earning Potential of Resources and Capabilities
• Developing the Resource Base of the Firm
• Summary
• Organizational Structure and Management Systems
• Introduction and Objectives
• The Evolution of the Corporation
• The Principles of Organizational Design
• Alternative Structural Form
• Management Systems for Coordination and Control
• Summary
3. The Analysis of Competitive Advantage
• The Nature and Sources of Competitive Advantage
• Introduction and Objectives
• The Emergence of Competitive Advantage
• Sustaining Competitive Advantage
• Competitive Advantage in Different Market Settings
• Types of Competitive Advantage
• Summary
• Cost Advantage
• Introduction and Objectives
• Economics of Experience
• The Source of Cost Advantage
• Using the Value Chain to Analyze Costs
• Cost Cutting in the 1990s
• Summary
• Differentiation Advantage
• Introduction and Objectives
• The Nature of Differentiation and Differentiation Advantage
• Analyzing Differentiation: The Demand Side
• Analyzing Differentiation: The Supply Side
• Bringing It All Together: The Value Chain in Differentiation Analysis
• Summary
4. Business Strategies in Different Industry Contexts
• Industry Evolution
• Introduction and Objectives
• The Life Cycle Model
• Structure, Competition, and Success Factors over the Life Cycle
• Anticipating and Shaping the Future
• Summary
• Appendix: Other Approaches to Industry Classification
• Technology-Based Industries and the Management of Innovation
• Introduction and Objectives
• Competitive Advantage in Technology-Intensive Industries
• Strategic Issues in Managing Technology and Innovation
• Implementing Technology Strategies: Creating the Conditions for Innovation
• Summary
• Competitive Advantages in Mature Industries
• Introduction and Objectives
• Key Success Factors in Mature Environments
• Strategy Implementation in Mature Industries: Structure, Systems and Style
• Strategies for Declining Industries
• Summary
5. Corporate Strategy
• Vertical Integration and the Scope of the Firm
• Introduction and Objectives
• Transaction Costs and the Scope of the Firm
• The Costs and Benefits of Vertical Integration
• Designing Vertical Relationships
• Summary
• Global Strategies and the Multinational Corporation
• Introduction and Objectives
• Implications of International Competition for Industry Analysis
• Analyzing Competitive Advantage in an International Context
• Applying the Framework: International Location of Production
• Applying the Framework: Foreign Entry Strategies
• Multinational Strategies: Globalization versus National Differentiation
• Strategy and Organization within the the Multinational Corporation
• Summary
• Diversification Strategy
• Introduction and Objectives
• Trends in Diversification over Time
• Motives for Diversification
• Competitive Advantage from Diversification
• Diversification and Performance
• Summary
• Managing the Multibusiness Corporation
• Introduction and Objectives
• The Structure of the Multibusiness Company
• The Role of Corporate Management
• Managing the Corporate Portfolio
• Managing Individual Businesses
• Managing Internal Linkages
• Recent Trends in the Management of Multibusiness Corporations
• Summary
• Strategies for the New Millennium
• Introduction
• The New Environment of Business
• Directions in Strategic Management Practice
• New Directions in Strategic Thinking
• The Knowledge-Based View of the Firm
• New Organizational Forms
• Summary

Very well written book, that manages to touch on nearly all modern aspects of strategy. It is also one of the few books that comprehensively covers the resource-based view of the form. Very well recommended.