The Concept of Strategic Groups
Meaning of Strategic Groups Strategic group is a group of firms within an industry which face the same environmental forces, have same resources and follow similar strategy in response to the environmental forces. These strategies include pricing practices, level of technology investment and leadership, product scope and scale capabilities, and product quality. By identifying strategic groups, analysts and managers are better able to understand the different types of strategies that multiple firms are adopting within the same industry. For example, the restaurant industry can be divided into several strategic groups including fast-food and fine-dining based on variables such as preparation time, pricing and presentation. The number of groups within an industry and their composition depends on the dimensions used to define the groups. The concept of strategic groups in strategic management stems from an observation by Hunt (1972). Hunt coined the term strategic groups to describe a group of firms Continue reading