What Is Business Strategy? — Definition, Levels, and Process
How does a discount chain sell cheap — and still turn a profit? It isn't luck. Behind every company that lasts stands a strategy: a clear decision about where it's going and how it will keep winning. In this lesson we'll define business strategy, meet the three levels at which it's set, and walk thr
Strategy is a company's game plan: where it wants to go, and how it'll use what it has to beat rivals — not once, but over the long run.
- strategy
- A course of action that aligns the firm's resources and capabilities with its missions and goals, to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
- sustainable competitive advantage
- An advantage rivals find hard to imitate, so it lasts over time.
- vision
- The company's picture of the future — 'where we're going'.
- mission
- Why the company exists today — what need it serves and for whom.
- values
- The principles that guide behavior and decision-making in the company (usually 4–8).
- levels of strategy
- The three levels at which strategy is set: corporate, business, and functional.
- goals
- Measurable results the company aims for — strategic (market position) and financial (profit, growth).
- strategic-management process
- A five-task cycle: vision/mission/values → goals → formulation → implementation → evaluation & correction, repeating.
