Abstract
Much of the debate in the literature on business strategy revolves around the appropriate unit of analysis. For Michael Porter (1980) and others who take a “market power” position, the issue is how markets are structured and how a particular focal firm can take advantage of that structure. A second position, called the “resource-based view” (Wernerfelt 1984) begins with the firm, asks what its resources are, and then considers what product markets the firm could serve so as to most efficiently utilize the array of resources at its disposal. Both of these positions take for granted the ability of managers to control what firms are doing and how. This involves both the degree to which managers (presumptively top managers) control the organizations they are supposed to manage and the speed with which adjustment can be made. Finally, both take a single firm as the strategic referent, treating strategic analysis as something done uniquely by that firm.
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Freeman, J. (1995). Business Strategy from the Population Level. In: Montgomery, C.A. (eds) Resource-Based and Evolutionary Theories of the Firm: Towards a Synthesis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2201-0_9
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