EVOLUTON OF

STRATEGIC THINKING
AND LESSONS FOR
MANAGERS
Associate Professor Mehmet BARCA
University of Sakarya, Turkey
Questions to be Tackled:
1. Given the last fifty years or so, towards
which direction has strategic thinking
progressed, and
2. In the light of this progress, what are the
lessons that we could draw for
executives to manage their organizations
strategically?
The Aim of This Historical Analysis
is to Find Out:
1. What environmetal conditions are dominating
our period or going to dominate in the future
2. What is the primary focus and concern of the
executives working under these conditions
3. What are the recommendations of academic
and consultant communities to the executives
regarding how to succeed in coming decades.
The History of Modern Strategic Management

1.Strategic Planning Phase (1950-1975)

2.Competitive Strategy Phase (1975-1990)

3.Knowledge-based Strategy Phase

(1990- …)
To Analyze Each Phase, Three
Interrelated Questions are Set to Answer:
1. What were the environmental conditions
under which managers had to work
during this phase?
2. Given the environmental characterisitcs
of this phase, what was the primary
focus and problem of management?
And,
3. What was the managerial response to
the primary problem of the time?
Phase 1: Strategic Planning
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPEXITY

Environmental
Characteristics Stability and Expansion

Executive Focus
Investment

Strategic Planning
Strategic Response

1950 1975 TIME

Phase 2: Competitive Strategy
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPEXITY

Environmental
Characteristics Stability and Instability
Expansion and Increased
Executive Competition
Focus Investment Market Positioning

Strategic
Response Strategic Planning Competitive Strategy

TIME
1950 1975 1990
Phase 3: Knowledge-Based Strategy:
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPEXITY

Instability and Discontinuous

Environmental Increased Change and
Stability and Competition Globalization
Characteristics
Expansion

Executive Risk Management Market Innovation

Focus Positioning

Strategic Strategic Competitive Knowledge- Based

Response Planning Strategy Strategies

1950 1975 1990 TIME

From the Analysis Three Significant
Conclusions That can be Drawn:
1. The main strategic problem, the focus and solution of
the organizations are, rather than being absolute, a
matter of changing conjectures. Given this, we must
ask, what will be the defining characteristics of the
conjecture for the coming decades, and accordingly,
the main problem and focus of managers?
2. The strategic solution to the conjectural problems, in
particular the sources of sustainable competitive
advantage changes over time. Given this, what will be
the solution in general or in particular sources of
sustainable competitive advantage for the coming
decades?
3. Every source of a sustainable competitive advantage
requires a different way of management. Given this,
what will be strategic model of management for the to-
be source of sustainable competitive advantage for the
decades in front of us?
LESSONS DRAWN FROM THE
EVOLUTION OF STRATEGIC
THINKING
Lesson 1: The first lesson we can draw from
this analysis is that the essence of strategic
management is how to manage the change in
order to succed. In this context, the question
to be answered is: “what are the dynamics,
directions and reasons of change dominating
or will dominate the very environment and
how to respond to them strategically in order
to get and sustain competitive advantage?”
 Nature of Economy

Knowledge Economy

Drivers of Economic Change

Globalization
ICT- Information and Communications
Technology
Lesson 2: After 1990s, interest in the role of
strategy in building competitive advantage
resulting in a shift of interest toward the
internal aspects of the firm as the motor
power of competitive advantage.
Nature of Economy Nature of Competition
Knowledge Economy Knowledge- Based
Competition
Drivers of Economic
Change Sources of Competitive
Advantage
Globalization
ICT- Information and Knowledge Assets
Communications
Technology
Lesson 3: Every source of sustainable
competitive advantage requires a different
way of management. Given this, then we
ask, what will be strategic model of
management for the awaited source of
sustainable competitive advantage for the
decades in front us?
Distinguishing Characteristics of
Knowledge Assets:

1. Network effects of knowledge assets

2. Diversity effects of knowledge assets
3. Uncertain value effects of knowledge
assets
4. Uncertain value-sharing effects of
knowledge assets
Macro Level Meso Level Micro Level

Nature of Nature of
Nature of Economy Competition Organization
Knowledge Economy Knowledge- Based Learning
Competition Organization
Drivers of Economic Sources of Strategic Focus of
Change Competitive Executives
Globalization Advantage Knowledge
ICT- Information and Knowledge Assets Management
Communications
Technology
Thank you for your patient and kind
attention