Aligning for Advantage

Abstract

In Aligning for Advantage, it is argued that to deliver successfully on a company’s overarching purpose and intent, competitive strategy needs to be synchronized with strategies for political and regulatory activism and social and environmental engagement. Moreover, these market and nonmarket strategies must be equally attuned with, and informed by, the corporate vision, values, and objectives. The ability to align with and across both the market and the nonmarket is a key determinant of competitive advantage in a multipolar world economy. A managerial process and a conceptual framework are advanced for aligning a company’s business objectives and market positions with its political requirements and social obligations. Strategic alignment is a pragmatic and proactive approach for modern enterprises to engage with the forces and events affecting their business choices and actions at home and abroad. Companies must strive for a balanced and mutually reinforcing approach to corporate strategy, political activity, and social responsibility. In some cases, alignment may mean deep, strategically embedded partnerships with governments, NGOs, or other stakeholders. In others, alignment may consist of looser, more ad hoc collaborations with outside organizations and institutions. Whatever the approach, the relationship between nonmarket and market strategies should be conscious and deliberate, not accidental or artificially constructed. Truly aligned strategies seek to reconcile and modulate the sometimes conflicting external demands that a company encounters in a way that is appropriate for the firm’s geographic and market positions, while at the same time leveraging the overall nonmarket strategy as a source of competitive advantage.