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Submitted By amir999
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Strategy Execution - Chapter 4 in
Strategic Thinking
A Strategic Management Textbook
Gordon Walker
Professor
Cox School of Business
Southern Methodist University
Dallas TX 75275

Introduction How firms build and maintain resources and capabilities is the key to understanding strategy execution. Firms in an industry typically cluster into distinct market positions and at the same time to differ in how well they execute their strategies. Within a cluster of highly similar market positions, based on a set of value and cost drivers, one firm may perform well and another relatively poorly. This variation in the ability to execute emerges over time as the industry develops and firms experiment with alternative dynamic growth paths, some of which succeed better than others. Examples of interfirm differences in the ability to execute are present in every industry. For instance, in the late 1980’s and 1990’s Bank of America developed a distinctly different and ultimately more successful set of capabilities from Banc One in the race to dominate national commercial banking through acquisition. Southwest Airlines succeeded in taking over the California low-cost market previously controlled by PSA, from whom it originally learned the low cost model. And Dell’s growth and economic performance surpasses other top tier personal computer firms, all of whom have attempted to copy its model, albeit unsuccessfully. Resources. A resource is a relatively stable, observable asset that gives the firm a sustained advantage over rivals. Examples of resources are: □ a patent or combination of patents □ ownership of an abundant or especially valuable natural resource □ an established brand □ a dedicated distribution network.
Some resources, such as a patent or geographical location, can retain their value over time with little

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