Monte Shaffer

Much has been discussed about strategy, its process, and its actual application within a firm; however; as the literature suggests, a strategic theory is lacking that unifies the key principles of strategy into an ecumenical theory. Proposed is such a theory, the Fire Fox.

Every discipline must, at times, attempt to objectively assess or reassess itself: does marketing provide real value to the firm or is it self-preserving myopia?

If I were to teach the first few weeks of Strategy Seminar, what would I do?

Identifying distinctive competencies (a.k.a. competitive advantages or capabilities) is a sense-making process that various depending on a dynamic interaction of cycles: economic, industry, firm, and product.

Traditional views of pioneering and entry barriers are reassessed as a new concept of pioneering (value and innovation) is introduced. The new views have much of the essence of the traditional views, without the competitive emphasis.

Prior research has shown that intangible assets contribute to the market value of firms. Quantifying the intangible is a challenge, as will be discussed in the case of one such intangible—customer equity.

Firms adopting customer-centric views can derive the antecedents to customer equity (commitment and trust); firms not adopting this view can not.

RFID—I mean VRIN—has become an embedded staple of academic strategic thought. A full appreciation of the development of the resource-based view of the firm reveals an undercurrent of debate, both explicit and tacit.

The meaning of integration has evolved: in 1828, “to integrate” simply meant to make entire. In 1913, “to integrate” meant to form into one whole or complete. Today, it means to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole; that is, to unite with something else. Proposed is a holistic merging of two theories: transactional cost analysis and agency theory—merging the agent and the transaction as key “units of analyses.”

Capabilities within a firm are a result of the behavioral consequences of routine tasks. Such capabilities differ from firm to firm based on a firm’s resources, orientations, cultures, and environments. Dynamic capabilities are adapting based on the firm’s ability to make sense of these aforementioned elements, and reconfigure appropriately.

Orienteering: a race across unfamiliar countryside using maps and a compass.

The role of marketing is a natural function within communities of practice. Firms can leverage this role to drive culture within consumer communities of practice by supporting online manifestations of these communities.