ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the difference between corporate strategy and marketing strategy, and explains a portfolio analysis. It explores the different growth directions for companies and shows how to relate growth directions to development methods (partnering or not). The chapter discusses the decisions made at the top level of the company: the corporate objective and the corporate strategy. Prioritizing the variables used for the objectives is an issue for top management. This involves, for example, the question of whether the company wants to emphasize market share or profit. A company that is active in various markets with various products should strive for balance in its product–market combinations. The method a company may use to achieve a balanced portfolio is to define goals for the market positions of the product–market combinations and subsequently attempt to achieve those goals by investing more or less in the various products.
