ABSTRACT
T h e d ecad e fo llo w in g W o rld W ar II gave b ir th to th e “s tra te g ic e ra .” W h ile th e te n e ts o f m ilita ry s tra te g y h ad b e e n evo lv ing fo r c e n tu r ie s , th e link to co m m erc ia l e n te rp r is e w as te n u o u s . B efo re th e la te 19 4 0 s , m o s t co m p an ies a d h e red to th e te n e t “m ak e a li t t le , sell a l i t t le , m ake a litt le m o re .” A fte r th e w ar, facu lty a t th e H arv a rd B usiness S choo l (so o n jo in e d by sw elling ra n k s o f c o n su lta n ts ) b eg an to tak e th e d isc ip lin e o f s tra te g y se riously . By th e la te 1970s, th e a rray o f s tra te g ic c o n c e p t (S W O T analysis, th e five fo rce s f ra m e w o rk , e x p e rie n c e c u rv es , s tra teg ic p o rtfo lio s , th e c o n c e p t o f c o m p e tit iv e advan tage) had b e c o m e s ta n d a rd o rd n a n c e in th e m a n a g e m e n t a rsen a l. Today, a m e re tw e n ty years la te r, a g rasp o f th e se co n cep ts is p re s u m e d as a th re sh o ld o f m a n a g e m e n t literacy . T hey have b e c o m e so fam iliar th a t i t is h a rd to im ag in e a w o rld w ith o u t th e m .
