ABSTRACT
In the strategic management literature there is broad agreement on the difference between corporate strategy, business strategy, and operations strategy. In essence, these can be considered as a hierarchy. Corporate strategy is devised by large firms in order to provide an overall plan for the firm. Within the firm, there may be a number of different businesses, for each of which a strategy is devised. For instance, Accor has hotels, travel agency, and restaurant coupons among its portfolio of businesses. Once a business strategy has been set, each of the functional areas within the business—marketing, human resources, finance, and operations— devises its own strategies, as illustrated in Figure 14.1.
