Operationalizing the Concept of Business-Level Strategy in Research

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Operationalizing the Concept of Business-Level Strategy in Research

Hambrick, Donald C.. Academy of Management.
The Academy of Management Review. Briarcliff Manor: Oct 1980. Vol. 5, Iss. 4; pg. 567


Abstract (Summary)
The concept of strategy has become important in business as a way of guiding it in its relationships with its environment, internal processes, and toward its performance objectives. A study was conducted to determine methods used in operationalizing strategy, specifically business-level strategies. One method used is the textual descriptions of strategy, where strategy is not measured, but is described in a comprehensive textual fashion, such as a case study.
A second method is the measurement of parts of strategies, where the focus is on the measurement of a single key factor. The multivariate measurement of strategy considers the relationship between several key variables using regression analysis tools. The typologies of strategies are where several types of strategies with an individual characteristic are considered. The method used is based on how well the questions are understood, the role of the strategy in the research design, and the investigator's theoretical definition of strategy.