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The Strategy in Competitive Interactions

By: Eric J. Van den Steen
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Abstract

This paper reviews, discusses, and expands the “core guidance” definition of strategy as “the smallest set of choices to optimally guide (or force) other choices.” It first discusses what this definition contributes to the existing proposed definitions. It then considers the extension of this definition to the context of competitive interactions: whether the definition makes sense in that context and what it implies for decisions to be strategic in such context. As part of this analysis, it also uses the definition to explore a new issue: why quantity-based competitive moves might be more strategic than price-based moves.

Keywords

Strategy Formulation; Strategy Definition; Strategy; Competition; Analysis; Competitive Strategy; Decision Making

Citation

Van den Steen, Eric J. "The Strategy in Competitive Interactions." Strategy Science 3, no. 4 (December 2018): 574–591.
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About The Author

Eric J. Van den Steen

Strategy
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More from the Author
  • Strategy as Core Guidance By: Eric Van den Steen
  • Irreversibility By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Eric J. Van den Steen
  • Birds of a Feather ... Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy By: Hongyi Li and Eric J. Van den Steen
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