Strategic Business-Level Management Business-Level Strategy

Strategic Business-Level Management

Business-level strategy looks into the maintenance of the firm or company's competitive advantage of its services and/or products in the market. In order to maintain its competitive advantage, businesses must important elements such as ensuring that customer needs are met, there exists product differentiation, market segmentation is identified, and potential and extant competitions are identified. An example of this kind of strategy is one adopted by Sony Electronics USA, an electronics company known for providing multimedia and entertainment appliances and gadgets at the consumer level. Its strategy includes the four elements identified that make up the business level strategy. It meets its customers' needs by manufacturing products that are in demand and have the potential to be patronized by the consumers of multimedia and entertainment electronic products. Evidently, there is product differentiation because of the wide range of Sony products available in the market, which includes, among others, the Sony Walkman and Discman. Its target market includes technology-savvy individuals as well as families who constantly purchase home entertainment products, and Sony's competition are well-identified (e.g., Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp).

Strategic leadership is distinguished from entrepreneurial leadership in that the latter centers on implementing and making a reality plans that focus on the firm's operations. Entrepreneurial leadership includes identifying opportunities for growth for the firm, managing employees/members of the firm, monitoring developments in the production of a product or service, activities that are related to the firm's daily operations. Strategic leadership, meanwhile, provides a more in-depth look at the firm, going beyond its daily operations. This may include functions such as identifying the firm's internal and external business environments, determining the sub-cultures that exist within the firm, and being able to effectively implement decisions that aim to provide efficient performance among members of the firm that corresponds to the company or firm's culture, mission, and vision.

Corporate-level strategy centers its focus on determining a company's core business amid the existence of other businesses. This core business ultimately determines the company's corporate image, influencing its marketing and advertising plans and programs. An example of a company that adopts the corporate-level strategy is PepsiCo, which is primarily known as a beverage business company for its product Pepsi Cola, its core business despite the existence of its other businesses in the food and beverage industry, known also to manufacture products from brands such as Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Tropicana, and Quaker Foods.