Concordia University

John Molson School of Business

A Framework
for
THE STRATEGIC CASE ANALYSIS

Instructor: Dr. Roumen Solov

 1. Introduction
Situation Synopsis (a summery statement )
 This has to be a broad overview
including:
key facts,
events,
developments
players found in the case.
 2. Company’s Current Strategy

In that section you discuss:

1. Vision

2. Mission

3. Objectives

4. Corporate level strategies

5. Business level strategies

 3. EVALUATION OF CURRENT STRATEGY
PERFORMANCE

3.1. Competitive performance

- the starting point, is to find in the case a
text about what are the declared non-
financial strategic objectives of the
company
- then, you evaluate the achievement of
the stated non-financial strategic
objectives of the company
- finally, you make a conclusion about how
well is the company doing strategically
 3. EVALUATION OF CURRENT STRATEGY
PERFORMANCE

3.2. Financial performance

- find and use financial data available in the
case text,
- calculate and discuss the meaning of the
financial ratios values
- finally, you make a conclusion about how well
is the company doing financially
If there is no financial info in the case text, you write for this section
- NO INFO AVAILABLE
If the financial info is very little, you use it as much as you can and
write - VERY LITTLE FINANCIAL INFO IS AVAILABLE
 4. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

4.1. General External Environment

 Analyse only those of the following segments
that are relevant to the case you analyse. The
goal is to discover OPPORTUNITIES and THREATS.
1. Demographic
2. Economic
3. Political/Legal
4. Socio-cultural
5. Technological
6. Global
7. Physical Environment
 4. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

4.2. Industry Situation Analysis

4.2.1. Industry Structure is described by
 size of the industry in $$$,
 geographic boundaries (regional, national or
international),
 growth rate of the industry (rapid, slow,
stagnated, diminishing),
 stage of the product/market life cycle,
 number of sellers and relative size
 4. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

4.2. Industry Situation Analysis

4.2.2. Industry Directions & Trends are
described by
 Growth rate changes
 Product & process innovation
 Marketing innovation
 Government or regulation changes
 4. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

4.3. Competitive Situation Analysis

4.3.1. Competitive Forces (Porter Analysis)
 What is THE NATURE & RELATIVE STRENGTH
of each one of the 5 forces?
 What is the nature and intensity of rivalry among
competitors in:
 Pricing?
 Product introduction?
 Advertising?
 Other marketing techniques?
 4. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

4.3. Competitive Situation Analysis

4.3.2. Key competitors’ analysis

 Competitive STRATEGY & MARKET POSITIONING

 Competitive STRENGTH & WEAKNESSES in all

aspects of the business and value chain
 4. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

4.4. External Analysis Conclusion:

 Which are the KEY OPPORTUNITIES &
THREATS that currently exist in the
external environment?
 What is their STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
for the company?
 Is the industry sufficiently
ATTRACTIVE?
 5. INTERNAL ANALYSIS
5.1. Company’s Resources, Capabilities, Core
competencies, Competitive advantages.
 Which are the company’s resources where we
can find its strength and/or weaknesses?

 Which are the company’s capabilities?

 Which are the company’s core competencies?

 Which are the company’s competitive

advantages?
 5. INTERNAL ANALYSIS

5.2. Value Chain analysis – Strengths and

weaknesses. Are the company’s Prices and Costs
competitive?

Apply the Value Chain concept to do the

analysis here.
 If the case text has the needed information,
compare the company’s prices and costs
with key competitors.
 5. INTERNAL ANALYSIS
5.3. Marketing strategy and competitive position
 What constitutes the marketing strategy of the company
and where the company is strong, or weak?

 How is the company positioned in the market(s)?

 How strong is the company’s competitive position?

 Does the company have effective general marketing skills,

or any distinct competencies?

 Does the company have a good image and reputation?

 How well does the company know its market(s), customers
and competitors?
 5. INTERNAL ANALYSIS

5.4. Is the company Competitively Stronger or

Weaker than Key Rivals?

In this section you have to show the

results from your comparative analysis
between the company and competitors.

5.5. Internal analysis conclusion

 6. PROBLEM STATEMENT(S)
Problem statement consist of two parts:
 The first part which starts with GIVEN THE:
 (Here you formulate) The specific problems that
identify the difficulties with the existing strategy
 Opportunities and threats that should be taken
into consideration
 The second part includes the formulation of:
 A general statement of strategic problem(s) or
 issues facing the organization in terms of
 whether there is a need for revising
 the existing strategy, or
 formulating and implementing a new strategy
 7. FORMULATION and DISCUSSION of
STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES
 Develop CRITERIA that will be used
TO EVALUATE THE ALTERNATIVES
 These criteria will be used to select the most
appropriate strategic alternative
 The criteria have to be specific to the situation
 Example criteria:
 Cost to implement
 Productivity improvement
 Ability to improve customer service
 Improve return on investment
 Maintain market share etc.
 7. FORMULATION AND DISCUSSION OF
STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES
 Alternative # 1 could be the present strategy
(name it) , it is known as the status-quo strategy
 (Discuss) Pros
 (Discuss) Cons
Conclude with Assessment of the level of its viability
 Alternative # 2 (name it)
 (Discuss) Pros
 (Discuss) Cons
Conclude with Assessment of the level of its viability
 Alternative # 3 (name it)
 (Discuss) Pros
 (Discuss) Cons
Conclude with Assessment of the level of its viability
8. STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION

 Present the recommended strategy

highlighting the key benefits of this
strategy.

 Convince the reader why this is the most

logical course of action?