2nd Edition
Strategic Management From Theory to Practice
A focus on creating and sustaining a flow of profitable transactions, in other words, the creation of sustainable competitive advantage is the seemingly simple, yet complex goal of strategic leaders and managers. Allen Amason and Andrew Ward approach the topic of strategic management with this focus in mind. Rather than simply teaching theory and research, Amason and Ward seek to convey the fundamental keys to how strategy works.
This book is designed to help students think critically and understand fully how to strategically manage their future firms. In so doing, it will enable them to adapt and learn, even as their circumstances change; to apply sound logic and reasoning, even in new and unfamiliar settings. By conveying enduring and fundamental principles of economic and human behavior rather than simply reporting on the latest innovations, this book succeeds in preparing students to excel in the business environment over time, regardless of how it evolves.
1. An Introduction to Strategic Management
2. Understanding Organizational Performance
3. Tools of the Trade4 Analyzing the Environment
5. Organizational Strengths and Weaknesses: Analyzing a Firm’s Capabilities and Resources
6. Strategies for Competitive Advantage
7. Corporate and Multi-Business Unit Strategy
8. Implementation, Adaptation and Learning
9. Disruptive Megatrends
10. Issues of Context, Setting and Application
Biography
Allen Amason is Dean of the College of Business at Georgia State University, USA
Andrew Ward is Associate Professor of Management at Lehigh University, USA
"This may be the best strategic management textbook that I have seen in recent years. Amason covers the standard topics that need to be addressed—and he does so in a clear, straightforward manner. Then, in a conclusions section at the end of each chapter, he offers insightful commentary on the chapter topic. Students should find this book interesting, useful, and perceptive."
Gary Castrogiovanni, Florida Atlantic University
"Allen C. Amason and Andrew Ward have written a fabulously readable and totally up-to-date book. It draws from classic, time-tested concepts but in a way that is completely contemporary and fresh. I especially admire the in-depth discussion of analytic frameworks along with more behavioral and social aspects of executive leadership. The book will serve both students and instructors of strategic management exceedingly well."
Donald C. Hambrick, The Pennsylvania State University
"Amason and Ward’s Strategic Management (second edition) is a wonderful book, current, thoughtful, innovative, and comprehensive. Its focus on leadership and its role in value creation is especially noteworthy. Well written and easy to follow, the book does a masterful job in capturing current thinking while being accessible. Cases and vivid examples make the book fun to read and easy to apply. I strongly recommend it."
Shaker A. Zahra, University of Minnesota
"Amason and Ward’s book provides a solid presentation of tools and insights necessary for a fine strategy text. It also nicely balances analytics of strategy and the management of strategy."
Philip Bromiley, University of California, Irvine
"Allen C. Amason and Andrew Ward have taken the associated theory and research relating to strategic management and presented it in a straightforward and understandable manner that challenges each reader, regardless of career level, to question his or her past strategy decisions and methods of determining those decisions."
Craig Loyal Sarna, Account Executive, GE Capital Solutions
"Thinking and acting strategically are key to any successful manager or business. This book bridges the gap between just learning about strategic management and applying strategic thinking and models to everyday business challenges and situations. This practical text provides an experienced voice to the research, adding a needed and integral set of skills to any manager's repertoire."
Julie Staggs, Senior Client Consultant, Stamats, Inc.
"Amason and Ward do an exceptional job of shining a spotlight on the subtle difference between a text ‘on’ strategic management and a book ‘about’ strategic management. Students using his text will have the confidence and desire to take responsibility for value creation, rather than simply understand it."
Jim Martin, Regional Director, Senior Vice President, Eagle Asset Management
