Food-Service Strategy

Abstract

Strategic models designed to help managers understand and effectively compete in their industries have been developed, used, and superseded for more than 30 years. Most models have employed one of three approaches: portfolio analysis, competitive-advantage and competitor analysis, and internal-resources and -competencies analysis. Although each approach offers valuable insights into the competitive environment, each new model seems to disregard the conceptual contributions made by its predecessors. Seeking to remedy that oversight, the model developed in this article integrates four widely used strategic models, Boston Consulting Group's growth-share matrix, Richard D'Aveni's hypercompetition model, Kenichi Ohmae's four-basic-strategies matrix, and Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad's core-competency-agenda matrix. The new integrated model introduces the time element, which was missing from prior models, by connecting them with a modified life-cycle curve. Applied to the case of Outback Steakhouse, the hybrid model shows how Outback's management took early advantage of its strengths but may have squandered its lead in the casualtheme segment by taking a strategic wrong turn when it made an alliance with Carrabba's, an Italian-style restaurant.