Aligning for Advantage

Competitive Strategies for the Political and Social Arenas

Thomas C. Lawton, Jonathan P. Doh, and Tazeeb Rajwani

Takes a strategic management approach to a company's engagement with political, regulatory and social arenas and interests
Develops a conceptual framework and managerial process for designing and delivering successful nonmarket strategies
Compares and synthesizes nonmarket strategy best practices in a variety of company and country contexts.
Advances an argument and logic for aligning nonmarket and market strategies to deliver competitive advantage
Argues that regulatory and responsibility departments in companies should be functionally integrated and managerially elevated to ensure that the nonmarket environment is engaged at a strategic level in business organizations

Aligning for Advantage

Competitive Strategies for the Political and Social Arenas

Thomas C. Lawton, Jonathan P. Doh, and Tazeeb Rajwani

Description

In today's multipolar world economy, strategic alignment is a key determinant of competitive advantage. Coca-Cola, Danone, Diageo, DuPont, Lufthansa and Tata are some of the companies that strive for a pragmatic approach to balancing competitive strategies with political and social obligations. Aligning for Advantage argues that to build and sustain corporate success, companies must synchronize business objectives and market positions with political and regulatory activism and social and environmental engagement. Moreover, to be credible and realizable, these external market and nonmarket strategies need to be equally attuned with corporate vision, values, and culture. The book advances a managerial process and conceptual framework for aligning corporate strategy. In some cases alignment may mean deep, strategically embedded partnerships with governments, NGOs, or other stakeholders. In others, alignment may take the form of looser, temporary collaborations with outside organizations. No matter the approach, the relationship between nonmarket and market strategies should be deliberate and genuine, not accidental or artificial. Truly aligned strategies should reconcile and modulate sometimes conflicting external demands in a way that is appropriate for the corporation's geographic and market positions. In the end, companies must leverage their overall nonmarket strategy as a source of competitive advantage.

Aligning for Advantage

Competitive Strategies for the Political and Social Arenas

Thomas C. Lawton, Jonathan P. Doh, and Tazeeb Rajwani

Section I:Foundations Of Alignment
1:Establishing Alignment
2:Origins of Engagement
3:Rationalizing Complexity
Section II: Pathways To Influence
4:Responding to Uncertainty
5:Individual versus Collective Action
6:Designing Nonmarket Architecture
Section III: Creating Aligned Strategy
7:Sensing to Incubate Interest
8:Shaping Information Value
9:Aligning with Stakeholders
Section IV: Delivering With Impact
10:Ensuring Balance
11:Embracing New Frontiers
12:Leading for Advantage

Aligning for Advantage

Competitive Strategies for the Political and Social Arenas

Thomas C. Lawton, Jonathan P. Doh, and Tazeeb Rajwani

Author Information

Thomas C. Lawton, Professor of Strategy and International Management, Open University Business School, UK, Jonathan P. Doh, Rammrath Chair in International Business, Villanova School of Business, USA, and Tazeeb Rajwani, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management, Cranfield School of Management, UK

Thomas C. Lawton is Professor of Strategy and International Management and Director of the Centre for International Management Practice at the Open University Business School and Visiting Professor of Business Administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is the author or co-author of more than 40 referred articles and book chapters and author or editor of 8 books. His most recent books are Breakout Strategy: Meeting the Challenge of Double-Digit Growth (with Sydney Finkelstein and Charles Harvey, McGraw-Hill) and The Routledge Companion to Non-Market Strategy (with Tazeeb Rajwani, Routledge).

Jonathan P. Doh holds the Rammrath Chair in International Business, serves as Faculty Director for the Centre for Global Leadership, and is Professor of Management at Villanova School of Business. He is author or co-author of more than 70 refereed articles, 30 chapters in scholarly edited volumes, more than 80 conference papers, and 8 books. His most recent books are NGOs and Corporations: Conflict and Collaboration (with Michael Yaziji, Cambridge University Press) and International Management: Culture, Strategy and Behavior (with Fred Luthans, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 9th edition), the best-selling international management text.

Tazeeb Rajwani is a Lecturer in Strategic Management at Cranfield School of Management. Previously he has been a Director of Strategy at a high-tech start-up, where he still holds an advisory position. He has also held a management position at KPMG Corporate Finance, where he was an Innovation Champion and member of the Thought Leadership group at KMPG Europe. He works with corporate clients globally to develop their competitive strategies and corporate political activities. His research focuses mainly on competitive advantage, nonmarket strategy and corporate political activity in global firms. He has published many academic papers, book chapters, reports and white papers on these themes in a variety of reputable outlets. His research has been reported in the commercial press, including the Irish Times, The Times and Financial Times. He received his Ph.D. from Imperial College London in strategic management.

Aligning for Advantage

Competitive Strategies for the Political and Social Arenas

Thomas C. Lawton, Jonathan P. Doh, and Tazeeb Rajwani

Reviews and Awards

"Together, the authors represent an impressive level of expertise with regard to corporate strategy and the non-market environment ... The balance they seem to strike between their academic and practical work is clearly reflected by the book: scientific theories have been illustrated by practical examples and vice versa. It is obviously written by three experts and I believe their ability to combine theory and practice is a major strength of the book." - Stefan Breet, Stratnotes.com,

"What a timely book! In an era where no company is immune to political and social forces, Aligning for Advantage gives managers a blueprint of what to look out for, how to craft a proactive strategy in the face of these forces, and even how to make nonmarket strategy a key driver of business performance results." - Sydney Finkelstein, Steven Roth Professor of Management, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College and author of Why Smart Executives Fail

"The social and political environment of business is of increasing importance to firm success, and Aligning for Advantage is an important advancement, providing frameworks and guidance for nonmarket strategy formulation and its alignment with the market strategy of a firm. The book is well grounded in management and social science research and is wide-ranging in its scope yet specific to companies and industries operating in global markets." - David P. Baron, David S. and Ann M. Barlow Professor of Political Economy and Strategy, Emeritus, Stanford University and author of Business and its Environment

"This book is an invaluable resource for corporate managers who constantly struggle with, and are often frustrated by, the challenges involved in successfully growing their business while navigating an increasingly complex social and political environment. Managers who all too often simply think about getting 'rid' of non-market obstacles, will gain precious insight and acquire tools for strategically engaging with stakeholders as an important tactic for competitive advantage." - Jumbi Edulbehram, Director of Business Development, Samsung Techwin America

"Management skills will prove of little value unless managers are culturally wise and aware of the nuances of nonmarket settings. Aligning for Advantage is a provocative and superbly written book on today's global management." - Ricaurte Catín Vasquez, PhD, Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policies-Latin American, General Electric and Former Minister of Finance, Government of Panama

"A useful and accessible collection of frameworks highlighting the link between corporate social responsibility, corporate political activity and corporate strategy with insights drawn from an engaging mix of historical and current cases." - Witold Henisz, Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management, Wharton School of Business, The University of Pennsylvania and author of Corporate Diplomacy: Building Reputation and Relationships with External Stakeholders.

"The authors convey in a practical way how to link political and social strategies to business objectives and market performance. A great book, not only for business and opinion leaders but also for regulators and legislators, educated citizens, and demanding consumers." - Carlos Piedrahita, CEO, Grupo Nutresa