07. Corporate Strategy

7.1 Summarize corporate strategy and where the company is heading.
7.2 Does this involve a major departure from its current activities? How? Why?

In addi­tion to under­stand­ing where a com­pany has been, it is cru­cial to under­stand where it is head­ing. Under­stand­ing its growth strat­egy is imper­a­tive in under­stand­ing cor­po­rate decision-making, and may also be where a firm is most vulnerable. The Hotel workers (UNITE HERE) have been very successful in finding out where hotel firms are planning to grow, and intervening with local officials in the planning process.

Sometimes firms are explicit about their corporate strategy on their web site. Other times you may have to piece it together from other sources. A general news search may yield recent press releases, or an interview with the CEO which would allow you to piece together corporate strategy. The Wall Street Transcript provides a variety of interviews, including ones with CEOs and industry analysts.

Paid Resources (Requires Subscription)

Two excellent sources of information on corporate strategy are Mergent Market Atlas and Business Source Complete, which both provide extensive reports on firms.

ABI/ Inform Global is a comprehensive source for business news.