Intelligent Corporate Strategy beyond World‐class Status

Details the Intelligent Corporate Strategy model which attempts to bring pragmatism into the many and varied strategic management models, which are often too sophisticated or too theoretical for the real world. It bridges the corporate level and business level, links the marketing strategy to the manufacturing strategy, to achieve lead‐marketing‐manufacturing advantage. It is a breakaway from the traditional piecemeal approach by introducing holistic systems thinking. It integrates the interests of the stakeholders (customers, workers, suppliers, distributors, competitors) with the strategic needs of the business. It provides guidelines on the steps or levels to reach in order to exceed world‐class status. Nevertheless, these levels are not necessarily in rigid sequence, as different companies may choose to focus on different levels, given the different nature and life cycles of the businesses. Finally, it emphasizes the need to build sincerity, trust, and integrity in corporate relationships (the ultimate for long‐term sustainable competitive advantage).