Just working on the first chapter of the textbook 2nd edition, and thought it needed a bit more on this question – found the only way to explain to newbies was to go through an organization’s life and track what ‘strategic management’ actually does over that time-horizon. Main messages are:

• The choice of strategic ‘position’ [what to provide, to whom and how, relative to rivals] is a very rare activity.
• Substantial strategic initiatives [acquisition, new market entry etc] occur occasionally.
• By far the ...