STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES 67in business strategy across varying contexts (see, e.g. Miles and Snow 1984;
Porter 1985). It rightly implies that there is no ‘one best way’ to compete in
markets and organize the internal operations of the firm.
Strategic problems and the strategies of firms
What, then, do we mean by strategy? In our view, strategy is best defined
by making a distinction between the ‘strategic problems’ firms face in their
environment and the strategies they adopt to cope with them (Boxall 1998;
Boxall and Purcell 2003).
THE PROBLEM OF VIABILITY
The fundamental problem that the firm faces is that of becoming and remain-
ing viable in its chosen market. Another way of putting this is to say that all
firms require ‘table stakes’: a set of goals, resources, and capable people that are
appropriate to the industry context or sector concerned (Boxall 2003; Boxall
and Steeneveld 1999; Hamel and Prahalad 1994: 226). Decisions about these
table stakes are strategic. They are make-or-break factors. Get the system of
these choices right—or right enough—and the firm will be viable. Miss a
key piece out and the firm will fail. In other words, when we use the word
‘strategic’ to describe something, we are saying it is critical to survival, it is
seriously consequential. We embrace the common sense view that the word
strategic should indicate something of genuine significance for the future of
the firm (Johnson 1987; Purcell and Ahlstrand 1994: 51–2).
Take the case of a company launching a new ‘High Street’ or ‘Main Street’
bank (Freeman 1995: 221). To be credible at all, it must have the same kinds of
technology as other banks, a similar profile of products or services, the neces-
sary levels of funding, systems of internal control, skilled staffwho can make it
happen ‘with the gear’ on the day, and a management team who can assemble
these resources and focus the firm’s energies on objectives that will satisfy its
investors. While there may well be differences between banks in terms of the
reliance on telephony systems and branch networks, and some may focus on
niche areas serving distinctive populations of customers, the fundamentals of
banking, and the strict requirements of regulatory authorities, have to be met.
The same applies to new entrants to banking: for example, major supermarket
chains. They may well be able to leverage their existing customer base, as Tesco
have done in the UK, but banking operations still require certain capabilities.
Without an effective cluster of goals, resources, and human capabilities, it is
over before it starts (Figure 4.1). As Freeman (1995: 221) emphasizes, much