Revisiting the Miles and Snow strategic framework: uncovering interrelationships between strategic types, capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and firm performance

TLDR

The Miles and Snow strategic type framework is re‑examined for its relationships with firm capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and performance. The authors employ a constrained, multi‑objective classification method on survey data from 709 firms in China, Japan, and the United States, and compare the resulting typology to the traditional Miles and Snow classification using combinatorial‑optimization clustering. The empirically derived typology outperforms the traditional Miles and Snow P‑A‑D‑R classification in both variable associations and statistical criteria, and the authors discuss implications and future research directions. © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract The Miles and Snow strategic type framework is re‐examined with respect to interrelationships with several theoretically relevant batteries of variables, including SBU strategic capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and performance. A newly developed constrained, multi‐objective, classification methodology is modified to empirically derive an alternative quantitative typology using survey data obtained from 709 firms in three countries (China, Japan, United States). We compare the Miles and Snow typology to the classification empirically derived utilizing this combinatorial optimization clustering procedure. With respect to both variable battery associations and objective statistical criteria, we show that the empirically derived solution clearly dominates the traditional P‐A‐D‐R typology of Miles and Snow. Implications and directions for future research are provided. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.