Strategic Group Maps

Strategic Group Maps

A useful way to analyze strategic groups is through the creation of strategic group maps. Strategic group maps present the various competitive positions that similar firms occupy within an industry. Strategic group maps are not difficult to create; however, there are a few simple guidelines managers want to use when developing them.

a)   Identify Key Competitive Attributes. As mentioned previously, many firms share similar competitive attributes such as pricing practices and product scope. The first step in developing a strategic group map is to identify key competitive attributes that logically differentiate firms in a competitive set. This is not always known in advance of creating the map so it is important to be ready to create multiple maps using different variables.

b)   Create Map Based Upon Two Key Attribute Variables. For the variables selected, assign each variable to the X and Y axis, respectively. Also, select a logical gradation value for each axis so that differences will be readily observable. When complete, plot each firm’s location on the map for the industry being analyzed. As each firm is plotted use a third variable—such as revenue—to represent the actual plot size of each firm. Using a variable like revenue helps the reader understand the relative performance of each firm in terms of the third variable.

c)   Identify Strategic Groups. Once all of the firms have been plotted, enclose each group of firms that emerges in a shape that reflects the positioning on the strategic group. At this point, assess whether or not the differences between each group are meaningful or whether other variables must be selected from which another set of strategic groups can be drawn.