Title: Making Strategic Trade-offs - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness - Harvard Business School
Headings: Making Strategic Trade-offs
Making Strategic Trade-offs
IKEA vs. Traditional Furniture Retailers
IKEA, Sweden
Choosing what not to do
Why do Trade-offs arise?

Content: First, product features may be incompatible. That is, the product that best meets one set of needs performs poorly in addressing others. Second, there may be trade-offs in activities themselves. In other words, the configuration of activities that best delivers one kind of value cannot equally well deliver another. Another source of trade-offs is inconsistencies in image or reputation. Trade-offs are pervasive in competition and essential to strategy. They create the need for choice and protect against repositioners and straddlers. More about Strategic Positioning