Use the discussion questions to engage further with the text – form debates with friends or formulate essay questions using them to open up new avenues of learning and help with revision.

1. What is the difference between a corporate strategy and a business strategy?

2. Identify the generic business strategy configurations available to strategic managers according to Porter’s typology.

3. Is it possible for a business to differentiate its outputs and lower its costs simultaneously? Explain.

4. Identify the generic business strategy configurations available to strategic managers according to Miles and Snow’s typology.

5. How are the business strategy typologies by Porter and those by Miles and Snow similar? How are they different?

6. Why might one expect the performance level of midsize business units to be lower than the performance level of either small or large business units?