Top 10 Strategic Frameworks: How To Implement A Corporate Strategy Framework

Struggling with strategic planning and execution? You're not alone — 74% of companies confess they struggle to execute their strategy effectively.

Often, this stems from a disjointed approach to strategy management. Maybe you’ve devised the perfect plan but can’t implement it on time, or perhaps your strategy became obsolete due to slow action.

Whatever the challenge, a structured approach to developing, executing, and evaluating your strategy is essential. Strategic frameworks can guide you through strategic progress toward success and sustained growth.

This article will give you an overview of the leading strategic management frameworks, including:

• SWOT analysis
• Porter’s Five Forces
• Balanced Scorecard
• Blue Ocean Strategy
• Ansoff Matrix
• BCG Matrix
• Value chain analysis
• PEST analysis
• McKinsey 7S Model
• Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) 

A strategic framework is a system that provides a detailed approach to creating, executing, and evaluating an organizational strategy. When implemented well, strategic frameworks can help companies align daily team activities with organizational goals. A strategy framework can be chosen during the strategic planning process. 

SWOT Analysis is a simple yet powerful tool used to evaluate a company's:

• Strengths: Internal factors that give you an advantage over competitors
• Weaknesses: Internal limitations that hinder your performance
• Opportunities: External factors that present potential for growth
• Threats: External factors that could negatively impact your business

It provides a clear picture of your current market position and helps identify growth areas. SWOT is best used for strategic planning, competitive analysis, and identifying areas for improvement.

Read more on SWOT analysis here.

Porter's Five Forces is a strategic management tool used to analyze an industry's competitive intensity and attractiveness. It helps businesses understand the level of competition and potential profitability within an industry by assessing:

• Competitive rivalry: The level of competition among existing firms
• Supplier power: The ability of suppliers to drive up prices
• Buyer power: The power of customers to drive prices down
• Threat of substitution: The likelihood of customers finding a different way of doing what you do
• Threat of new entry: The ease with which new competitors can enter the market

This framework is ideal for assessing market dynamics, developing business strategies, and evaluating the potential for new market entry.

Read more on Porter’s Five Forces here.

The Balanced Scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that helps organizations translate their vision and strategy into actionable objectives. It uses four perspectives to provide a comprehensive view of organizational performance. These are:

• Financial: Measures reflecting financial performance, such as profitability and growth
• Customer: Indicators of customer satisfaction and market share
• Internal processes: Metrics that reflect the efficiency of internal processes
• Learning and growth: Indicators of future performance, such as employee training and corporate culture

This tool is best used for performance measurement, strategic alignment, and organizational improvement.

Read more on the Balanced Scorecard here.

Blue Ocean Strategy focuses on creating new market space (or "blue oceans") rather than competing in existing industries (or "red oceans"). Companies can achieve high growth and profitability by identifying and targeting untapped markets. Blue Ocean Strategy is best used for innovation, market expansion, and creating uncontested market space.

Read more on Blue Ocean Strategy here.

The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic framework that helps businesses identify growth opportunities by considering existing and new products or services in existing and new markets. It outlines four business growth strategies:

• Market penetration: Increasing sales of existing products to the existing market
• Market development: Introducing existing products to new markets
• Product development: Creating new products for the existing market
• Diversification: Introducing new products to new markets

The Ansoff Matrix is best used for growth planning, market analysis, and product development.

Read more on the Ansoff Matrix here.

The BCG Growth-Share Matrix is a portfolio management tool that helps businesses prioritize investments in their product lines or business units. It categorizes products into four quadrants based on market growth and market share. These quadrants are:

• Stars: High market share in a fast-growing industry
• Cash cows: High market share in a slow-growing industry
• Question marks: Low market share in a high-growth market
• Dogs: Low market share in a low-growth market

This matrix is best used for resource allocation, portfolio management, and investment decision-making.

Read more on the BCG Matrix here.

Value Chain Analysis is a strategic planning framework that breaks down a business into its core primary and support activities to identify how it creates value for customers. Companies can optimize processes and gain a competitive edge by examining each stage. The Value Chain Analysis segments primary and support activities as follows:

Primary activities

• Inbound logistics: Managing the receipt and storage of raw materials
• Operations: Transforming raw materials into finished products
• Outbound logistics: Distributing finished products to customers
• Marketing & sales: Promoting and selling the products
• Service: Providing after-sales support and services

Support activities

• Procurement: Acquiring the necessary resources
• Technology development: Developing and implementing new technologies
• Human resource management: Recruiting and managing staff
• Firm infrastructure: Organizational structure, finance, and quality control

This framework is best used for process optimization, cost reduction, and enhancing customer value.

Read more on the value chain analysis here.

PEST Analysis is a strategic framework to evaluate the external macro-environmental factors that impact an organization. It helps businesses understand the broader environment in which they operate and informs strategic planning. The components of a PEST Analysis include:

• Political factors: Government policies, regulations, and stability
• Economic factors: Economic growth, inflation, interest rates, and currency fluctuations
• Social factors: Demographics, consumer behavior, cultural trends, and social attitudes
• Technological factors: Advancements in technology, innovation, and automation

PEST Analysis is ideal for understanding the broader environment, strategic planning, market entry, and adapting to changes.

Read more on the PEST Analysis here.

The McKinsey 7S Model is a strategic management tool that analyzes seven internal elements of an organization to ensure they are aligned and working effectively. The components of the McKinsey 7S Model include:

• Strategy: The plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage
• Structure: The way the organization is structured and who reports to whom
• Systems: The daily activities and procedures that staff use to get the job done
• Shared values: Core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic
• Skills: The actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company
• Style: The style of leadership adopted
• Staff: The employees and their general capabilities

This model is best used to drive organizational change, company performance, and cross-functional alignment.

Read more on the McKinsey 7S Model here.

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a goal-setting framework that helps organizations define goals and track their outcomes. The components of OKRs include:

• Objectives: Clear, concise goals that provide direction
• Key Results: Specific, measurable actions that track the achievement of the objective

OKRs are ideal for setting and achieving goals, ensuring alignment toward top priorities, and enhancing engagement.

Read more on OKRs here.

Choosing the adequate strategic framework for the situation can differentiate between a well-executed plan and a failed one. All strategy frameworks provide unique insights and tools to help your organization navigate the complexities of strategic planning and execution. Quantive StrategyAI can help you make the most of your chosen strategic management framework by using these to offer tailored insights and strategic recommendations suitable to your business environment. This ensures that your strategies are not only well-crafted but also effectively implemented.  

For more information, visit Quantive StrategyAI. 

Quantive empowers modern organizations to turn their ambitions into reality through strategic agility while using strategic planning models. It's where strategy, teams, and data come together to drive effective decision-making, streamline execution, and maximize performance.      

As your company navigates today’s competitive landscape to create a strategic plan, you need an Always-On Strategy to continuously bridge the gap between current and desired business outcomes. Quantive brings together the technology, expertise, and passion to transform your strategy and playbooks from a static formulation to a feedback-driven engine for growth.    

Whether you’re a fast-growing scale-up, a mid-market business looking to conquer, or a large enterprise looking for innovation, Quantive keeps you ahead – in the strategy mapping process every step of the way. For more information, visit www.quantive.com.