A business strategy is the combination of steps and activities that any organization takes in order to achieve its business goals. For that reason, strategy also includes resources needed for those activities, including people, technologies, money, etc.; the schedules for the development of those actions, this is, timetables for activities; corporate culture, which means the way in which actions are made and the kind of relations that the people in charge of activities are going to have.
The main factor in business strategies is the goal, known as business goal. It is essential, for it brings “a sense of direction and help to focus management decision-making; they also provide a standard against which progress can be evaluated” (Ritson, 2019). Sometimes researchers distinguish between goals and objectives: the goal is the long-term purpose for the company, while objectives have shorter terms and are actions used for getting closer to the general goal.
There are different perspectives on strategies in companies. The most important ones are rigid strategies and flexible strategies. The first category means a structure and a clear action plan that can’t be changed, and has to be followed no matter the circumstances; the second category establishes some recommendations for action but allows the events in business operation to shape actions and activities (Ritson, 2019).