Comparative Study of Industry and Resource-Based Approaches to Strategy: The case of managerial education industry in Sweden

Abstract: The primary aim of our research was to compare the results derived from two different approaches to strategy analysis: industry analysis (outside-in) vs. resource-based view (inside-out). We have chosen this topic because all the previous research dealt with this issue only on theoretical level. We have however decided to compare the practical implications of the two approaches. As an instrument to conduct this comparison, we have chosen managerial education industry in Sweden to analyze industry structure, dynamics and long-term profit potential as well as to define the sources of competitive advantage. Even when looking at this from the purely theoretical perspective we have found the interdependence of the two approaches. But after conducting the empirical study of an industry, we can state that the results of the applications of these approaches have even more in common than it was evident on the more conceptual level. We conclude that strategic analysis of the industry requires examination of both industry structure and firm’s resources and capabilities, since they are complimentary tools. “In” in outside-in analysis smoothly progresses into “in” in inside-out and back, rendering the two approaches extremely interconnected.