t of business strategy as primarily the process of selecting a specific product/market domain. Within this context, Miles and Snow (1978, pp. 55 76) perceived organizations in the roles of (1) defenders, (2) prospectors, (3) analyzers, and (4) reactors. Defenders seek to locate and maintain a secure market niche, while prospectors attempt to capitalize on innovation, analyzers depend largely on a stable product line with carefully selected and limited introductions of new products, and reactors do not adhere to a specific strategy, preferring to react only when environmental pressures cause it to become impossible to do otherwise. All four of these types were present in the pet food industry in the mid 1980s.
Porter's (1980, p. 35 41) topology focused on competitive strategies. In this topology, Porter (1980, pp. 35 41) identified three strategies that organizations may employ to gain a competitive advantage. The first strategy is the maintenance of cost leadership, while the second depends on product differentiation, and the third requires an organizational focus on (1) a specific customer group, (2) a segment of a product line, or (3) a particular geographic market. In the pet food industry in the mid 1980s, all of these strategies were used by one or the other of the several competitors.
For an organization, both the Miles and Snow (1978, pp. 55 76) topology and the Porter (1980, pp. 35 41) topology are relevant, and they are not mutually exclusive. Thus, it is important to know how the two topologies interrelate in the development of strategy for an organization. Prospector organizations, as defined by the Miles and Snow (1978, pp. 55 76) topology, will tend to use multiple competitive strategies, as defined by the Porter (1980, pp. 35 41) topology, to a greater extent than will either defender organizations or analyzer organizations, as defined by the Miles and Snow (1978, pp. 55 76) topology. Reactor organizations,...