1. Facebook, “About,” https://www.facebook.com/facebook?v=info, acc-essed December 20, 2013; Facebook, “Key Facts,” Facebook Newsroom, http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts, accessed December 20, 2013; Evelyn M. Rusli, “Even Facebook Must Change,” Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2013, http://online.wsj.com; Ben Fox Rubin, “Facebook Earnings: Profit Rises Amid Growth in Mobile,” Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2013, http://online.wsj.com; Reed Albergotti, “Instagram Strikes Back at Snapchat,” Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2013, http://online.wsj.com; Joshua Brustein, “Facebook Crosses the Advertising Frontier into TV’s Turf,” Bloomberg Businessweek, December 18, 2013, http://www.businessweek.com; Cooper Smith, “Seven Statistics about Facebook Users That Reveal Why It’s Such a Powerful Marketing Platform,” Slate, October 29, 2013, http://www.slate.com; Jessica Guynn, “Facebook, Twitter Try to Grab Teens’ Attention with New Features,” Los Angeles Times, December 12, 2013, http://articles.latimes.com.

2. For a model of learning to think strategically, see: Andrea J. Casey and Ellen F. Goldman, “Enhancing the Ability to Think Strategically: A Learning Model,” Management Learning 41, no. 2 (April 2010): 167–185.

3. To better understand the different dimensions of strategic planning, see: Peter Brews and Devavrat Purohit, “Strategic Planning in Unstable Environments,” Long Range Planning 40 (2007): 64–83.

4. For an article on the importance of strategic planning, see: Sarah Kaplan and Eric Beinhocker, “The Real Value of Strategic Planning,” MIT Sloan Management Review 44 (2003): 71. To better understand the influence of strategic planning in developing countries, see: Jose Santos, “Strategy Lessons from Left Field,” Harvard Business Review (2007): 20–21.

5. Ed Barrows, “Four Fatal Flaws of Strategic Planning,” Harvard Business Review, March 13, 2009, http://blogs.hbr.org. For a review of research on strategic planning, see: C. Wolf and S. W. Floyd, “Strategic Planning Research: Toward a Theory-Driven Agenda,” Journal of Management, 2014, http://jom.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/03/26/0149206313478185.

6. Dyan Machan, “The Strategy Thing,” Forbes (May 23, 1994): 113–114. For an example of a successful business strategy, see: Laura Haller, “Target Reiterates Stable Strategy,” DSN Retailing Today (June 4, 2001): 6.

7. For a detailed discussion of strategy formulation in small family-owned businesses, see: Nancy Drozdow and Vincent P. Carroll, “Tools for Strategy Development in Family Firms,” Sloan Management Review 39, no. 1 (Fall 1997): 75–88; see also: Michael Beer and Russell Eisenstat, “How to Have an Honest Conversation about Your Business Strategy,” Harvard Business Review 82 (2004): 82.

8. This section is based on Samuel C. Certo and J. Paul Peter, Strategic Management: Concepts and Applications (Chicago: Austen Press/Irwin, 1995), 3–27.

9. Samuel C. Certo and J. Paul Peter, The Strategic Management Process, 4th ed. (Chicago: Austen Press/Irwin, 1995), 32; William Drohan, “Principles of Strategic Planning,” Association Management 49, no. 1 (January 1997): 85–87. For a study examining the interaction between organizations and environment, see: Max Boisot and John Child, “Organizations as Adaptive Systems in Complex Environments: The Case of China,” Organization Science 10, no. 3 (May/June 1999): 237–252.

10. This section is based on William F. Glueck and Lawrence R. Jauch, Business Policy and Strategic Management (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984), 99–110.

11. John F. Watkins, “Retirees as a New Growth Industry? Assessing the Demographic and Social Impact,” Review of Business (Spring 1994): 9–14.

12. Patrick J. Kiger, “Serious Progress in Strategic Workforce Planning,” Workforce Management, July 2010, http://www.workforce.com.

13. Editorial Board, “China’s Dirty Air,” New York Times, November 7, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/opinion/chinas-dirty-air.html, accessed January 4, 2014. For more information on the influence of political activity on strategy in China, see: N. Jia, “Are Collective Political Actions and Private Political Actions Substitutes or Complements? Empirical Evidence from China’s Private Sector,” Strategic Management Journal 35 (2014): 292–315.

14. Inga S. Baird, Marjorie A. Lyles, and J. B. Orris, “The Choice of International Strategies by Small Businesses,” Journal of Small Business Management 32, no. 1 (January 1994): 48–60.

15. “Hershey Goes to China for Its Biggest-Ever Deal,” New York Times, December 19, 2013, http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/hershey-goes-to-china-for-biggest-ever-deal/, accessed January 4, 2014; Laurie Burkitt, “Hershey to Buy China Candy Maker,” Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2013, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579267634226586204, accessed January 4, 2014.

16. This discussion of Porter’s Model is based on Chapters 1 and 2 of Porter’s Competitive Strategy (New York: The Free Press, 1980); and Chapter 1 of Porter’s Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (New York: The Free Press, 1985). For a review of how managers use Porter’s Model, see: R. P. Wright, S. E. Paroutis, and D. P. Blettner, “How Useful Are the Strategic Tools We Teach in Business Schools?” Journal of Management Studies 50 (2013): 92–125. For an application of Porter’s concepts, see: William P. Munk and Barry Shane, “Using Competitive Analysis Models to Set Strategy in the Northwest Hardboard Industry,” Forest Products Journal (July/August 1994): 11–18.

17. M. Klemm, S. Sanderson, and G. Luffman, “Mission Statements: Selling Corporate Values to Employees,” Long-Range Planning (June 1991): 73–78.

18. Forest David and Fred Davis, “It’s Time to Redraft Your Mission Statement,” Journal of Business Strategy 24 (2003): 11. Also see: B. Blair-Loy, A. Wharton, and J. Goodstein, “Exploring the Relationship Between Mission Statements and Work-Life Practices in Organizations,” Organization Studies 32 (2011): 427–450.

19. Colin Coulson-Thomas, “Strategic Vision or Strategic Cons: Rhetoric or Reality,” Long-Range Planning (February 1992): 81–89; Rhymer Rigby, “Mission Statements,” Management Today (March 1998): 56–58; Jeffrey Abrahams, 101 Mission Statements from Top Companies (Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2007).

20. For an interesting discussion of holding leaders accountable for attaining the objective of developing organizational integrity as a strategic asset, see: Joseph A. Petrick and John F. Quinn, “The Challenge of Leadership Accountability for Integrity Capacity as a Strategic Asset,” Journal of Business Ethics 34 (2001): 331–343.

21. This section is based primarily on Thomas H. Naylor and Kristin Neva, “Design of a Strategic Planning Process,” Managerial Planning (January/February 1980): 2–7; Donald W. Mitchell, “Pursuing Strategic Potential,” Managerial Planning (May/June 1980): 6–10; Benton E. Gup, “Begin Strategic Planning by Asking Three Questions,” Managerial Planning (November/December 1979): 28–31, 35; Rainer Feurer and Kazem Chaharbaghi, “Dynamic Strategy Formulation and Alignment,” Journal of General Management 20, no. 3 (Spring 1995): 76–91.

22. Les McKeown, “Ten Questions to Jumpstart Your Strategic Planning Process,” Inc., August 13, 2013, http://www.inc.com; Mark Suster, “Every Start-Up Needs a Well-Articulated Strategy,” Inc., June 4, 2013, http://www.inc.com; Aileron, “Turning Your Dream into a Strategic Plan,” Forbes, October 2, 2013, http://www.forbes.com; Small Business Administration, “Starting a Business: Creating Your Business Plan,” Starting and Managing a Business, http://www.sba.gov, accessed December 18, 2013.

23. Paula Jarzabkowski and Julia Balogun, “The Practice and Process of Delivering Integration through Strategic Planning,” Journal of Management Studies 46, no. 8 (July 6, 2009): 1255–1288.

24. Doug Leigh, “SWOT Analysis,” Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace, Wiley Online Library, February 2, 2010.

25. Philip Kotler, Marketing Management Analysis, Planning and Control, 7th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991), 39–41.

26. See also: J. Scott Armstrong and Roderick J. Brodie, “Effects of Portfolio Planning Methods on Decision Making: Experimental Results,” International Journal of Research in Marketing (January 1994): 73–84. For an interesting discussion of international SBUs, see: R. Belderbos, T. W. Tong, and S. Wu, “Multinationality and Downside Risk: The Roles of Option Portfolio and Organization,” Strategic Management Journal 35 (2014): 88–106.

27. For an interesting summary of the research examining Porter’s generic strategies, see: John A. Parnell, “Generic Strategies After Two Decades: A Reconceptualization of Competitive Strategy,” Management Decision 44, no. 8 (2006): 1139–1154.

28. Ian C. MacMillan, Donald C. Hambrick, and Diana L. Day, “The Product Portfolio and Profitability—A PIMS-Based Analysis of Industrial-Product Businesses,” Academy of Management Journal (December 1982): 733–755. For more information on establishing growth businesses, see: K. A. Eddleston, F. W. Kellermanns, S. W. Floyd, V. L. Crittenden, and W. F. Crittenden, “Planning for Growth: Life Stage Differences in Family Firms,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 37 (2013): 1177–1202.

29. Walecia Konrad and Bruce Einhorn, “Famous Amos Gets a Chinese Accent,” BusinessWeek (September 28, 1992): 76.

30. For a practical discussion of strategy implementation, see: Brooke Dobni, “Creating a Strategy Implementation Environment,” Business Horizons 46 (2003): 43.

31. William Sandy, “Avoid the Breakdowns Between Planning and Implementation,” Journal of Business Strategy (September/October 1991): 30–33.

32. Thomas V. Bonoma, “Making Your Marketing Strategy Work,” Harvard Business Review (March/April 1984): 69–76. For an article illustrating the importance of strategy implementation, see: Loizos Heracleous, “The Role of Strategy Implementation in Organization Development,” Organization Development Journal 18, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 75–86.

33. Siddharth Philip, “Tata Signals Pricier Nano after ‘Cheapest Car’ Tag Flops,” Bloomberg Businessweek, April 11, 2013, http://www.businessweek.com; Sean McLain, “Why the World’s Cheapest Car Flopped,” Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2013, http://online.wsj.com; Dana O’Donovan and Noah Rimland Flower, “The Strategic Plan Is Dead; Long Live Strategy,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, January 10, 2013, http://www.ssireview.org.

34. For other useful articles on strategic control, see: William B. Carper and Terry A. Bresnick, “Strategic Planning Conferences,” Business Horizons (September/October 1989): 34–40; Pierre Kunsch, Alain Chevalier, and Jean-Pierre Brans, “A Framework for Strategic Control and Planning in Corporate Organizations,” Central European Journal of Operations Research 10 (2002): 45.

35. For a detailed discussion of the characteristics of strategic and tactical planning, see: George A. Steiner, Top Management Planning (Toronto, Canada: Collier-Macmillan, 1969), 37–39.

36. Russell L. Ackoff, A Concept of Corporate Planning (New York: Wiley, 1970), 4.

37. Ming-Jer Chen and Danny Miller, “Competitive Dynamics: Themes, Trends, and a Prospective Research Platform,” The Academy of Management Annals (2012), DOI:10.1080/19416520.2012.660762.

38. M. J. Chen, “Competitive Dynamics Research: An Insider’s Odyssey,” Asia Pacific Journal of Management 26 (2009): 5–25.

39. M. J. Chen, K. H. Su, and W. Tsai, “Competitive Tension: The Awareness-Motivation-Capability Perspective,” Academy of Management Journal 50 (2007): 101–118.

40. Geoffrey A. Fowler, “Price Cuts Electrify E-Reader Market,” Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2010, http://online.wsj.com.

41. Laura Stevens, “Retailers Turn Store Clerks into Web Shippers,” Wall Street Journal, December 9, 2013, http://online.wsj.com; Greg Bensinger, “Amazon Raises Free-Shipping Minimum to $35; eBay to Expand Same-Day Delivery,” Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2013; Wailin Wong, “Delivery in a Flash May Be No Flash in the Pan,” Chicago Tribune, sec. 1, August 1, 2013, 1, 9.

42. See K. G. Smith, W. J. Ferrier, and H. Ndofor, “Competitive Dynamics Research: Critique and Future Directions,” in M. Hitt, R. E. Freeman, and J. Harrison, eds., Handbook of Strategic Management (London: Blackwell, 2001).

43. For further information on the relationship between firm size and media coverage, see: L. Fang and J. Peress, “Media Coverage and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns,” Journal of Finance 64, no. 5 (2009): 2023–2052.

44. Mehrdad Baghai, Sven Smit, and Patrick Viguerie, “Is Your Growth Strategy Flying Blind?” Harvard Business Review, May 2009, http://hbr.org.

45. Nucor Corporation, “Our Story: Corporate Overview,” http://www.nucor.com/story/chapter1, accessed December 20, 2013; Nucor Corporation, Form 10-Q, November 6, 2013, accessed from EDGAR Online-Glimpse, Business Insights: Global, http://bi.galegroup.com; John W. Miller, “Cheaper Natural Gas Lets Nucor Factory Rise Again on Bayou,” Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2013, http://online.wsj.com; Reuters, “Nucor Sees Lower Earnings, Suspends Natural Gas Drilling,” Reuters.com, December 17, 2013, http://www.reuters.com.

46. This exercise was based in part on Marc Gunther, “Hard News,” Fortune (August 6, 2007): 80–85.