Corporate strategy: what it is and what it means

Corporate strategy is the level of business strategy that decides which businesses to keep in the portfolio. It concerns companies that operate with several business lines or several brands, even when they remain small: the typical question is which line to back with new investment, which to keep as it is and which to possibly divest. It is a portfolio decision, not an execution decision: it is not about how you produce or sell, but about what the company chooses to be as a whole. In companies with a single business the corporate component does not disappear, because it coincides with the choice to stay focused on one market instead of diversifying, with direct consequences for where the company invests capital and management attention.

Distinctive: decides which businesses to keep in the portfolio
Distinctive: portfolio decision, not an execution decision
Essential: several business lines or several brands
Essential: which line to back with new investment
Constant: what the company chooses to be as a whole

Glossary

Corporate strategy

The level of business strategy that decides which businesses to keep in the portfolio: which line to back, which to keep as it is and which to divest.