The Four Competitive Business Drivers

Theory + Model + Strategy + Tactics

Jorge Sá, Magda Pereira, Nadiia Nikitina

• Publisher: Business Expert Press
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN: 9781637429167
• eBook ISBN: 9781637429174
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Strategy
• Index: Business

Sometimes management books achieve a clear-cut distinction between strategy and tactics.

Seldom they include the business model as a third competitiveness driver.

And never so far, has the theory of business been considered as a fourth required performance vector, different from all other three.

However, organizational optimization requires all four: the why, where, what and how.

The theory of business (Drucker) is the why the company makes sense. The reality assumptions the organization is grounded upon. What it is paid for.

The business model (Porter) is the what: the basic pillars of a firm's organization. How it transforms client satisfaction into value for itself.

Strategy (Joffre) is the where: the choice of 1) geographical areas; 2) industries; and 3) (within them of) segments.

And tactics is the how, respecting to the nine functional areas from marketing (Kotler) to human resources; to how to advertise; how to motivate; etc.

Four inferences follow:

1. All four drivers are necessary conditions, none sufficient;
2. They interrelate, some impacting on others;
3. They must fit reinforcing each other; and
4. They should be periodically reviewed (under a sequence of steps).

This is illustrated by the book's detailed examples of e.g. Nike, Dollar Shave Club, Spotify, SpaceX, Vendôme, Sears, IBM, Apple Music, McDonald's, Marks & Spencer, Canva, SolarCity, Farfetch, etc.

The fundamental message is that neglect of any of the four drivers brings efficiency (doing things right – the Phronesis of Aristotle) at the cost of lower effectiveness (doing the right things – the Chokhmah of Solomon).

With more and more resources producing less and less, underperformance will follow.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Chapter 1 Introduction: How the Four Competitiveness Drivers Are Distinct
• Chapter 2 Theory of Business: How Nike Overtook Adidas; Dollar Shave Club Outperformed Gillette; and SpaceX Came to Dominate the Space Industry
• Chapter 3 Business Model: Why It Took Nearly Two Decades for Spotify to Achieve Profitability (While SolarCity Revolutionized Its Industry from the Start)
• Chapter 4 Why, How, and When to Review the Theory of Business
• Chapter 5 Why, When, and How to Review the Business Model
• Chapter 6 Conclusion: The Four Drivers (Business Theory + Business Model + Strategy + Tactics) as Prerequisites for Competitiveness
• Selected References
• About the Authors
• Index