A network approach to strategy

The task of environmental analysis has a key role to play in formulating strategy and the strategic management process. How the process should be organised, however, depends largely on the theoretical perspective applied to both the nature of the business environment, and a corresponding understanding of strategic action within that environment. The objective of this paper is to develop a strategic analysis framework which incorporates the theoretical propositions in the markets-as-network model. The Swiss energy industry is used to provide the context to illustrate the framework's application. Finally we examine what it contributes to moving the markets-as-network model towards the explanatory level of inquiry.