Introduction

Strategic management has become much more complex than it was just a decade ago. The dramatic rate of industrialization in China and India, globalization in general, improved transportation systems, advances in information and communications technologies, and the ubiquitous Internet are among the many forces of change that have increasingly connected people, businesses, and societies around the world. Over the last twenty years, many of the economic limitations of the business world like distance and cost have been dramatically diminished by technological advancements and more sophisticated management constructs. For instance, new transportation technologies have made it possible to move huge quantities of freight around the world at a very low cost. Today, consumer and industrial products can be produced in China and shipped to customers in Europe or the US within days without adding significantly to the unit cost. Transportation costs have been reduced by 50% in many cases to approximately 10% of the total product costs. Because of this globalization, businesses today must adopt a more inclusive perspective of their business environment. A much broader set of conditions and trends is now relevant and must be included in strategic thinking, strategic analysis, strategizing, and decision making.

The business environment is a dynamic reality of customers, stakeholders, the public, and all of the external forces impinging upon businesses. Those forces are social, economic, political, ethical, technological, and environmental considerations and the market and competition-related factors.