The theory of Porter’s (1980) model (see Table1) consists of two elements:
first, a scheme for describing firms’ competitive strategies according to their
market scope (focused or broad) and their source of competitive advantage
(cost or differentiation); and, second, a theoretical proposition about the
performance outcomes of these strategic designs (Campbell-Hunt, 2000).
Based on this theory, onlypure strategies lead to superior performance.
Combining generic strategies causes most businesses to be “stuck-in-themiddle”
and experience poor performance.