Managers and management scholars alike need operational models and concepts for dealing with core competencies within strategic management. This book provides tools for the practitioner as well as fundamental theoretical concepts to enable scholars to further build upon Drejer's work. His main argument is that understanding core competencies is key to explaining why some firms enjoy a competitive advantage over others. Drejer proposes models and means with which managers can proactively identify, design, and develop their firm's core competencies in strategic alignment.

More than merely a how-to book, this work places an equal emphasis on the concepts behind competence-based strategy. The author offers the reader multiple perspectives on the background of competence-based strategy, the relationship between strategic management and the development of core competencies, and the application of competence-based strategy to praxis. He provides the tools necessary to identify, analyze, and develop the competencies of a firm, and in so doing performs a valuable service for practitioners and researchers.

ANDERS DREJER is Associate Professor at the Center for Industrial Production, Aalborg University, Denmark. He has published five books and numerous articles in journals of international reach. A consultant to many large Scandinavian firms, he serves as a non-executive member of several boards.