The Role of Strategic Options in Shareholder Value Creation

Realization of principle company objective – shareholder value maximization – requires maintaining of high growth rates coupled with achieving returns on investments higher than the cost of capital for the company. The condition for high growth and return is a possession by a company of sustainable competitive advantage. In times of “hypercompetition” and growing market uncertainty, the key to success is maintaining strategic flexibility. An option approach to strategy gives a clue about how firms can improve their strategic flexibility in order to effectively respond to volatile environment and gain sustainable competitive advantage. The main source of numerous strategic options for the company are its competences and underlying resources (mostly intangible). Thus the value creation process is a result of pursuing strategy aimed at the identification, development and optimal use of competences as a source of strategic options for the company