Structural and Perceptual Influences on Intraindustry Stratification

This paper argues (1) that intraindustry stratification is a function of both structural parameters and top managers' responses to perceptions of their environments, and (2) that the notion of strategic groups can meaningfully extend to corporate and collective levels of strategy. We explored relevant research questions using survey data from 114 of the largest firms in the financial services industry. The results suggest that variables measuring managerial perceptions are useful predictors of intraindustry stratification and that the strength of the predictor variables differs across levels of strategies. Supragroups of firms with similar configurations of strategies across levels also emerged.