ASSESSING GENERIC STRATEGIES - AN EMPIRICAL-INVESTIGATION OF 2 COMPETING TYPOLOGIES IN DISCRETE MANUFACTURING-INDUSTRIES

In spite of the extensive empirical evidence supporting Porter's (1980 ) typology of generic strategies, many researchers have criticized it for its conceptual limitations. To address these criticisms, Mintzberg (1988) proposed an alternative typology of generic strategies. Our fi ndings, based on a survey of executives in manufacturing firms, provid e support for Mintzberg's typology and fail to support Porter's typolo gy. Given the findings, we call for further empirical validation of co mpeting typologies to revitalize research on generic strategies.