Changes in the Competitive Strategy of Estonian Public Companies in the next Five Years: Challenges for Top Managers, Academics and Consultants

To create a sustainable competitive advantage, the firm must adapt its strategy in accordance with changes in industry. The purpose of this survey is to reveal how top managers see major changes in strategic management over the next five years. Companies from the Tallinn OMX Market were chosen as a sample of leading companies. Structured interviews were conducted with thirteen top managers. This revealed highly plausible changes in strategic management over the next five years as predicted by top managers of Estonian public companies ñ these were in the areas of the value chain, corporate structure, planning and control systems, motivation schemes and external opportunities. The major challenges for top managers in the near future are to successfully align the organizational structure with the value chain in accordance with emerging opportunities in foreign markets and define and invest enough in distinctive competencies to achieve sustainable profitable growth. This result is in accordance with the reflections of top mangers that their main priorities in strategic research and development are to facilitate the strategy development process, implement management tools, and research into and share knowledge and experience of doing business in foreign markets. These results suggest specific challenges for academics and consultants for achieving better collaboration in strategic management and development.