Version 1.0, October 2026. 98 constructs in 18 families across 7 eras, with 18 imported theories below. Selecting a cell reveals its family, era, block, tier, and anchor works, each anchoring reference linking to the publisher’s page. Explore the 18 Family Deep Dives for granular sub-tables, or visit Resources to use the four interactive analytical tools.
Each cell: number, influence pips, block code, then symbol, construct, and anchor works
open frontier position
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Detached series · Theories imported from adjacent fields, each set near the families it feeds
Series
T
Imported Theories
3IN
Da
Differential Advantage
Family
3. Resources and Capabilities (II · Resources and Orientation)
Era
Period 1: Foundations, to 1969
Block
IN · Inputs: resources and assets
Tier
Major
Cell card
Description
Alderson's functionalist theory holds that firms survive by achieving a differential advantage, a distinctive position in the eyes of a market segment, arising from heterogeneity of demand and supply and from the sorting and transforming activities of intermediaries.
Managerial Implications
Advantage comes from being different in ways customers value and rivals cannot easily copy, not from being marginally better at the same things. Ask of each product, channel, and service element: what do we do that no competitor does, and does a customer notice? Build strategy on those few differences, protect them, and let the undifferentiated parts of the business run at low cost.
How to read. Down a column follows one research stream through time. Across a row shows what the field studied in an era. Color marks the strategy domain, after Morgan et al. (2019). Pips give an influence tier. Numbers run by era, then family. Placements, anchors, and tiers are editorial judgments, and anchors are entry points rather than a complete record of any stream. Anyone who uses or adapts this table is responsible for verifying its contents against the original works.
