Title: Realisation of a vision: a case study of the focus-differentiation strategy implemented by the University of Puget Sound

Authors: Alva Butcher, Y. Paul Huo

Addresses: School of Business and Leadership, University of Puget Sound, 1500 North Warner, Tacoma, WA 98416, USA. ' College of Management, Metropolitan State University, 1501 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403, USA

Abstract: This case study examines strategic changes initiated and implemented by two consecutive presidents of the University of Puget Sound in 1973–2003. The transformation of this century-old institution from an also-ran local university to a nationally ranked liberal arts college provides an extremely rare case that demonstrates the applicability of Michael Porter|s paradigm of generic strategies in the field of higher education. Critical success factors for the implementation of a focus strategy that seeks to differentiate a university from its peer institutions are also identified and discussed.

Keywords: competitive strategies; liberal arts education; college administration; visionary leadership; focus-differentiation strategies; Puget Sound; USA; United States; strategic changes; university presidents; also-rans; national rankings; Michael Porter; generic strategies; peer institutions; education management; higher education; universities; competitive edge; competitiveness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2011.039487

International Journal of Management in Education, 2011 Vol.5 No.2/3, pp.241 - 257

Published online: 12 Feb 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article