BP Amoco: integrating competitive and financial strategy. Part one: strategic planning in the oil industry

After considering the economic state of the oil industry, particularly its structure and competition, Part One of this Case Study looks at BP Amoco's competitive planning in the last ten years within a framework of shareholder value developed by Thakor, DeGraff and Quinn, the 'strategic value propositions quadrant'. BP Amoco's strategy fits this model well in most important respects: focus on efficiency/control and market awareness and less attention to individual capability and technical innovation. Always focusing on shareholder value in this period, the company rebalanced from an emphasis on costs reduction in the early 90s towards growth and market awareness at the end of the decade. The role of acquisitions is explored in 1998-2000.