Abstract:

The history of scientific management that started hundred years ago culminated in the second part of the last century with successful theories on strategic management, associated with dominant figures of scholars as well as concepts as strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and strategic plan – so that strategic management was the norm.

The turbulent politico-economic environment at millennia border, characterized by dissolution of many centrally planned economies and global crises, has demonstrated that rigidity associated with the strategic planning does not provide universal solutions. Thus, newer types of more flexible schools of thought – still strategic – started to gain ground among top managers and strategists: foresight for explore the future in all sectors, marketing as a strategy and blue ocean strategy in business primarily.

Besides models and tools for analyzing the current situation and trying to find the best strategic move from the current red ocean of fierce competition (dominated by predator sharks) to the much-desired, serene blue ocean (where competition becomes irrelevant because new markets are created) the Harvard scholars that have developed the Blue Ocean strategy have further elaborated guidelines and new tools to be used in the process of this transition, seizing that this transition process is not easy.

Following to several situations observed, in which the practical transition proved to be more difficult than expected in theory, this paper aims at opening a discussion exactly on the issue of, metaphorically, color of the ocean of the current competitive market: as not being red anymore nor blue yet; likely being a “purple ocean”.

The managerial implications are important for scholars and researchers as well as for practitioners – strategy makers and top business managers mainly.