The SPACE matrix is a management tool used to analyze a company. It is used to determine what type of a strategy a company should undertake. The Strategic Position & ACtion Evaluation matrix or short a SPACE matrix is a strategic management tool that focuses on strategy formulation especially as related to the competitive position of an organization.
The SPACE matrix can be used as a basis for other analyses, such as the SWOT analysis, BCG matrix model, industry analysis, or assessing strategic alternatives (IE matrix).
What is the SPACE matrix strategic management method?
To explain how the SPACE matrix works, it is best to reverse-engineer it. First, let's take a look at what the outcome of a SPACE matrix analysis can be, take a look at the picture below. The SPACE matrix is broken down to four quadrants where each quadrant suggests a different type or a nature of a strategy:
Aggressive
Conservative
Defensive
Competitive
This is what a completed SPACE matrix looks like:
This particular SPACE matrix tells us that our company should pursue an aggressive strategy. Our company has a strong competitive position it the market with rapid growth. It needs to use its internal strengths to develop a market penetration and market development strategy. This can include product development, integration with other companies, acquisition of competitors, and so on.
Now, how do we get to the possible outcomes shown in the SPACE matrix? The SPACE Matrix analysis functions upon two internal and two external strategic dimensions in order to determine the organization's strategic posture in the industry. The SPACE matrix is based on four areas of analysis.
Internal strategic dimensions: Financial strength (FS) Competitive advantage (CA)
External strategic dimensions: Environmental stability (ES) Industry strength (IS)
There are many SPACE matrix factors under the internal