BRIAN LEAVY is AIB Professor of Strategic Managemnet at Dublin City University, Ireland. He has been teaching and researching in strategic management at DCU Business School since 1981, and served as dean of the school (1998-2000). Previously, he had worked for eight years as a manufacturing engineer with Digital Equipment Corporation (now part of Hewlett-Packard). He holds a BSc in Physics and an MBA from the National University of Ireland (Galway), and a PhD from the University of Warwick, and is the author/co-author of three books and more than 40 articles on strategy and related topics.PETER McKIERNAN is Professor of Management and Head of the School of Management at St Andrews University Business School, UK. He has previously held posts at the University of Warwick and the University of Strathclyde and has considerable business experience, having consulted widely in the strategy area for leading multinational companies, in the public sector and for SMEs. Peter is currently President Elect of the European Academy of Management.

'This is a cleverly crafted book, combining strategic management essentials with contemporary insights and examples. The authors' emphasis on the centrality of leadership and the importance of process is especially welcome. Leavy and McKiernan have succeeded in writing a lively and valuable text that will resonate particularly well with MBA and executive audiences' -Thomas Lawton, Professor of Strategic Management, Cranfield University

• Strategy, Leadership and the New AgendaThe Context of Business in SocietyCompetitive Analysis and Value InnovationStrategy and Organization in the Multi-Business FirmStrategic Processes Innovation and Internal Corporate VenturingStrategic Processes Transformation and RenewalConclusion.