Benefits of Being a Defender

Benefits of Defender Strategy
Guido KW, Student (University), Netherlands
I think you can compare a defender with a cash cow; large marketshare with a stable income.
A prospector is more like a question mark, not certain about what to come, lots of investmenst in R&D.

Benefits of Defender Strategy
mehmet eryilmaz, Other, Turkey
Hi Cassandra, to the best of my knowledge, a prospector is a firm which endeavors to innovate. Therefore, it is quite similar with differentiation strategist of Porter. However, a defender tries to decrease the costs of its products. Hence, it resembles Porter's cost leaders.
But the main difference between Porter and Miles-Snow strategy typologies is that the first one emphasizes competition. On the other hand, the second one stresses that all kind of strategists need each other to survive.
For example, as a prospector, you need a defender which will decrease the costs of your innovation and enable your products to reach large customer base.

Benefits of a Defender Strategy
Hartgers, Manager, Netherlands
Hi Cassandra, the Miles/Snow theory is not made to distinguish which of the 4 types is better, but to help organizations determine where their challenges lie when they have discovered what type they want to are.
So you are either one or the other type. Of course this doens't account for grey areas, but that's why boxes where invented :-)
If you're interested in the combination of Miles/Snow Typology with Porters 3 Generic Strategies, check out this video.