EN
The paper investigates the notion of value chain: a concept of strategic management which is more popular with scholars than with practitioners. The author explains why theorists wrongly interpret the value chain concept, considering it as one of the many instruments of strategic analysis, useful for the rationalisa-tion of costs. The present paper clarifies the concept as intended by its creator. Porter regarded it as a series f guidelines instructing managers how to identify and build a good competitive strategy, making it possible to achieve competitive advantage, briefly outlined in his former book on competitive strategy. This paper, moreover, discusses some possible applications of the value chain concept and its relation to other theories of business strategy.