The concepts of leverage, stretch, and fit can have a strong influence on how a company or firm positions itself in the market.
The main difference is that "fit" strategic management attempts to take a realistic approach, which is more likely to take off.
Leverage and stretch is more idealistic - and as such is less likely to be successful, but can yield higher growth and rewards if successful.
Examples of leverage stretch and fit positioning
Stretch - is when a firm doesn't have the resources or capability to take up the position it would like in the market, so it attempts to augment or alter its capabilities to better fit into the market.
Leverage - is when a firm takes its current resources, and tries to make the most of them in order to get a "foot in the door" of the market it aspires to command.
The firm will not be able to take control of that market segment, but it will leverage its current resources to make some headway.
For example, a firm that wants to enter the teen social media market but doesn't have a product that provides some of the core functionality sought by teens, might take the current technology it owns, and attempt to use that in order to appease some of that demand.
Fit - Is when a firm positions itself in an environment that suits its resources and capabilities.
This is the most realistic approach, based on SWOT analysis and the marketing mix.