A prestigious reputation is the primary success factor in higher education because it attracts resources necessary to sustain growth. Among research-intensive universities (RIUs), research performance is a key driver of institutional reputation. Achieving an accelerating rate of growth of research performance is the desired objective of all RIUs which, in turn, is contributing to intensification in the competition for research funds. In competitive environments, the use of strategy is widely used to enhance competitive effectiveness. The question arises as to whether some expressions of strategy are more closely associated with increased research performance than others? This paper provides insight into this question by presenting a model demonstrating that the strategic emphases of individual RIUs in the USA are highly correlated to changes in the shares of federally financed research funding actually realized by the institutions. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 1 note.)