9Build strategies - which typically require leaders with strong personal visions for a firm's future, rather than the negotiated compromise of the team-based decision - may be most closely adhered to when implemented in the context of a clear strategic vision of an individual leader, rather than through the practice of decision-sharing. 

Which of the following best describes the function of the first sentence (highlighted text) of the second paragraph of the passage?

A) To answer a question posed in the first sentence of the passage about why firms adopt particular strategic missions

B) To refute an argument made in the first paragraph about how top management decision-making affects whether firms will adhere to their strategic plans

C) To provide evidence supporting a theory introduced in the first paragraph about what makes firms adhere to or deviate from their strategic plants

D) To qualify an assertion made in the preceding sentence (