Dear experts, would like to seek your input on this topic. I'm currently interviewing for corporate strategy roles. In the interview, I was given a scenario (business issue) and was asked several questions about what I thought. The whole process seems very different vs. the case interviews I've conducted at consulting firms, as the process was very “discussion” driven and very “fluid”. Specifically, the difference are:

1. Prompt could be much longer, and there could be multiple goals, or even no clearly stated “goal” at all.

2. Not much data/chart is offered and the interviewer just wants to hear your thoughts on several questions. Seems to me that industry knowledge is quite critical, as interviewers are expecting business insights based on limited context.

My questions is states as below:

A. Process-wise:

Should I treat such interviews as typical consulting case interviews? (i.e. clarify a clear goal, asking time to brain storm every question, etc) How can I train to “think structurally” instantly in mind without asking for time?

The interviewer said he wanted it to be a “discussion” and want to know how I think and what's my approach. I just felt weird if always asking time to think.

B. Approach & content-wise, are there any things to take in mind when interviewing corporate strategy role? 

I feel that corporate strategy roles focus a bit more on the “actionability” of the strategy, and I'd need to take into consideration what different stakeholders may have in mind. 

Thanks!