Journal of Strategy and Management

Moritz P. Gunther; Gina Grandy

2009 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/17554250911003827

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine how the media constructs images of infamous chief executive officers (CEOs) through the use of recurring themes, terms and phrases in the popular press. Design/methodology/approach – This research conducts content analyses of secondary data from three popular press business sources over a two‐year period to identify the journalistic construction of 12 infamous CEOs. Findings – The findings reveal 18 themes and eight categories of images constructed by the media, an integrated framework of CEO infamy as constructed by the media and a definition of CEO infamy. Originality/value – To date, little research has focused solely on the media's construction of the infamous CEO. This paper also begins to bridge positive and negative CEO celebrity concepts.

Oswald Jones; Helen Crompton

2009 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/17554250911003836

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw on emerging ideas related to the concept of entrepreneurial leadership which emphasises a “distributed” model synonymous with terms which indicate that authority is decentralised (“shared”, “team”, “democratic”, “representative” and “dispersed”). Design/methodology/approach – A model of authentic entrepreneurial leadership was developed based on a review of the literature. Eight small manufacturing companies were selected to empirically examine, via interviews, the extent to which authentic entrepreneurial leadership was adopted by owner‐managers. Findings – Interviews with owner‐managers indicated that they did in fact rely on an approach to leadership which emphasised the role of employees as genuine stakeholders in the business. This finding can be related to the concept of what Dovey and Fenech, describe as “enterprise logic” which the authors link to the emergence of knowledge‐based capitalism. Owner‐managers were keen to involve their employees in development of the businesses through the development of new products and new services. Practical implications – This study confirms earlier work which points out the importance of entrepreneurs adopting an authentic approach to leadership. Authentic leadership means that employees are encouraged to develop their individual strengths and owner‐managers adopt an ethical approach to their dealings with all stakeholders. Originality/value – The paper develops a model of entrepreneurial leadership which sets out the links to organizational innovation. The empirical study provides clear evidence of links between this approach to management and higher levels of innovation within small firms.

Torben Juul Andersen

2009 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/17554250911003845

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that strategic responsiveness is of paramount importance for effective risk management outcomes and to introduce an empirical study to demonstrate this. Design/methodology/approach – Real options logic is adopted to explain how effective risk management capabilities improve performance and how innovation and financial slack enhance this effect. The propositions are examined across 896 companies using two‐stage least square regressions. Findings – The study reveals that risk management effectiveness combines both the ability to exploit opportunities and avoid adverse economic impacts, and has a significant positive relationship to performance. This effect is moderated favorably by investment in innovation and lower financial leverage. Research limitations/implications – The analysis is based on a sample of large firms, which may affect the generalizability of results. Nonetheless, the study shows that effective risk management capabilities differentiate the firms and determine success and failure. It further underscores the importance of combined innovation policy and capital structure decisions as firms deal effectively with risk and uncertainty. Practical implications – The findings indicate that corporate management must consider commitments for innovation and financial slack to enhance positive risk management effects. This result is in dire contrast to traditional beliefs that tighter resource management and higher financial leverage lead to better economies. Originality/value – This is one of few studies to explicitly consider strategic responsiveness as instrumental for effective risk management outcomes while investigating the economic effects associated with the ability to combine generation of upside gains and downside loss avoidance.

V.K. Narayanan; Lee J. Zane

2009 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/17554250911003854

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer an epistemological vantage point for theory development in the case of strategic leadership, an emerging focus of scholarly attention in strategic management. Design/methodology/approach – The authors invoke Rescher's epistemological platform for making the case, Rescher being one of the most influential philosophers in the USA. Findings – The analysis suggests that since strategic leadership differs from supervisory leadership, both on organizational reach and incorporation of external elements, defining the strategic leadership problem exclusively as a difference in context – what Weick referred to as a strategy of knowledge growth by extension – is likely to prove unproductive. Rescher's platform can be put to use for specifying the two critical though inter‐related epistemological challenges in the beginning of the theory development project: the choice of concepts, and the type of relations among the concepts. These epistemological challenges may be reframed as opportunities to capture the phenomenal variety embedded in these concepts, and to deploy a diversity of approaches to examine their correspondence. Research limitations/implications – Contending and complementary views on strategic leadership, and hence concepts representing alternate views should be allowed. Bridges should be built between islands of scholarship, but these bridges are likely to be found in special issues of journals (devoted deliberately to nurture multiple perspectives), edited books and invited conferences. Practical implications – Engagement with “strategic” leaders is an epistemological necessity for both theoretical and pragmatic reasons. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates how epistemology can strengthen theory building in the case of strategic leadership. Given the signal importance of this phenomenon, good theories and, therefore, epistemological challenges should occupy a central stage of discussions in this early stage.

Nicholas O'Regan; Abby Ghobadian

2009 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/17554250911003863

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how key strategic decisions are made in practice at a successful FTSE 100 company. Design/methodology/ approach – The paper is based on semi‐structured interview with the Chief Executive of Cadbury, Mr Todd Stitzer. Mr Stitzer has successfully steered the strategic transformation at Cadbury. Findings – The paper sheds light on ingredients of successful transformation, key elements of successful mergers and acquisitions, strategy implementation, and the link between corporate responsibility and strategy. Research limitations/implications – The paper presents views of a successful chief executive of a FTSE 100 company. It provides an insight on how strategy is made and executed. Originality/value – The paper bridges the gap between theory and practice. It provides a practical view and demonstrates how a leading chief executive thinks about key strategic issues.