Strategic clarity, business strategy and performanceJohn A. Parnell
2010 Journal of Strategy and Management
doi: 10.1108/17554251011092683
Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate the link between business strategy and performance, giving special attention to the composition of combination strategies. Design/methodology/approach – A survey assessing business strategy and performance was completed by managers representing 277 retail businesses in the USA. Findings – The combination strategy was associated with higher performance in some but not all instances. Strategic clarity – the extent to which a single strategy reflects the organization's strategic intent – was also associated with organizational performance. Businesses with high and low strategic clarity outperformed those with moderate strategic clarity. Research limitations/implications – This paper investigated US retailers and did not assess businesses in other industries or countries. Future research that seeks to replicate these findings is warranted. Practical implications – Businesses can pursue either a single generic strategy (i.e. low cost or differentiation, prospector or defender or analyzer, etc.) or attempt to combine two or more strategies. Porter and others have warned that a combination strategy is suboptimal because of trade‐offs inherent in “pure” strategies. While some businesses have pursued a combination strategy and performed poorly, others have done so with great success. Evidence presented in the paper attempts to resolve this conundrum, suggesting that high‐performing businesses either concentrate on a single strategy along the Miles and Snow typology or combine all three equally. Those attempting intermediate combinations are more likely to perform poorly. Originality/value – The paper proposes the notion of strategic clarity and provides evidence that supports a U‐shaped link between strategic clarity and business performance.
Knowledge management practices and organizational adaptation Evidences from high technology companies in ChinaKuei‐Hsien Niu
2010 Journal of Strategy and Management
doi: 10.1108/17554251011092692
Purpose – The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between knowledge management processes and a firm's ability to adapt to the external environment. Design/methodology/approach – The field survey research method was used and data were collected from 170 high technology companies in China. Multiple regression analysis as well as mediation tests were conducted to analyze the data. Findings – The study found that knowledge acquisition, knowledge refining and knowledge applying are important when a firm is trying to enhance its competence. On the other hand, knowledge creation, knowledge refining, knowledge sharing and knowledge applying are influential when a firm is trying to introduce the next round of innovation. Research limitations/implications – Using self‐reported data could be a potential limitation of the study. It would be preferable to have other forms of data for a study. Practical implications – The findings provide business executives as well as policy makers with a new way of thinking with respect to how to develop holistic knowledge management practices in order to appropriately adapt to the fast‐changing environment. Originality/value – The major contribution of the study is an initial attempt to provide a holistic approach in analyzing a firm's knowledge management processes. Further, the study attempts to empirically examine knowledge management processes in relation to organizational adaptation.
The black and white and grey of strategyAndrew Campbell; Phil Renshaw; Staffan Engstrom
2010 Journal of Strategy and Management
doi: 10.1108/17554251011092700
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the process of strategy execution when strategy is changing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents studies of two companies – Unilever and Carillion – which appear to have found a solution to the generic problem – to understand the process of strategy execution when strategy is changing. The broader research involved examining the strategic planning processes of more than 20 large companies. Findings – The paper gives two example solutions to a common strategy problem. The gap that often emerges between the desired strategy and the enacted strategy. The general message is that planners need to design a process that enables top managers to give strategic guidance about “grey areas” at a level of detail that matches the complexity of the products and markets in which the company competes. For many companies, this is a much lower level of detail than they are used to handling in their strategic planning processes. Research limitations/implications – A drawback is the limited number of case studies. However, the main conclusions are tautological. Practical implications – Top managers need to be much more involved in executing new strategies. By predicting where lower level managers are likely to lose focus, top managers can intervene to ensure that the strategy is followed through. Social implications – There are implications for decentralisation and empowerment. Leaders need to recognise that they should intervene in some decisions some of the time in order to correct natural biases that may derail their strategic ambitions. Originality/value – This lies in a focus on strategy execution and the role of top executives in execution.
Towards a theory of endogenous market structure in strategy Exploring the endogeneity of demand‐side determinants of firm investment strategy and market structureLalit Manral
2010 Journal of Strategy and Management
doi: 10.1108/17554251011092719
Purpose – The thought and rationale of sustainable competitive advantage in strategy are significantly influenced by the Schumpeterian models of dynamic competition in IO and evolutionary economics. Yet, most analytical accounts of sustainable competitive advantage fail to explain how firms' investment choices influence, and are simultaneously influenced by, the co‐evolution of “external” industry competition and “internal” firm competences. This paper aims to contribute to the development of a theory of endogenous market structure in strategy. Design/methodology/approach – Two alternative assumptions are developed – concerning temporally heterogeneous firm investment strategy – that lie central to a proposed behavioral theory of endogenous market structure. Additionally, a theoretical description is provided of the endogeneity of the demand‐side determinants of firm investment strategy and industrial market structure. Finally, guidelines are provided for empirical application of (incorporating) the alternative assumptions and theoretical arguments. Practical implications – It is expected that the theoretical arguments in the paper will influence strategy scholars to develop dynamic models of firm performance that render themselves amenable to sound empirical analyses. Originality/value – The paper contributes towards developing a theory of endogenous market structure in strategy.
The relationship between modes of governance and relational tie in new product development relationshipsEbrahim Teimoury; Mehdi Fesharaki; Afshar Bazyar
2010 Journal of Strategy and Management
doi: 10.1108/17554251011092728
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of trust, norm of information sharing, and vertical control on relational ties in new product development (NPD) relationships. Design/methodology/approach – Survey research was conducted to collect data from 112 NPD relationships and structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings – The results suggest that trust and norms of information sharing are positively related to relational ties, while vertical control and relational ties are negatively related. Three independent variables (i.e. trust, norm of information sharing, and vertical control) could significantly predict relational ties. It was also found that there are threshold effects for independent variables as they influence relational ties. Originality/value – The study enhances the understanding of NPD relationships by examining the key modes of governance through which relational ties are influenced.