Marketing's contribution to the implementation of business strategy: an empirical analysis

This paper describes a study that assesses the performance implications of matching marketing strategy to business strategy. In order to conduct this study we first reviewed the literature on marketing strategy to identify its key dimensions. We then conducted a survey of 1000 senior marketing executives about the strategic marketing practices adopted in their respective firms or business units, and developed scales to describe 11 strategic marketing activities. We next performed a K‐means cluster analysis using these scales to develop a taxonomy of marketing strategy types consisting of: Aggressive Marketers, Mass Marketers, Marketing Minimizers, and Value Marketers. We then observed that superior performance at the firm or SBU level was achieved when specific marketing strategy types were matched with appropriate Miles and Snow (1978) business strategy types. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From autonomous strategic behavior to emergent strategy

This study develops a model of emergent strategy formation at a large telecommunications firm. It integrates prominent traditions in strategy process research—strategy as patterned action, as iterated resource allocation and as practice—to show how emergent strategy originates as a project through autonomous strategic behavior, then subsequently becomes realized as a consequence of mobilizing wider support to provide impetus, manipulating strategic context to legitimate the project by constructing it as consonant with the prevailing concept of strategy, and altering structural context to embed it within organizational units, routines, and objectives. The study theorizes the role of “practices of strategy articulation” in emergent strategy formation, and explains why some autonomous strategic behavior becomes “ephemeral” and disappears rather than enduring to become emergent strategy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How should you stabilise your supply chains?

This case based research paper examines the stabilisation strategies used within seven supply chains and presents a framework to help practitioners stabilise their chains. The findings show that organisations should first select a cushioning strategy and then reduce demand uncertainty to lower the level of cushion held. However, they need to recognise that other organisations within the supply chain are making similar decisions and the whole supply chain needs to be stabilised. Despite this, businesses seem to only share information about their demand uncertainty-reducing mechanisms and not their cushioning strategies. This means that companies often make decisions in isolation of each other, which can then destabilise the chain.     

Strategy type and performance: the influence of sales force management

The basic premise of the strategy implementation literature is that different business strategies require different configurations of organizational practices to achieve optimal performance. Sales force management is a key functional activity and should contribute to the successful implementation of business strategy. In this study, we examine the relationship between multiple sales force management practices and performance within each of Miles and Snow's (1978) strategy types. The explanatory power of the eight models tested is quite high (incremental adjusted R² ≥ 0.25 for six of the eight models). Thus, we find substantial support for the general proposition that the different strategy types require individualized profiles of sales force management practices for optimal effectiveness and that sales force management is important to the successful implementation of business strategy. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Demand-side reactive strategies for supply disruptions in a multiple-product system

This research examines demand-side reactive strategies for supply disruption in a multiple assemble-to-order system. We consider an assemble-to-order system with two substitute products where the demand is price-sensitive and disruption-sensitive. Two different supply disruption situations are examined: disruption of the low-value component and disruption of the high-value component. We propose and compare the performance of four reactive strategies for managing supply disruptions, namely, the backordering strategy, the upgrading/downgrading strategy, the compensation strategy, and the mixed strategy. We find that the compensation strategy and the mixed strategy can keep more customers than the backordering strategy and the upgrading strategy during the supply disruption of the low-value product. For the disruption of the high-value product, the total number of customers keeps constant. But it does lead to the reallocation of customers among the products. We find that the mixed strategy is the best reactive strategy and the backordering strategy is the worst one among the four reactive strategies.     

浅析房地产营销贯穿于项目的始终

章从房地产选址、产品定位、树立品牌效应等方面论述了房地产营销效果不是产品形成后阶段性努力的结果，而是全过程的系统工程。     

中国国际采矿展发展战略构想

从中国国际采矿展和美国国际矿业展世界两大采矿展会的组织、观众、技术及影响力出发,深刻分析中国国际采矿展与美国矿业展的不同。为中国国际采矿展今后发展提出发展建议和措施。展会成功的核心是采矿行业先进装备技术和安全技术的引进和展示。结合我国煤炭行业形势及煤机制造业现状,为中国国际采矿展的发展提出了"立足我国煤炭行业,巩固行业地位,积极参与国际竞争,不断提升服务水平,力争培育出世界一流品牌展览会"的战略。提出了人才战略、品牌战略和发展战略3大展会战略构想。     

公司创业战略模式及应用——一个系统化过程模型

在现有的研究中,对于公司创业战略的探讨还存在较大模糊性。本文首先对于公司创业战略概念进行了解构,指出公司创业战略概念系由公司创业的战略化以及公司战略的创业化两条线索演进而来。基于公司战略过程模型的建构,本文分析了公司创业战略的几种模式,并且进一步提出了公司创业战略模式的应用建议。     

Perspectives—From China Strategy to Global Strategy

This article argues that starting with substantial divergence, China strategy research and global strategy research are now converging. This scholarly transformation is largely driven by the recent rise of the Chinese economy, which has emerged from being a peripheral member of the global economy to a core contributor. I trace some of the early roots of China research in our field, outline the beginning of my own China research, and discuss my more recent research which has become more global incorporating substantial China and non-China elements. In addition, I use the emergence of the institution-based view of strategy, which has been largely propelled by China research, to shed light on how China research may make more global theoretical contributions beyond the immediate context of this research. Finally, to further push China research to the center stage of global strategy research, I recommend that scholars “act local, think global.”     

防御型专利战略在我国企业中的应用研究

专利战略已经成为企业生存和发展的重要保障。防御型专利战略是打破竞争对手技术垄断的关键。研究我国企业如何运用防御型专利战略,抵御国外企业的专利进攻,开拓自己的市场,具有十分重要的现实意义     

SBU strategy and performance: The moderating effects of the corporate-SBU relationship

This study suggests that the link between an SBU strategy and performance is moderated by the SBU's relationship with corporate management. Information processing arguments suggest that this relationship, typically characterized by general measures of centralization, has been inappropriately conceptualized in prior research. An alternative view, one that considers which decisions and activities should be controlled by the individual SBU, is proposed and tested. The results of a study of 496 SBUs indicate that SBU performance is enhanced when: (1) SBUs with an external strategic orientation control environmental monitoring activities and strategic decision analysis, and (2) SBUs with an intraorganizational orientation control those activities relating to operations. Weaker SBU performance is associated with SBU control over those functions and activities not central to the SBU's business strategy. Therefore, it is suggested that the corporate-SBU relationship can either facilitate or inhibit the implementation of the SBU's intended strategy.     

Resource acquisition strategies in business relationships

Integrating the IMP Group approach with aspects of the resource-based view of the firm, we seek to develop and test a typology of relationship strategies based on different resource acquisition foci. For this purpose, we conducted interviews with thirty CEOs and other senior marketing managers in the UK and the USA. In-depth content analysis identified five main resource acquisition strategies (RAS) behind building business relationships: money bonds, new market bonds, utilization bonds, intellectual bonds, and credibility bonds. We further carried out a quantitative study with 658 senior managers in the USA to test for the generalizability of our findings. Results of a one-way repeated ANOVA and multinomial logistic regression analysis show significant differences between the five RAS for business relationships. However, a pair-wise comparison provides evidence for the existence of hybrid strategies. In addition, an investigation of the association between the RAS of business relationships on the one hand, and business strategy on the other, revealed equifinality of alternative business strategies vis-à-vis the applied relationship strategy. Finally, our analysis revealed no significant differences between the distributions of RAS types for knowledge intensive versus non-knowledge intensive business services. However, we found that RAS distribution is significantly associated with company size.     

为研发而申请专利还是为专利申请而研发

在传统的“为研发而申请专利”的逻辑下,专利仅仅是研发活动的结果和表现．其战略重要性被明显低估。产业垂直分工和知识型企业的大量涌现表明,专利申请动机已明显地从防御性技术保护向进攻性价值创造转变：专利被视作有形化的知识商品从幕后走上前台成为企业和国家竞相争夺的焦点：对专利认识也正像市场营销理念那样从供应导向观向需求导向观转变。为此．本文提出以“为专利申请而研发”作为逻辑起点的新的专利战略概念框架。     

SPEAKING OF STRATEGY

Inkpen and Choudhury's (1995) attempt to plug the gap in strategic thinking posed by the absence of strategy inadvertently raises an existential question about the being of strategy as it is now known. The present paper highlights this implication and calls attention to the importance of the theory advanced by their classification of strategic absence or the absence of strategy.     

THE SEEKING OF STRATEGY WHERE IT IS NOT: TOWARDS A THEORY OF STRATEGY ABSENCE: A REPLY TO BAUERSCHMIDT

In this issue Bauerschmidt critiques a recent Strategic Management Journal paper dealing with the absence of strategy. In this paper (Inkpen and Choudhury, 1995), we argued that strategy absence should be viewed as a legitimate phenomenon of interest. Bauerschmidt maintained that we failed to instill a new strategy paradigm and challenged our arguments as a rhetorical ploy. Unfortunately, Bauerschmidt misinterpreted our intended message. Although we challenged the conventional wisdom that every firm must have an articulated strategy, instilling a new paradigm was not our objective. Our main argument was that the concept of absence may help strategy researchers better understand existing paradigms.     

Strategic action generation: A comparison of emphasis placed on generic competitive methods by U.S. And Japanese managers

The paper identifies similarities and differences in the emphases and patterns that U.S. and Japanese managers attribute to a set of 22 generic competitive methods. It highlights the different ways that Japanese and American managers combine these methods to form general business strategies. Using factor analyses and smallest space analyses, the study shows differences in business strategy patterns between managers in Japan and the U.S. Such differences reflect the organizing principles underlying the strategy approaches in U.S. and Japanese firms. The organizing principle underlying U.S. responses is the desire to find way to differentiate a firm from its competitors. In contrast, the organizing principle underlying Japanese responses is a desire to establish a comprehensive, stable and defensible position. The paper discusses the implications of these results for strategic management and suggests directions for future U.S. and Japanese comparative strategy research.     

Using users: When does external knowledge enhance corporate product innovation?

Prior research on corporate innovation highlights the importance of accessing external knowledge from other firms and universities. However, survey evidence indicates that product users are perhaps the most important source of external knowledge. We build on existing theory to identify the conditions under which user knowledge contributes to corporate innovation and when the benefits will be greatest. Using a panel dataset of medical device companies and their collaborative efforts with innovative physicians, we find evidence that inventive collaborations with users enhance corporate product innovation and that the benefits are greatest in new technology areas and in the generation of radical innovations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Challenges to existing strategy theory in a postindustrial society

In the postindustrial era, firms are facing increasing complexity for a number of reasons, two of which are fundamentally altering the competitive context of firms and managers, namely knowledge and technology dissemination. In this article, we argue that these global changes at the societal as well as the individual level affect strategic management theory and practice in two ways: they alter the relationships between firms and external stakeholders (e.g., customers), and they alter the relationships between firms and internal stakeholders (e.g., employees). After briefly outlining the changes observed, we analyze a number of contributions to strategic management theorizing and argue that as researchers we tend to focus primarily on one of these dimensions of complexity: internal or external. We then continue by discussing how the postindustrial context will require fundamentally different approaches, as the dimensions of internal vs. external collapse, and as a result even the notion of an industry, becomes blurred. In this new context, we need to go beyond the theoretical lenses and paradigms we have been trained in, to explore the implications of these changes at a more fundamental level. For the traditional theories, we need to refocus attention on the underlying assumptions, in order to explore their areas of applicability and the limits to their relevance. In addition, we need to discover and invent new theories and approaches relevant to this specific context. Since we do not know at this point in time what the postindustrial organization may be, we must not limit our creativity as researchers nor as managers by prematurely investing in assumptions and frameworks which may turn out to be less than ideal for the new opportunities (and threats) to be discovered. We need to explore alternative solutions with managers dealing with extreme complexity on a day-to-day basis, try out alternative options and invent new ones, and more than ever be critical about the relevance of the existing body of knowledge as well as sensitive to the possibilities created in this new and exciting context. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.