The influence of the strategic planning process on strategic change

This paper proposes that organizational decision-makers exist in a market for strategic issues where different internal and external trends and developments compete for decision-makers' attention. The paper describes how an organization's strategic planning process affects the set of strategic issues that do capture decision-makers' attention. It explains how characteristics of the strategic issue array translate into effective and timely initiation and implementation of strategic change.     

The effect of board capital and CEO power on strategic change

We develop the construct of board capital, composed of the breadth and depth of directors' human and social capital, and explore how board capital affects strategic change. Building upon resource dependence theory, we submit that board capital breadth leads to more strategic change, while board capital depth leads to less. We also recognize CEO power as a moderator of these relationships. Our hypotheses are tested using a random sample of firms on the S&P 500. We find support for the effect of board capital on strategic change, and partial support for the moderating effect of CEO power. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of board size and diversity on strategic change

This study examines an important potential conflict between the institutional, governance, and strategic functions of boards. We specifically test how higher levels of board size and diversity, traditionally associated with optimal institutional and governance performance of boards, affect the boards ability to initiate strategic changes during periods of environmental turbulence. Our findings suggest that board diversity, in particular, may be a significant constraint on strategic change.     

Decomposing the effect of supplier development on relationship benefits: The role of relational capital

Buyers invest considerably in developing their suppliers, yet the performance effects of such investments are not universal. Drawing on social capital theory, this research investigates whether the relationship between supplier development and relationship benefits may be facilitated by the generation of relational capital. The authors examine mediating and moderating roles of relational capital in the relationship between two aspects of supplier development (capability development, supplier governance) and two dimensions of relationship benefits (supplier benefits, buyer benefits), using survey data collected from 185 suppliers of a large manufacturing firm. Investment in supplier development does not automatically result in benefits for the supplier or reciprocated benefits for the buyer. Rather, relational capital “bridges” supplier development and relationship benefits. Without relational capital, benefits from capability development do not accrue, and the impact of a supplier governance regime can be even detrimental. In conditions of high relational capital, capability development results in lower perceived buyer benefits. The results can help managers ensure that the benefits from their supplier development efforts fully materialize.     

The impact of strategic account managers' behaviors on relational outcomes: An empirical study

This paper explores the impact of some behaviors of strategic account managers on the relational outcomes of the relationships they are in charge of. Based on a review of literature on personal selling and strategic account management, we contribute to a greater understanding of the role of specific strategic account managers' behaviors in fostering synergistic solutions, role performance and customer trust. Results of the empirical study clearly show that the use of customer orientation has a strong influence on customer trust by increasing strategic account managers' role performance and stimulating synergistic solutions. Conversely, a selling orientation negatively affects synergistic solutions, thus decreasing customer trust. Finally, team selling has a positive impact on the attainment of synergistic solutions, thereby fostering customer trust. Based on these findings, managerial and research implications are discussed.     

The strategic role of relational capabilities in the business-to-business service profit chain

This paper extends the original service profit chain by examining the role of relational capabilities with employees, customers and strategic partners on process and performance outcomes in a business-to-business context. More specifically, we demonstrate how satisfied and loyal employees are better in developing relationships with customers and strategic partners. These relationships enable firms to be more responsive towards customers and become more innovative, which increase customer satisfaction and loyalty and, ultimately, financial performance. Our results provide support for the development of relational capabilities in a business-to-business environment by extending the service profit chain (SPC) model. However, we find that while the development of strong customer relationships contributes to an improved service responsiveness of the firm, strategic partners do not.     

Managing strategic change: The duality of CEO personality

Using the five factor model (FFM) of personality, we delineate two distinct roles of CEO personality in managing strategic change: initiating strategic change and determining the performance effects of strategic change implementation. Based on data from 120 small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ecuador, we found that some FFM traits of CEOs influenced initiation only (extraversion and openness), others similarly influenced initiation and performance effects of implementation (emotional stability and agreeableness), and still others had opposing effects on initiation and effective implementation (conscientiousness). These results point to a dual role of CEO FFM of personality in managing strategic change, and they indicate the differences in CEO FFM traits needed to initiate strategic change and those needed to improve the performance effects of strategic change implementation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling the dynamics of strategic fit: a normative approach to strategic change

This study develops and tests a dynamic perspective on strategic fit. Drawing from contingency and resource‐based arguments in the strategy and organizational theory literatures, we propose a distinctive analytical approach to identify environmental and organizational contingencies that should predict changes in a firm's strategy and the performance implications of such changes. We test our model using extensive longitudinal data from over 4000 U.S. savings and loan institutions during a period when many S&Ls considered changing strategic direction. The findings support our model of dynamic strategic fit. Specifically, we find that (1) the timing, direction, and magnitude of strategic changes can be logically predicted based on differences in specific environmental forces and organizational resources, and (2) organizations that deviated from our model's prediction of dynamic strategic fit (i.e., changed more or changed less than our model prescribed) experienced negative performance consequences. We conclude by discussing the implications of our approach and findings for future research on strategic fit and strategic change. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enabling relationship structures and relationship performance improvement: The moderating role of relational capital

Based on data from 248 asymmetric subcontractor–customer relationships in Finland, this study analyzes the direct impact of relationship structures, relational capital, and the subcontractor's relationship-specific investments on the improvement of operational relationship performance. In addition, the study investigates the moderating role of relational capital on the links between relationship structures, relationship-specific investments, and relationship performance improvement. We found that both relational capital and relationship-specific investments directly affect the relationship performance improvement, while relationship structures do not. However, relational capital positively moderates the link between relationship structures and relationship performance improvement by creating enabling structures. Thus, our findings contribute to the existing literature and discussion on enabling organizational and relationship structures by demonstrating how relational capital changes the role and impact of relationship structures.     

Factors influencing strategic alliance outcomes in a manufacturing supply chain: Role of alliance motives,interdependence, asset specificity and relational capital

Integration of various theories is essential to completely understand and explain strategic alliances in a supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework by integrating the features of transaction cost theory, resource-based theory, contingency theory, social exchange theory, and Kelley's personal relationship theory and test the framework through empirical research. The present study addresses the impact of strategic alliance motives, environment, asset specificity, perception of opportunistic behavior, interdependence between supply chain partners, and relational capital on strategic alliance outcomes. Besides, the study has also tested the role of relational capital as a central mediating construct. A sample of 2156 companies representing different industries in manufacturing in Malaysia was selected for the distribution of questionnaire. We tested the structural model using structural equation modeling (SEM). Based on the results, we conclude the following significant relationships: (1) strategic alliance motives and perception of opportunistic behavior on interdependence and relational capital, (2) interdependence on relational capital, (3) environment on strategic alliance motives, (4) relational capital on strategic alliance outcomes, and (4) the mediating role of relational capital. The current study adds significantly to the body of knowledge on strategic alliances and can help managers identify factors that influence the success of strategic alliances and provide a proper direction to develop robust and effective collaborative relationships between supply chain partners.     

The influence of material resources on innovation projects: the role of resource elasticity

More (rather than fewer) material resources are thought to be the key driver in innovation project performance. Recent empirical evidence, however, suggests that the influence of material resource availability on innovation projects is not as simple and straightforwardly positive as it may seem. We build on the concept of an innovation project team's resource elasticity to disentangle the material resource–innovation output conundrum. This concept is analogous to the marketing concept of price elasticity and points to four types of innovation project teams based on their resource elasticity: In resource‐elastic teams, the relationship between material resources and innovation outcomes is positive (hence, they are ‘resource driven’ when able to dispose of adequate material resources or ‘resource victims’ when lacking these material resources). In contrast, and as a significant departure from previous work, resource‐inelastic teams show no or even a negative relationship between material resource adequacy and team performance (thus, the teams are ‘resourceful’ if they can perform with limited material resources or ‘resource burners’ if they show low success with adequate material resources). Because neither adequate nor inadequate material resources seem to be a reliable predictor of success, we synthesize empirical research efforts that point to each team type's key characteristics to derive novel implications for managing innovation projects.     

When the former ceo stays on as board chair: effects on successor discretion,strategic change,and performance

Prior research on CEO succession has omitted consideration of a critical institutional reality: some exiting CEOs do not fully depart the scene but instead remain as board chairs. We posit that predecessor retention restricts a successor's discretion, thus dampening his or her ability to make strategic changes or deliver performance that deviates from pre‐succession levels. In short, a predecessor's continuing presence suppresses a new CEO's influence. Based on analysis of 181 successions in high technology firms, and with extensive controls (for circumstances associated with succession, the firm's need and capacity for change, and for endogeneity), we find substantial support for our hypotheses. In supplementary analyses, we find that retention has a more pronounced effect in preventing a new CEO from making big performance gains than in preventing big drops. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of strategic alliance resource accumulation and process characteristics on new product success: Exploration of international high-tech strategic alliances in China

This paper examines two research questions: (1) how do strategic alliance resources influence new product outcomes, and (2) how do these effects differ under different NPD process characteristics. By integrating resource-based view and coordination literature, the authors argue that both marketing and technology resources demonstrate independent and interactive effects on new product innovativeness, speed to market, and market performance. Further, the individual effects of marketing and technology resources are moderated by the process characteristics of partner interdependence, while the interactive effect between marketing and technology resources is moderated by the development process characteristic of task interdependence. Using primary dyadic data collected from 142 international high-tech strategic alliances in China, we test and find general support for these arguments. The results provide significant theoretical implications for a variety of research streams, as well as managerial implications for strategic alliances with Chinese firms.     

The science of complexity: An alternative perspective for strategic change processes

The two perspectives of strategy process most firmly established in the literature—strategic choice and ecology—assume the same about system dynamics: negative feedback processes driving successful systems (individual organizations or populations of organizations) toward predictable equilibrium states of adaptation to the environment. This paper proposes a third perspective, that of complex adaptive systems. The framework is provided by the modern science of complexity: the study of nonlinear and network feedback systems, incorporating theories of chaos, artificial life, self-organization and emergent order. Here system dynamics are characterized by positive and negative feedback as systems coevolve far from equilibrium, in a self-organizing manner, toward unpredictable long-term outcomes.     

Effects of social capital on processes in a regional strategic network

Understanding the role of social capital is vital for implementing cluster policies as regional strategic networks and cluster initiatives are influenced by the local socio-economic context and its social capital. Social capital can create value for companies by closure of the network structure (bonding), which maintains internal mutual trust but bonding can also over-embed companies in their social context, whereas sparse networks that provide links to other parts of relevant business networks (bridging) often provide greater innovation benefits. We provide a conceptual framework applied to a case study of a Swedish regional strategic network, and examples mostly of positive effects of bridging social capital and negative effects of the bonding form are identified. This is interpreted against the background of the regional dependence-oriented culture.     

Social capital,strategic relatedness and the formation of intraorganizational linkages

This paper investigates the evolutionary dynamics of network formation by analyzing how organizational units create new interunit linkages for resource exchange. Using sociometric techniques and event history analysis, this study predicts the rate at which new interunit linkages are created between a newly formed unit and all the existing units in a large multinational organization. Two important constructs: social capital, derived from the literature on social structure and network formation, and strategic relatedness, derived from research on diversification and the resource‐based view of the firm, are used to explain the rate of new linkage creation. Results show that the interaction between social capital and strategic relatedness significantly affects the formation of intraorganizational linkages. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Duration and relational choices: Time based effects of customer performance and environmental uncertainty on relational choice

This paper investigates the influences of customer performance and environmental uncertainty on the customer's choice of relational exchange strategies over the duration of their relationship. Relational exchanges of short, intermediate, and long term duration are investigated with the results showing different performance outcomes and environmental factors impacting relational choice at different times in the relationship. The results help explain conflicts reported in prior relational exchange research and provide valuable insights for practitioners responsible for managing relational exchanges.     

The creation of momentum for change through the process of strategic issue diagnosis

This paper presents a model of how decision-makers interpret stategic issues. The model of strategic issue diagnosis identifies three critical events: activation, assessments of urgency and assessments of feasibility. The relationship of each of these interpretive assessments to the creation of momentum for change allows one to predict if and how organizations will respond to a changed decision environment. The paper further links strategic issue diagnosis to organizational responses by highlighting the systematic effect of two contextual variables—the organization's belief structure and its resources—upon the assessments in diagnosis. In this way, the model of issue diagnosis provides a framework for understanding how and why organizations respond differently to strategic issues.     

The moderating influence of strategic orientation on the strategy formation capability–performance relationship

An effective strategy formation capability is a complex organizational resource—a dynamic capability that should lead to superior performance. Strategy scholars have examined the strategy formation capability from many perspectives. However, no study has examined a comprehensive model of strategy formation in the context of the firm's strategic orientation. We develop and examine such a model. The results show that strategic orientation moderates the relationship between different elements of the strategy formation capability and performance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.