THE IMPORTANCE OF BOUNDARY SPANNING ROLES IN STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING [I]

The influence of boundary spanning roles on strategic decision-making was explored in a field study in fifteen organizations. Results support the importance of boundary spanning roles in the strategic decision-making process and the relationship of technology to the differential strategic decision-making influence of different boundary spanning roles.     

MANAGEMENT CONTROL: THE ROLES OF RULES,MARKETS AND CULTURE[1]

This paper addresses the question of efficacy of Management Control Systems in organizations. It shows that control systems are based on a combination of three underlying approaches — markets, rules and culture — in order to obtain desired behaviours from organizations’ members. These three approaches are then discussed in terms of Hofstede's work-related values characterization. It is shown that each firm or organization defines its own balance among the three bases of control identified above. This balancing is dynamic and organizations must continuously adapt their Management Control Systems to changes in the overall culture(s), in technology and in the competitive forces. The general evolution of Management Control Systems is seen to be towards a lessening of the importance of rules-based controls and towards an increased reliance on controls imbedded in the organizational culture. ^{[2] [2]} We are grateful to Kavasseri V. Ramanathan, Richard B. Peterson, Jeremy Dent, to the participants of the EIASM ‘Accounting and Culture’ Workshop, and to Geert Hofstede for their advice, encouragement and cogent criticism. Financial Support of the Accounting Development Fund at the University of Washington is gratefully acknowledged.
     

THE IMPACT OF THE PRODUCT/PRODUCTION PROCESS INTERACTION ON THE EVOLUTION OF STRATEGIC RESPONSE

This article synthesizes previous research on the interaction between product and production process, and the impact of that interaction on the evolution of strategic response. This interaction has major implications for the competitiveness and productivity of the firm. The authors identify characteristics of the interaction that allow a more complete analysis of its relation to firm strategic response, productivity and competitiveness.     

THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS: A REVIEW AND A MODEL

This paper describes a research model which can guide empirical studies of technological innovation in business organizations. The focus of the model is the strategic management of new product development processes. Variables that affect the success or failure of these processes are identified and several research hypotheses are suggested for empirical examination.     

STRATEGIC AWARENESS, PERSONAL COMMITMENT AND THE PROCESS OF PLANNING IN THE SMALL BUSINESS

This paper is based on detailed study [1], over two years, of sixteen small companies based in the northern region of the U.K. the study was concerned with the way in which the companies pursued different lines of product and market development. the research was characterized by experimental ‘action inputs’ designed to allow observation of the impact of different types of ‘software’(information, counselling, training/education) support on the development process. On the basis of this observation the paper constructs a model of the development process as a basis for evaluation of ‘assistance support’. This model, derived from theoretical concepts, nevertheless has been used in practice by companies for the evaluation of their own specific business development and has also been used for training small firm advisers. Observation of the development process enables a characterization of methods of planning used and evaluation of their influence. This indicates clearly the absence of formal planning models but underlines the importance of the strategic awareness and personal commitment of the owner manager in pursuing particular objectives. Strategic awareness is defined and its relationships with forms of assistance are explored. Implications are then drawn for those who seek to assist small businesses.     

EFFECTS OF COUNTERTRADE-DIVERGENT PERCEPTIONS BETWEEN PRACTITIONERS AND NON-PARTICIPANTS[1]

This article provides a theoretical discussion of countertrade benefits and problems. It then comments on data collected in a 1985 study of large British firms which demonstrate that actual countertrades have perceptions of the effects of this practice which differ markedly from the perceptions of companies that do not countertrade. Throughout, the findings on benefits and problems are compared as between international and domestic cotmtertraders and non-countertraders. It is concluded that many more UK firms could benefit from participation in countertrade.     

COMPLEXITY AND CLEAVAGE: DUAL EXPLANATIONS OF STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING [I]

This paper presents a framework for the comparative analysis of strategic decision-making processes. It draws together and integrates predominant but previously disparate theories of decision-making. Examples are given of how decision-making processes may be characterized and, hence, facilitate comparison across all types of strategic decisions. Explanation of why decision processes may differ is from two perspectives. First, the complexity of the topic may lead to particular characteristics of the decision process. Secondly, the cleavage of interests which a topic arouses may also lead to particular aspects of decision processes. We argue that each decision topic has varying levels of both complexity and cleavage and four examples of strategic decisions are analyzed on these dimensions. We identify four profiles of decision-making processes associated with varying levels of complexity and cleavage and we finally suggest that our model may explain and empirically demonstrate variations across a large number of diverse strategic decisions.     

A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN THE 1990s

The importance of thinking strategically is often glossed over when academics try to apply this concept to themselves. This frequently results in research or articles that are not very insightful or useful either to other academics or to practising managers. To overcome this problem and to explore the future needs of the field of strategic management, this article proposes topics for a research agenda for strategic management in the 1990s that is based on the forecast of ‘experts’ in the field.     

徐藏晖：战略管理是企业成功的基石

浙江省宁波市慈溪中环电器有限公司,系中国500强--宁波市慈溪进出口股份有限公司的大股东、员工全员参股的股份制国际贸易型企业,是宁波市慈溪进出口股份有限公司十五个核心子公司之一,成立于1997年初.     

ORGANIZATION DESIGN AND THE LIFE-CYCLES OF PRODUCTS [1]

This paper presents a model which elaborates the relationship between organization design and the product life-cycle. Consideration is given to the structural implications of corporations which have multiple products at differing phases in their life-cycles. This involves a theoretical synthesis of work on P.L.C. with that on degree of product diversification.     

ORGANIZATIONAL ADAPTATION: SOME IMPLICATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL ECOLOGY FOR STRATEGIC CHOICE[1]

This article identifies a correspondence between the organizational ecology and strategic choice perspectives on organizational strategy in their classifications of strategic types. Using this correspondence as the point of departure, implications of organizational ecology for strategic choice are examined with respect to how environmental pressures constrain strategic choice, why some strategic orientations are more successful than others in different environmental conditions, and how and why the mix of strategic types in an industry changes over time.     

THE CULT[URE] OF THE CUSTOMER

Much organizational restructuring, at least in the UK and USA, seeks to replace organizational regulation by that of the market. These developments centre around an emphasis on relations with customers - the ‘sovereign consumer’- as a paradigm for effective forms of organizational relations; they are apparent in, and underpin, a wide variety of organizational developments: just-in-time, total quality management, culture change programmes. Understanding these developments requires consideration of the discourse of enterprise of which the culture of the (internal) customer constitutes a key element. Defining internal organizational relations ‘as if’they were customer/supplier relations means replacing bureaucratic regulation and stability with the constant uncertainties of the market, and thus requiring enterprise from employees. This discourse has fundamental implications for management attempts to define working practices and relations and, ultimately, has impact on the conduct and identities of employees. Understanding these developments is not possible if analysis remains at the level of the organization. It requires that organizational restructurings, and the discourse which supports them, be located within the social and political rationality of enterprise. The certainties of management, the conviction that environmental challenge and competitive threat must be met by the cult[ure] of the customer, are due to managements’largely unquestioned acceptance of the normality and perceived good sense of the discourse of enterprise.     

STRATEGY UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND IT IN FINANCIAL SERVICES*

This article subjects the organizational theory literature on corporate strategy to critical scrutiny, arguing that both the ‘rational’and ‘processual’approaches to strategy generate analyses that are ahistorical and theoretically undeveloped. In their place, but focusing specifically on the financial services, we offer an alternative genealogically informed analysis. This indicates how the historical development of strategy discourses and practices are discontinuous and uneven across countries, sectors, companies and specialist spheres. In addition it suggests that corporate strategy has considerable impact on inter-organizational relations and both ‘internal’(i.e. management and employees) and ‘external’(i.e. consumers) members of the organization. the article seeks to illustrate its arguments both at the sectoral level by examining the development of strategic discourse in banks and insurance companies and at the organizational level by providing some case study material on IT strategy in a life insurance company.