bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PERSONNEL FUNCTION
Authors: Tyson Shaun
Published: May 2007

This article examines the way the personnel role has developed in the United Kingdom, and argues that three main models of personnel management may be discerned. The way these models have been influenced by the recession is discussed and it is suggested that the personnel function, both as a specialized activity and as one aspect of all managerial work has been forced to change, in response to the need for increased competitiveness, to structural and ideological changes, and to industrial reorganization. Looking to the future, the paper anticipates the ‘balkanization’ of the personnel function as new specialisms emerge, and as personnel activity becomes more closely associated with corporate marketing strategies.
INTERPRETING ORGANIZATIONAL TEXTS
Authors: Kets de Vries Manfred F. R. , Miller Danny
Published: May 2007

The mere observing of a thing is no use whatsoever. Observing turns into beholding, beholding into thinking, thinking into establishing connections, so that one may say that every attentive glance we cast on the world is an act of theorizing…
AN EXAMINATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF MIDDLE‐LEVEL MANAGERS IN FORMULATING AND IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC DECISIONS
Authors: Schilit Warren Keith
Published: May 2007

The upward influence of middle‐level managers (MLMs) on strategic planning and decision‐making is examined. It was found that: (1) upward influence activity was more prevalent in low risk/return types of strategic decisions than in high risk/return decisions; (2) upward influence activity was more prevalent during the implementation of strategic decisions than during the formulation of such decisions; (3) managers most often used rational arguments in their influence attempts; (4) managers were more likely to be successful than unsuccessful in influencing their superiors in strategic decisions; (5) managers most often attributed their success in influencing their superiors to internal causes and their failures to external causes; (6) managers from private sector organizations exerted influence in both high risk and low risk strategic decisions more frequently than did managers from public sector organizations; and (7) the number of years working with the superior was the best predictor of successful interactions and of risky decisions. Some insight into the development of widespread strategic thinking in an organization is provided.
THE MYTH OF THE CORPORATE POLITICAL JUNGLE: POLITICIZATION AS A POLITICAL STRATEGY
Authors: Klein Jonathan I.
Published: May 2007

It is argued that the belief that the intraorganizational environment is necessarily a political one represents a myth propagated and entertained to address various needs of organizational members. One consequence of subscription to the myth of the corporate political jungle is a belief in the necessity for, and as a result the performance of, ‘political’ behaviour itself. ‘Political’ responses by others to this behaviour empirically support the myth and justify the behaviour. It is argued that political behaviour incurs dysfunctional consequences that warrant its reduction or elimination. Because political behaviour responds to belief in its inevitability, reduction of political behaviour ultimately depends upon acceptance of the argument presented in this discussion that the workplace is not inherently political.
THE COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE ON STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING
Authors: Schwenk Charles R.
Published: May 2007

Strategic management researchers are showing increased interest in the cognitions of strategic decision‐makers. In this article, the importance of strategic cognitions is discussed and research on a number of major topics within the cognitive perspective is summarized. the paper concludes with an integrative model of cognitions in strategic decision making. This model provides the basis for questions for future research.
ORGANIZATIONAL ADAPTATION: SOME IMPLICATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL ECOLOGY FOR STRATEGIC CHOICE[1]
Authors: Zammuto Raymond F.
Published: May 2007

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.
CONFLICT APPROACHES OF EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGERS: A FIELD STUDY IN A MATRIX ORGANIZATION[1]
Authors: Barker Jeffrey , Tjosvold Dean , Andrews I. Robert
Published: May 2007

The conflict approaches used by project managers in a matrix organization were described by 135 project team engineers. In project teams where the managers used a combination of co‐operative and confirming approaches to conflict, conflicts were judged to have a constructive impact and management was judged to be effective. Conflicts were seen as counterproductive and management was seen as ineffective when the project manager relied upon a combination of competitive and avoiding approaches to conflict. These results provided field data support for a theory of conflict management which has been tested and refined through extensive laboratory research.
MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND NEW TECHNOLOGY IN RETAIL DISTRIBUTION: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY
Authors: Bamber Greg J. , Lansbury Russell D.
Published: May 2007

This paper examines the establishment of two large dry food warehouses or distribution centres (DCs) each of which involved much technological innovation. We explore whether the introduction of the same technology into two similar DCs in one corporation leads to similar outcomes and to what extent such a technological change may influence organizational behaviour. We assess the managerial strategies and tactics associated with the technological change and the subsequent experiences at each site.

In short, distribution centre A (DCA) was plagued by industrial disruption and had low productivity. By contrast, distribution centre B (DCB) had virtually no disruption and had high productivity. Following a change of corporate strategy, DCA was contracted out to a third party independent operator and became DCX. the new management immediately reduced the industrial disruption there and appeared to increase the productivity too; thus DCX was transformed in comparison with DGA.

These contrasts are explained in terms of differing managerial strategies, patterns of industrial relations and work organization. We conclude that these three factors are crucial in determining the success of technological change and are more important determinants of organizational behaviour than is the particular type of technology.
THE STATE‐SOE[1] RELATIONSHIP: SOME PATTERNS
Authors: Hafsi T. , Koenig C.
Published: May 2007

This article focuses on the pattern of relationship that develops over time between a state‐owned firm and its owner. the main hypothesis is that there is not a single, permanent pattern of relationship. Instead, it is proposed that there are three possible modes of interaction, which can be combined into a cycle. the state‐SOE relationships are thus shown to evolve from mutual dependance and co‐operation to autonomy via an adversarial stage.

The article first provides detailed examples of the various types of relations that have been revealed by research, then combines them into the idea of cycle, before investigating the forces that lie under the cycle. It finally offers several implications for both practice and research.
THE BROKEN WHEEL: THE INSEPARABILITY OF AUTONOMY AND CONTROL IN INNOVATION WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS
Authors: Feldman Steven P.
Published: May 2007

There is an ambiguity at the centre of our understanding of innovation in large, specialized organizations. The literature is split as to whether individual autonomy or hierarchical control leads to an increase in innovative activity. In this article, I argue that this uncertainty is the result of an inappropriate conceptualization. In my view, autonomy and control are inseparable aspects of managerial action, not independent empirical phenomena. Innovation in an organization requires the simultaneous regulation of autonomy and control in order to promote creativity and experimentation but still produce results that can be manufactured and marketed or institutionalized. I develop an interpretive concept of culture to analyse the relationship between autonomy and control, and I apply this conceptual framework to managers and engineers in an electronics company as they attempt to innovate. Four general conclusions emerge. First, autonomy and innovation can never be ends in themselves but always depend on a context of control for their relevance to the organization. Second, under conditions in which innovation is required and autonomous behaviour is important, general management control is needed as a sort of switching station to regulate interaction and set and enforce priorities. Third, when control and autonomy are not in balance a vicious circle can develop which undermines commitment to an organization's goals. Fourth, innovation in organizations requires participants to have a highly developed sense of the legitimate possibilities of autonomy in organization.
THE FACT AND CAUSES OF VARIATION IN STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES
Authors: Katz Jan Hack
Published: May 2007

As organizations adapt to changes in environmental conditions and internal needs, they often develop new structures. Research has described several diverse processes by which this development takes place (cf. Chandler, 1962; Child, 1972; Pettigrew, 1973; Sproull, et al., 1978). The only explanations provided thus far for these divergent views is methodological artefact and observer bias (Allison, 1971). In this paper, three parallel case studies are used to show that such differences are real ‐ different organizations do follow different development paths. Evidence is provided to suggest that this variation is caused by the differing structures of organizational control surrounding new structures.
Mergers and Acquisitions, Human Resource Issues and Outcomes: A Review and Suggested Typology*
Authors: Napier Nancy K.
Published: May 2007

The article has three aims. First, it reviews recent research on corporate mergers and acquisitions and their impact on human resource issues. Second, it proposes a framework for classifying mergers and acquisitions. Finally, it provides some research questions for examining merger types, human resource management issues and major outcomes.
CONSTRUING THE BUSINESS PORTFOLIO: A COGNITIVE MODEL OF DIVERSIFICATION[1]
Authors: Ginsberg Ari
Published: May 2007

In investigating the concept of diversification and its link to performance, strategy researchers have tended to emphasize economic, technological, or market characteristics that distinguish or relate one business to another. However, by ignoring the mental maps corporate‐level managers use to understand and manage strategic variety among their firm's businesses, strategy research has failed to produce an overall theory that links diversification to performance. Although the literature has begun to reaffirm the importance of developing a cognitive concept of diversification, researchers have been frustrated by the paucity of methods that are suitable for operationalizing the subjective characteristics of managerial mental maps into quantitative and reproducible measures. In addressing this deficit, this article proposes the use of the Repertory Grid, a set of procedures that facilitates elicitation and quantification of top managers' mindsets towards the firm's mix of businesses. After outlining the theoretical and methodological foundations of the Repertory Grid, the paper defines indices of grid structure and content and demonstrates the utility of grid data for assessing diversification.
A PROFILE OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: A NOTE*
Authors: Shrivastava Paul , Lim Gaik E.
Published: May 2007

A study of 88 randomly selected strategy‐related dissertations was conducted to develop a statistical profile of dissertations in the strategic management field. This study also provides some empirical evidence supporting the criticism that the field is fragmented.
THE SUBSTITUTABILITY OF STRATEGIC CONTROL CHOICES: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY*
Authors: Snodgrass Coral R. , Szewczak Edward J.
Published: May 2007

In one stream of literature, organizational control has been observed to have two types ‐ bureaucratic and cultural ‐ and to be related to strategic adaptation. In another stream of literature, societal culture has been discussed as influencing the choice of organizational control types. This empirical study combines these two streams of literature. Drawing on Child (1981) we argue that the choice of organizational control types is a cultural choice. Within this context, the substitutability of one organizational control type for the other is examined using data from two culturally distinct sets of organizations ‐ Japanese and American. The results of canonical correlation analysis suggest that the substitutability hypothesis is supported in only a very limited sense and that the relationship between the two control types may be better viewed as balanced. Implications of these results for strategic managers are discussed.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS OF STRATEGIC COALIGNMENT: A METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Venkatraman N.
Published: May 2007

Strategic coalignment ‐ viewed in terms of internal consistency among key strategic decisions or the alignment between strategic choices and critical contingencies posed by either environmental or organizational contexts ‐ is an important theoretical perspective in strategic management. However, extant research is characterized by both poor clarifications of the theoretical meanings of coalignment as well as inappropriate statistical modelling. This article adopts a methodological orientation to examining a general proposition of the performance implications of strategic coalignment among three generic strategy dimensions: marketing, manufacturing and administrative. Such a proposition is evaluated using three seemingly complementary perspectives of statistical modelling: (a) interactionist; (b) profile‐derivation; and (c) covariation, and data collected from two hundred business units. The analysis and results generally support the proposition using two of three perspectives, thus raising critical methodological issues relating to multiple specifications of the statistical form of coalignment.
A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE OF BANK FINANCIAL CONGLOMERATES IN LONDON AFTER THE CRASH
Authors: Gardener Edward P. M.
Published: May 2007

The deregulation of financial markets has led to severe challenges for bank management and banking strategy. Investment banking is a sector that has experienced important and well‐publicized changes. London's celebrated ‘Big Bang’ helped to stimulate new banking strategies that were characterized by the formation of so‐called ‘bank financial conglomerates’. The October 1987 stock market crash, however, has precipitated strategic and organizational crises for many of these banks active in securities business and capital market products. This article re‐examines investment banking strategies in London and some of the lessons associated with the crash experiences.
ASSESSING RATIONAL AND INTUITIVE STYLES: A HUMAN INFORMATION PROCESSING METAPHOR
Authors: Taggart William , Valenzi Enzo
Published: May 2007

This article has four distinct but related purposes. First, we describe the research setting for assessing human information processing style in terms of the rational‐intuitive complementarity. We highlight earlier management study that directly deals with this dimension. Then we review popular instruments for assessing style in rational‐intuitive terms.

Second, we outline a conceptual model that elaborates the rational—intuitive styles of human information processing into three modes each. There are innovative management studies, and Eastern and Western philosophical bases for this model. We use this background to help synthesize three lines of neurophysiological research to formulate a six‐mode human information processing (HIP) metaphor. Third, we use the HIP metaphor to develop an HIP survey with a scale for each mode. This section describes how conceptual definitions are derived from the model with guidance from the rational‐intuitive term pairs and the survey item pool.

Finally, we describe the statistical analysis of the reliability and validity of the six scales for the HIP survey. We use a criterion‐based factor analytic approach for isolating the scale items. Then, the HIP metaphor is used to predict associations among the scales in our study. We use a modified form of the multitrait—multimethod approach to test our predictions. Finally, this section summarizes the results of the predicted relationships among the variables on the self‐assessment tools used in this study. The study helps bring the rational—intuitive assessment of human information processing into the mainstream of management research.
COMING TO TERMS WITH THE FIELD: UNDERSTANDING AND DOING ORGANIZATIONAL ETHNOGRAPHY*
Authors: Rosen Michael
Published: May 2007

This article argues that ethnography is inadequately understood and recognized within administration science as a method for studying organizational culture. Ethnographic analyses of organizational cultures are largely absent from the administration science literature, primarily because such work derives from a social constructionist understanding of science. The knowledge of organizations thus provided is interpretive, denying the subject—object dichotomy inherent in mainstream empiricist applications of social analysis. In addition, whereas ethnographic analysis and writing is an appropriate method for studying culture, organizational ethnography is substantially different from ethnographic studies of whole (and largely foreign) societies. Formal organizations are both partial and specialized in comparison to general societal organization. The conceptual and practical toolkit the organizational ethnographer brings to the field and the writing table is thus tailored to this particular research arena, and is outlined here.
STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY FOR HIGH TECHNOLOGY MANOEUVRES: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Authors: Evans J. Stuart
Published: May 2007

Strategic flexibility is proposed as an expedient capability for managing capricious settings, such as those confronted in technology‐intensive arenas. This article examines the historical evolution of the concept of flexibility and analyses its different senses by relating it to other concepts with a ‘family resemblance’. A conceptual framework is subsequently developed, which integrates the temporal and intentional dimensions of flexibility. Four archetypal manoeuvres, derived from the framework, are proposed as a means of attaining strategic flexibility. The deployment of these manoeuvres is exemplified by means of selected strategic engagements of firms in the computer peripherals arena. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the research.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE PHILOSOPHER‐KING? THE LEADER'S ADDICTION TO POWER
Authors: de Vries Manfred F. R. Kets
Published: May 2007

This articles postulates the existence of a number of conscious and unconscious forces which make leaders reluctant to relinquish power. It is suggested that a major reason for the unwillingness to let go is the transferential effects of leadership. Both mirroring and idealizing transference reactions are discussed. In addition, there is the ageing factor which may contribute to the addictiveness of power, since ageing can evoke a strong need for compensatory strivings. the talionic principle ‐ meaning in this case the conscious or unconscious fear that the loss of power will be followed by some form of retaliation for previous acts ‐ may be another factor contributing to power's addictiveness. In this context the role of envy is emphasized. Finally, the existence of a ‘fear of nothingness’ is postulated, that is, a form of anxiety which leads to a need to defeat death by leaving some kind of legacy. It is suggested that holding onto power is linked to the fear that this legacy may be destroyed.
STRATEGIC INVESTMENT DECISION‐MAKING: COMPLEXITIES, POLITICS AND PROCESSES*
Authors: Butler Richard , Davies Les , Pike Richard , Sharp John
Published: May 2007

This article is a preliminary report on an investigation into the processes of investment decision‐making. Three case studies from three firms are presented which show disparities in a number of aspects of process, for example, the length of time taken to arrive at a decision, the number and intensity of disagreements and uncertainties encountered. Data were collected for these cases through semi‐structured interviewing from multiple informants in the three organizations, thereby permitting the use of analysis of variance techniques of the different perspectives given by informants. Perceptions of the effectiveness of the decisions were also gathered. One finding from the study is that the decisions with the lowest perceived effectiveness (in firm HE) also lost support from those involved in making the decision during the process, although the decision was eventually implemented. This decision also had the least agreement amongst informants as to the main sources of disagreements. Informants of all three decisions saw effect upon product quality and productivity, fit with business strategy and competitive position of the company as the most important factors to take into account in evaluating the decisions. In firm CG, however, there were disagreements as to how the investment should be evaluated. In the conclusions to the article a disucssion is given as to the nature of evaluation procedures in relation to the developing theory of information systems.
COMMODITY BUNDLING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS
Authors: Lawless Michael W.
Published: May 2007

Commodity bundling involves grouping related products together into a unified market offering. It is a familiar approach in a number of industries, yet strategic and structural implications are not well developed. This article presents a descriptive model of the potential advantages of commodity bundling, the fit between firm competences and customer needs, and the decision to bundle. Effects on adaptation, type of innovation, and organization structure are discussed. Managerial implications and research propositions from case studies of 16 corporations, and from strategy, marketing and economic theory are presented.
SOME EVERYDAY RITUALS IN MANAGEMENT CONTROL*
Authors: Golding David
Published: May 2007

This article examines the way in which observed rituals in management activity appear to contribute to the accomplishment of management control. It argues that any examination of organizational activity involving a dimension so ethereal as ritual is bound to be problematic. It is nevertheless an important feature of organizational life and, therefore, a fruitful framework for understanding complex organizations. The article suggests that in the particular organization studied, issues of management control are expressed in various ways which reflect a chain of command, being alternatively brought into sharp focus and then blurred. It is suggested that this can be seen to represent activities which involve considerable components of what ethnomethodologists might call ‘artful practice’.
STRATEGIC CONSEQUENCES OF EXECUTIVE SUCCESSION WITHIN DIVERSIFIED FIRMS
Authors: Wiersema Margarethe F.
Published: May 2007

Systematic investigation of leaders and their influence on organizations has been a major area of research interest. In examining the upper echelon‐organizational outcome linkage, researchers have come to focus on the issue of executive succession. This focus has been due in large part to an emerging theoretical perspective that managerial differences may explain much of the variance in organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether or not top management succession affects subsequent corporate strategy. This article extends previous research efforts by longitudinally examining the linkage between executive succession and the extent of corporate strategic change across a sample of Fortune 1000 diversified firms. The findings confirm that the nature of executive succession has substantial consequences for corporate strategy. Firms have a greater likelihood of experiencing significant changes in strategy when they choose successors from outside the organization; firms that select their key executives by promoting from within are more likely to experience significantly less change in their corporate strategy. The results of this longitudinal investigation of the strategic outcomes of succession have significant implications for those in a position to select successors to the executive ranks.
STAKEHOLDER‐AGENCY THEORY
Authors: Hill Charles W. L. , Jones Thomas M.
Published: May 2007

Taking agency theory and stakeholder theory as points of departure, this article proposes a paradigm that helps explain the following: (1) certain aspects of a firm's strategic behaviour; (2) the structure of management‐stakeholder contracts; (3) the form taken by the institutional structures that monitor and enforce contracts between managers and other stakeholders; and (4) the evolutionary process that shapes both management‐stakeholder contracts and the institutional structures that police those contracts.
INTEGRATING MARKETING AND R&D PROJECT PERSONNEL WITHIN INNOVATION PROJECTS: AN INFORMATION UNCERTAINTY MODEL*
Authors: Souder William E. , Moenaert Rudy K.
Published: May 2007

Technological innovation within the firm can be modelled as a process of uncertainty reduction. The four major sources of uncertainty are user needs, technological environments, competitive environments, and organizational resources. Reducing these uncertainties is the responsibility of the marketing and R&D functions within the firm. Because these functions are reciprocally interdependent, their success in reducing uncertainty requires integration and collaboration between them. A contingency framework is developed which shows the effect and the determinants of interfunctional information transfer. It is argued that the synergistic results of integration can best be understood as a within‐role increase of uncertainty reduction, and a between‐role convergence of functional uncertainty reduction. The implications of the model are discussed.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND THE BRITISH ECONOMY IN THE 1990s: MRS THATCHER'S LEGACY
Authors: Evans Steve , Ewing Keith , Nolan Peter
Published: May 2007

The authors challenge the view that the UK Conservative governments during the 1980s achieved important advances in industrial performance through the abandonment of corporatist policies that allowed management to regain the initiative and push through changes in work organization. The article takes issue with the idea that collective labour institutions necessarily impair economic efficiency, and it points up important connections between Thatcher's offensive against organized labour and the enduring weaknesses in human capital and technology.

The article has three sections: the first examines labour markets and industrial relations; the second analyses government regulation; and the third assesses trends and prospects for the future, with emphasis on employment flexibility and labour productivity. The authors conclude with some comments on future prospects in the context of Britain's fuller integration in Europe.
PLANNING FOR PERSONNEL?‐HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT RECONSIDERED*
Authors: Kerfoot Deborah , Knights David
Published: May 2007

This article provides an in‐depth case study of a UK mutual life insurance company with the pseudonym Pensco. The case is presented partly to illustrate some theoretical and empirical weaknesses within the managerialist literatures on human resource management (HRM), and in those academic critiques which perceive it to be all ‘hype’and no substance. Our concern is not with the questin of whether Pensco ‘fits’an HRM model, but with examining changes in management practice, their effects on the nature of management control and the growth of self‐discipline throughout the company's hierarchy. Focusing on two management techniques regarding the development of ‘team’spirit among company employees, we see these changes as coinciding with the emergence of a language, if not directly the practice, of HRM which has come to pervade management in this and other contemporary organizations.
PREDICTING CORPORATE PERFORMANCE FROM ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE*
Authors: Gordon George G. , DiTomaso Nancy
Published: May 2007

This article investigates the relationships of culture strength and two substantive cultural values with corporate performance. Culture strength is measured by the consistency of responses to survey items across people and the two cultural values are measured by items on the survey that relate to either adaptability or stability. The data, from management surveys of 11 US insurance companies in 1981, were correlated with asset and premium growth rates from 1982 to 1987. Results indicate that both a strong culture regardless of content and a substantive value placed on adaptability are associated with better performance for two to three subsequent years on both criterion measures. The results support the findings of Denison (1990) that strength of culture is predictive of short‐term performance. The present results, however, suggest a more complex contingency model than that proposed by Denison.
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AS A SOCIAL PROCESS
Authors: Eden Colin
Published: May 2007

This article argues that the development of strategy in organizations will be more effective if it is seen as predominantly a social rather than analytical process. Using the notion of organizations as negotiated order, it is suggested that designed Group Decision Support Systems can play an important role in facilitating the negotiation of strategy. Six ‘support systems’are discussed, and the implication is that planners might see themselves as facilitators managing both ‘socially negotiated order’and ‘negotiated social order'.
INDUSTRY AND STRATEGIC GROUP DYNAMICS: COMPETITIVE STRATEGY IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY, 1970–84
Authors: Fiegenbaum Avi , Thomas Howard
Published: May 2007

This article focuses upon dynamic aspects of strategic groups in the context of the US insurance industry from 1970–84. It examines the longitudinal structure of industry strategic groups and identifies the strategic patterns followed by these strategic groups over time. the mobility rates of firms between strategic groups are also assessed. It appears that three dominant groups are present throughout the period of the study while other group positions emerge and disappear over time. the evidence suggests that the quantum theory of strategic adaptation (i.e. dramatic and concerted change) satisfactorily models the processes of strategic group change. And, a low level of firm mobility is found to exist between strategic groups consistent with the presence of inertia and mobility barriers.
FROM TRANSACTION COST TO TRANSACTIONAL VALUE ANALYSIS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES*
Authors: Zajac Edward J. , Olsen Cyrus P.
Published: May 2007

This article examines interorganizational strategies from a transactional value, rather than transaction cost, perspective. It argues that the transaction cost perspective has at least two major limitations when used to analyse interorganizational strategies: (1) a single‐party, cost minimization emphasis that neglects the interdependence between exchange partners in the pursuit of joint value, and (2) an over‐emphasis on the structural features of interorganizational exchange that neglects important process issues. We propose instead a transactional value framework for analysing interorganizational strategies that addresses (1) joint value maximization, and (2) the processes by which exchange partners create and claim value. We discusses the implications of the present approach for the study of interorganizational strategies and for the transaction cost perspective itself.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND DETERMINISM: SUSTAINING THE CONVERSATION*
Authors: Mahoney Joseph T.
Published: May 2007

This article suggests that strategy research should concern itself with continuing the conversation of the field rather than insisting upon a place for universal methodological criteria within that conversation. It attempts to sustain the dialogue begun by Bourgeois, Bowman, Jemison, Huff, and others, who recommend the pragmatic approach of methodological and theoretical pluralism as the best way forward in increasing empirical content. the article draws heavily on the philosophical writings of Dewey, Kaplan, and Rorty and the methodological essays of economists such as Boland, Caldwell, and McCloskey in an effort to persuade others in the strategy field that ‘good science is good conversation’.

   … once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversation in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversation?’

    Lewis Carroll (1865, p. 5)
RECRUITMENT MODE AS A FACTOR AFFECTING INFORMANT RESPONSE IN ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH*
Authors: Buchanan David A.
Published: May 2007

Hear my words carefully.

Some are spoken

not by me, but

by a man in my position.

    Norman MacCaig (1969)
STRATEGIC ORIENTATION, STRATEGIC PLANNING SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCE*
Authors: Veliyath Rajaram , Shortell Stephen M.
Published: May 2007

This article examines the differences in strategic planning system characteristics such as planning implementation, market research competence, key personnel involvement, degree of assistance provided by the planning staff and innovativeness of strategies between the Prospector and Defender strategic archetypes. the study also tests whether deviations from a defined ideal profile of strategic planning system characteristics has implications for performance within each strategic archetype. the findings reveal significant differences in strategic planning system characteristics between Prospectors and Defenders, as well as suggest negative performance implications for deviating from a defined ideal profile of strategic planning system characteristics among Prospector organizations.
LEADER STYLE IN STRATEGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE: AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK*
Authors: Nahavandi Afsaneh , Malekzadeh Ali R.
Published: May 2007

By means of reviewing existing literature about the role of leaders in determining organizational strategy, an integrative analytical framework is developed. the framework considers the leader to be key to both the formulation and implementation of strategy. It further identifies factors that moderate the leader's impact on strategy. Hypotheses are presented along with implications for future research regarding the role and impact of leadership.
TRANSACTION COSTS, CLANS AND CORPORATE CULTURE
Authors: Alvesson Mats , Lindkvist Lars
Published: May 2007

For a long time it has been recognized that traditional bureaucratic modes of control are not very efficient in many highly uncertain, rapidly changing or otherwise troublesome situations.

Inspired by transaction cost thinking different authors have suggested that clan form control or certain types of corporate cultures should do better in these circumstances. Among these, Ouchi (1980) and Wilkins and Ouchi (1983) stand clearly in the foreground and the transaction cost related clan developed by these authors is discussed at length in the article.

Further we examine some empirical case studies indicating that other types of mechanisms than suggested by transaction cost reasoning seem to be involved. As a result we propose an extension of the clan concept to include three different kinds of clans: (1) the Economic‐co‐operative Clan, (2) the Social‐integrative Clan, and (3) the Blood‐kinship Clan.

Next we discuss how clans or local cultures become established, including the possibilities for management to develop these kinds of patterns intentionally. Finally we set up some tentative hypotheses concerning the significance of‘economic’and ‘social’types of clans in ambiguous situations and the limits of the ideas of the transaction cost approach in explaining complex exchange issues in organizations.
TIMELY MANAGEMENT CHANGES AS AN ELEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY
Authors: Schreuder H.
Published: May 2007

This article uses the results of empirical research into the factors determining the differential success of firms in dealing with severe conditions at the industry level. A matched pairs comparison of successful and unsuccessful firms under these conditions reveals very different patterns of strategic measures taken. One of the significant differences is that the successful firms make changes in the management area very early, while the unsuccessful firms make them very late. the results are used for a theoretical reflection focusing on the following two questions: (1) Are organizations basically inert of adaptive? and (2) What is management's role in organizational change? the central theme of the discussion is that in the literature too little attention is paid to timely management changes as an element of organizational change strategies.
MANUFACTURING REFORM AND THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: THE CASE OF THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY*
Authors: Lowe James
Published: May 2007

This research assesses current changes in the nature of the supervisory role in the automobile industry. It locates these changes in the context of a transition from mass production to lean or just‐in‐time production. the emergence of a supervisory role, with supervisors performing critical functions as effective managers of integrated work areas is explored by focusing on two lean producers, Nissan UK and Mazda's Flat Rock plant in the US. Noting the increased responsibility of the supervisor under lean production, the extent of the supervisors’enhanced status and authority are considered. However, a case study of an established vehicle producer in the UK, involving interviews with a sample of forty supervisors draws out the structural and organizational difficulties faced by existing manufacturers in their attempts to reformulate the role of the supervisor.
CHALLENGES TO THEORY DEVELOPMENT IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESEARCH*
Authors: Amit Raphael , Glosten Lawrence , Muller Eitan
Published: May 2007

Why do some new ventures succeed while others fail? What is the essence of entrepreneurship? Who is most likely to become a successful entrepreneur and why? How do entrepreneurs make decisions? What market, regulatory, and organizational environments foster the most successful entrepreneurial activities? Entrepreneurship research is plagued by these and other fundamental unanswered questions, for which there does not exist a cohesive explanatory, predictive, or normative theory. In this article we identify major challenges for entrepreneurship theory development, and offer insights into promising directions for future research. Our conclusion suggests that it may be too ambitious to expect a complete and robust theory due to the interdisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship. However, we show that by integrating perspectives and by applying analytic, empirical and experimental tools from a range of fields, some of the fundamental questions can be answered.
KNOWLEDGE AND THE THEORY OF ORGANIZATIONS: ORGANIZATIONS AS ACTIVITY SYSTEMS AND THE REFRAMING OF MANAGEMENT*
Authors: Blackler Frank
Published: May 2007

Recent developments in the theory of knowing and doing contrast with conventional rational‐cognitive assumptions about management and organization. This, and the emphasis that is currently being placed on the importance of esoteric knowledge for business success, suggests that a review of the relationship between knowledge, organization and management is timely. Activity theory offers a way of synthesizing and developing relevant notions. the approach has its origins in Russian psychology which endeavoured to avoid the dichotomies between thought and action and between individuals and society which have characterized Western theory. Activity theory examines the nature of practical activities, their social origins, and the nature of the ‘activity systems’ within which people collaborate. Modifications to Engestrom's contemporary presentation of the approach are suggested, and a theory of organizations as activity systems is offered. the theory reframes management by modelling the recurrent and embedded nature of human activities, by revealing the tentative nature of knowledge and its action orientation, and by highlighting the opportunities for individual and collective development that engagement and dilemma can provide. the article concludes by reviewing implications for the management of knowledge work, organizational capabilities and organizational learning.
PROBLEM‐SOLUTIONS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS EXPERTISE
Authors: Scarbrough Harry
Published: May 2007

This article uses evidence on the management of Information Systems (IS) expertise to critique conventional understandings of the management of expert groups. These tend to focus on problems of ‘integration’ or ‘control’ at the point of production. But this neglects the interplay between organizations and the wider structure of IS expertise; the latter being shaped by the evolving computer technology regime and the IS occupation's ability to colonize technological knowledge. In this context, the management of expertise is better viewed as an evolving series of ‘problem‐solutions’. ‘Hybrid managers’ and ‘strategic information systems’ are cited as instances of such problem‐solutions.
ENACTMENT IN MANAGERIAL JOBS: A ROLE ANALYSIS*
Authors: Fondas Nanette , Stewart Rosemary
Published: May 2007

Research into managerial jobs and behaviour has been appropriately criticized for being acontextual and atheoretical. Hales (1986) suggested that role theory could provide one suitable theoretical framework. This article assesses the merit of that suggestion and then develops it by proposing a theoretical model of the antecedents of a manager's impact on the expectations held by others that partially define the job. the analysis integrates research from the fields of managerial behaviour, leadership dyads, symbolic interactionism, and idiosyncratic jobs to produce a more comprehensive model of the determinants of ‘expectation enactment’in managerial jobs. It brings an enactment or ‘emergence’perspective to the field of managerial jobs and behaviour that is consistent with recent developments in other parts of the organizations and management studies literature. Implications for future research are discussed.
TEAMS BETWEEN HIERARCHY AND COMMITMENT: CHANGE STRATEGIES AND THE ‘INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT’*
Authors: Mueller Frank
Published: May 2007

The main objective of the article is to put forward a broader resource‐based view, outlining the influence exercised by the ‘internal environment’on the conception and implementation of teamworking strategies in two multinational automobile companies. While the influence of various external contingent factors — industry, product, technological environment — is often considered in the literature, the role of a firm's internal resources is mostly neglected. the publicity of greenfield‐site teamwork arrangements and the concurrent lack of ‘grounded’research has nurtured the idea that within the same industry environment, a best model of teamwork can be identified.

One implication of the resource‐based view presented here is that a best model of teamwork may have little relevance for many established companies, where the choice to embrace such a model does not exist. the article analyses companies’approaches to accommodating business policy objectives within their existing structural and historical constraints, including traditional modes of control, management style, and company culture. the article thus identifies firm‐specific rather than nation‐specific variations within the same industry environment.
EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY AND THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP: THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES*
Authors: Peck Sharon R.
Published: May 2007

Links between organizational strategy, human resources (HR) policies, and the employment relationship are investigated through surveys of US executives and HR managers. Human resources policies are measured as both an overall philosophy (an internal to an external focus) and a series of items. the items factor into four dimensions: retention, staffing, performance and compensation. Results indicate that staffing policies are associated with organizational strategy. Retention policies are related to the employment relationship. However, the overall HR philosophy is not related to either organizational strategy or the employment relationship. the findings indicate that relationships between organizational strategy, HR and the employment relationship are more complex than previous models had indicated.
Informal Supervisory Social Control Strategies*
Authors: Fortado Bruce
Published: May 2007

The informal strategies that are employed by supervisors outside the formal discipline and control systems are explored via a literature review and an analysis of eight case studies from the United States. A comparison with the literature on formal controls reveals that these informal strategies violate virtually all the conventional prescriptive wisdom. the descriptive sociological and anthropological research on negotiated orders, status degradation, labelling and stigmatization is found to be applicable. However, even here, important distinctions must be drawn between this study which develops workplace controllers'strategies and the majority of the prior studies which have focused on deviants' reactions to control measures in non‐work settings.
JAPANESE MANAGERIAL PRACTICES IN THE MALAYSIAN ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY: TWO CASE STUDIES
Authors: Abdullah Syed R. S. , Keenoy Tom
Published: May 2007

The transferability of the Japanese management syndrome is examined through an analysis of the employment policies and practices of two major Japanese multinational electronics companies operating in Malaysia. the evidence suggests that the question of transferability must be considered in the specific historical context. While such companies operate from within a preferred managerial style, the case study evidence suggests that employment policy and practice is likely to be significantly constrained by business objectives and heavily conditioned by the local economic, political and legal conditions and socio‐cultural values.
THE TRANSFER OF JAPANESE MANAGEMENT STYLES IN TWO US TRANSPLANT INDUSTRIES: AUTOS AND ELECTRONICS
Authors: Kennly Martin , Florida Richard
Published: May 2007

Japanese industry is characterized by a unique set of industrial relations and management styles. the ability to transfer these relations overseas has been the object of much scholarly and popular debate. This paper examines this transfer to the United States in the automobile and electronics industries.

It was found that Japanese automobile manufacturers had been able to transfer most of the central features of the system with some adaptation. the most successful firms were using teams, quality control activities, rotation and quite egalitarian management styles. On the other hand, most of the electronics transplants examined had not transferred Japanese style industrial relations. the electronics firms seemed to be content to accept many of the prevailing US practices.

It is concluded that the transfer of Japanese style relations is possible, but that this occurs only where Japanese managers make a considered and sustained effort to implant their system. In many electronics operations it appears as though Japanese managers never seriously attempted to implement the Japanese system. Thus, the record of transfer is mixed at the moment.