bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Progression or regression in facilities focus
Authors: Hill Terence J. , Duke‐Woolley R. M. G. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn many industries today, advances in technology and changes in market demand have together resulted in the need for significant manufacturing change, both in terms of products and processes. This need to respond in order to stay competitive means not only planning for product change but also planning for process change. Further, this latter aspect has two dimensions. The first concerns process technology changes which are due to the introduction of new products or to gain distinct, accrued advantages such as process capability or cost. The second is the need for process alterations which are necessary to support changes relating to existing products in terms of mix, volumes and product maturity. In many situations, however, the consideration of process change, particularly to support alterations in product mix, is an anathema to the presently‐held view of cost‐effective manufacturing. Consequently, such changes tend to be made on an ad hoc rather than planned basis. However, if this attitude is not reviewed then companies may gradually lose their competitive edge as the required facilities focus deteriorates.
Strengthening managerial approaches to improving technological capabilities
Authors: Gold Bela 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper draws on an extensive array of theoretical and empirical studies covering a variety of industries in the U.S. and elsewhere in order: (a) to review common shortcomings found in evaluating technological innovations both before and after adoption, as well as in generating proposals for new innovations; and (b) to suggest means of improving each of these efforts.
Firm profitability and relative firm power
Authors: Galbraith Craig S. , Stiles Curt H. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper expands the notion of extended rivalry as cross‐industry relations within the chain of production and distribution, and argues that firm power resides in the exclusivity and essentiality of the firm's function in the chain. A cross‐section of U.S. manufacturing firms representing components for finished goods, capital goods, and supplies or consumable products is examined. The analysis of the three industry groups by simultaneous equation estimation provides general support for the hypothesis that firm power, as expressed in inter‐industry transactions, and industry structure, is associated with firm profitability.
The relationship of internal versus external orientations to financial measures of strategic performance
Authors: Pearce John A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractField research involving 137 respondents in eight organizations was conducted to study the relationship between alternative measures of the internal/external orientations of sociometrically identified dominant coalition members and their firms' financial performance. Results showed that attitudinal measures were more often correlated with financial measures of strategic performance than were traditional ‘insider’ to ‘outsider’ measures based on descriptive categorizations. The significant findings were related to four performance indicators of company profitability, namely, profit margin, return on average assets, net interest spread, and return on average equity.
Manufacturing strategy: Defining the missing link
Authors: Wheel Wright Steven C. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe primary objective of strategy is to develop and support a lasting competitive advantage. In manufacturing industries, substantial focus has been given during the early eighties to the importance of the manufacturing function's contribution to overall corporate success, and yet the apparent lack of attention (historically) to achieving that potential contribution. In this article, characteristics of competitive advantage in manufacturing firms are described, a general framework for relating such advantage to corporate, business and functional levels of strategy is given, and an approach for pursuing that potential is outlined.
Merger strategy: An examination of Drucker's five rules for successful acquisitions
Authors: Paine Frank T. , Power Daniel J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper critically examines five rules for making successful acquisitions advocated by Peter Drucker. In an attempt to verify the rules, supporting and non‐supporting empirical evidence, opinions and arguments are reviewed. The analysis suggests that the rules are not conclusively supported by current evidence or argument. Adopting these rules does not ensure successful acquisitions and may needlessly limit managers' opportunities for successful acquisitions.
Cognitive biases and their impact on strategic planning
Authors: Barnes James H. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSubjective judgements by planners and managers are a major component in the process of strategic planning. If such judgements are faulty, efforts at better strategic plans are likely to be misdirected. This paper discusses those biases which appear common to both managers and planners when they make judgements about risk. Implications of biased judgement are discussed in a planning context. Although we still do not know the best ways to elicit judgements, the paper concludes with a discussion of subjective sensitivity analysis which appears to offer some hope.
The selection of delphi panels for strategic planning purposes
Authors: Preble John F. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractDespite the popularity of the Delphi technique little scientific literature exists to help guide the strategic planner in its proper application. In an effort to fill part of that void a comparative test was conducted using both intracompany and intercompany Delphi panels to forecast future events in the socio‐political environment of business. The intent was to determine whether the two groups produced similar or different forecasts under virtually identical test conditions. Analysis of the data showed similarities in both the forecast estimates and the degree of consensus achieved across groups. Since strong similarities were demonstrated, the intracompany panel type is recommended to strategic planners based on its unique advantages.
Strategy and the environment: A study of corporate responses to crises
Authors: Smart Carolyne , Vertinsky Ilan 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper describes an empirical study that examines the relationship between the type of external environment in which a firm operates and the repertoire of strategic responses the firm develops to cope with crises. The findings suggest that an executive's propensity to adopt a particular strategic posture depends on his perceptions of how well his firm can control its environment and on the costs of introducing change into the organization.
Strategic implementation: Five approaches to an elusive phenomenon
Authors: Bourgeois L. J. , Brodwin David R. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe traditional textbook approach to strategy implementation was to treat ‘implementation’ as an activity following ‘formulation’. Usually, the topic was treated as a question of organization design, where systems and structures were manipulated in concert with strategic goals. More recent views treat implementation either as an issue of gaining prior group commitment through coalitional decision‐making, or as a question of total organizational involvement through a strong corporate culture. This paper reviews the evolution of these approaches, developing four models to characterize them, and suggests a fifth one, with strategy emerging in an almost‐implemented form from within the firm.
Measuring organizational performance in the absence of objective measures: The case of the privately‐held firm and conglomerate business unit
Authors: Dess Gregory G. , Robinson Richard B. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractStrategic management researchers often encounter problems obtaining objective measures of selected aspects of organizational performance that are reliable and valid. With privately‐held firms, such data are frequently unavailable. With conglomerate business units, all or parts of such data are inextricably interwoven with corporate‐wide data. This paper examines the usefulness of subjective performance measures, obtained from top management teams, when problems are encountered in obtaining accurate performance data.
A taxonomy of competitive retailing strategies
Authors: Hawes Jon M. , Crittenden William F. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractAn important aspect of any scientific investigation involves classifying the phenomena being studied. This research focused on a taxonomic analysis of the limited domain of competitive retailing strategies employed by U.S. supermarket chains for generic brand grocery products. Using cluster analysis, an empirically derived taxonomy was developed, and the characteristics of firms in each of the four strategic groups were examined. In addition, the performance of particular strategic groups was analysed. Firms in one of the strategic groups (aggressive initiators) consistently indicated higher levels of success.
Mechanisms, organisms and social systems
Authors: Gharajedaghi Jamshid , Ackoff Russell L. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractTo think about anything requires an image or concept of it, a model. To think about a thing as complex as a social system most people use a model of something similar, simpler and more familiar. Traditionally, two types of models have been used in efforts to acquire information, knowledge and understanding of social systems: mechanistic and organismic. But, in a world of accelerating change, increasing uncertainty and growing complexity, it is becoming apparent that these are inadequate as guides to decision and action. The growing number of social crises and dilemmas that we face should be clear evidence that something is fundamentally wrong with the way we think about social systems. In this paper we describe and try to explain the deficiencies of the two traditional ways of thinking about social systems. We then develop a third type of model, one we believe does not suffer from these inadequacies, a social system model which seeks to penetrate beyond the nature of machine and organisms to understand social systems in their own right.
The comparative effectiveness of dialectical inquiry and Devil's advocacy: The impact of task biases on previous research findings
Authors: Schweiger David M. , Finger Phyllis A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractConsiderable debate has recently emerged concerning the comparative effectiveness of two methods of inquiry recommended for use in strategic decision making: dialectical inquiry (DI) and devil's advocacy (DA). Much of the comparative research surrounding this debate has made use of the Multiple Cue Probability Learning Paradigm (MCPLP). The equivocal nature of previous research findings using this paradigm and others, along with results from the present research indicating potential order of presentation effects, raises serious questions concerning previous operationalizations of these two methods.
Generic competitive strategies—An analytical approach
Authors: Karnani Aneel 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe concept of generic strategies for gaining competitive advantage has received considerable attention recently in the business policy field. Two generic strategies usually mentioned are low cost position and highly differentiated position. This paper uses a game‐theoretic model of oligopolistic competition to provide analytical support for these generic strategies, and, in places, to refine the conclusions drawn from previous research in this field. Another conclusion derived from the model is that a superior cost or differentiation position leads to a larger market share, which in turn leads to higher profitability.
Redirecting research in business policy and strategy
Authors: Camerer Colin 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBecause business policy research has primarily been a series of inductive generalizations of case studies; theories have been typically ambiguous and untested, and have not progressed swiftly. Deductive theorizing, by contrast, yields clear, often non‐obvious conclusions that can be debated effectively and generalized slowly; so realism of current models can be sacrificed for progress towards realistic future models. Deductive theorizing, with more attention to a game‐theoretic definition of equilibrium and to recent ideas from economics, should be one new direction for policy research. Of course, these deductive models will inevitably draw their inspiration from the richness of careful observation and exhaustive checklist‐making that are the hallmarks of induction. Specific avenues for new research are described, and the importance of teaching non‐obvious theories is defended.
Managing the new venture division: Research findings and implications for strategic management
Authors: Burgelman Robert A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe New Venture Division (NVD), an important organizational innovation to facilitate corporate entrepreneurship, so far has been used with mixed success. Systematic differences in terms of administrative processes, strategy‐making and participants' orientation create problems in the interfaces between the NVD and the rest of the corporation. Top management should realize that the NVD is a design for ambiguity. It should take steps to provide an adequate structural context for new venture activities, and to create a process for determining the strategic context of such activities in the corporation.
Multiple point competition
Authors: Karnani Aneel , Wernerfelt Birger 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSituations where firms compete against each other simultaneously in several markets abound in real life. However, there is very little conceptual or theoretical literature on multiple point competition. This paper offers a first attempt at developing a conceptual framework for analysing and understanding situations involving multiple point competition. Several examples are discussed to provide insights into the options available to the competitors and the equilibrium outcomes of such competition.
Control systems and strategic adaptation: Lessons from the Japanese experience
Authors: Jaeger Alfred M. , Baliga B. R. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractA model of cultural control is developed and contrasted with the more familiar bureaucratic control model. This model is used to explain processes of strategic adaptation as observed in Japanese cultural control and American bureaucratic control firms. A discussion of the strategic costs and benefits to the organization associated with each type of control is then presented.
Political strategies of regulated organizations as functions of context and fear
Authors: Birnbaum Philip H. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractData from representative privately owned profit‐making, privately owned non‐profit and publicly owned non‐profit organizations are used to determine differences in influence strategy and whether organizational context (e.g. size, dependence) and fear are significant explanatory variables for variation in influence strategies across industries. Extending ‘power‐dependence theory’ to conditions of vertical interdependence between regulated organizations and regulatory agencies, the present study finds support for the hypotheses that context has a significant positive effect on information based influence strategies, but no significant effect on pressure strategies of influence. Further, fear of government retaliation is found to be related negatively to information based influence strategies and related positively to pressure strategies. Implications for further theoretical development and private and public policy are drawn.
An exploratory study of strategic acquisition factors relating to performance
Authors: Kusewitt John B. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis study investigated the relationship of seven common factors of acquisition strategy to the long run financial performance of acquiring firms: relative size, acquisition rate, industry commonality, timing, type of consideration, acquiree profitability and price paid. The factors were analysed individually and in concert using a database of 138 active acquiring firms which had accomplished some 3500 acquisitions during the 1967‐1976 study time period. All factors except price paid were found to be individually significantly statistically related to the performance measures. Also, these factors together accounted for most of the post‐merger financial performance which can be attributed to the acquisition programme. These results indicate that six key acquisition variables, on the average, largely determine the success of acquisition strategy. Therefore, by means of those variables, guidelines are provided that should improve the effectiveness of an acquisition programme.
Retrospective reports of strategic‐level managers: Guidelines for increasing their accuracy
Authors: Huber George P. , Power Danial J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractStrategic management studies frequently involve obtaining retrospective data from strategic‐level managers. The use of this data acquisition methodology has received relatively little codification and little critical review or comment. This seems unfortunate, as discussion and codification of the methodology could be useful for those academic researchers and corporate staff who study strategic decisions and organizational processes and for those managers who may be asked to provide the retrospective data. This paper is an attempt to remedy the current state of affairs. In particular, the paper reviews several sources of the data inaccuracies that commonly affect retrospective data and offers guidelines for reducing the occurrence or magnitude of these inaccuracies.
Intrapreneurship strategy for internal markets — corporate, non‐profit and government institution cases
Authors: Nielsen Richard P. , Peters Michael P. , Hisrich Robert D. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractWhen an organization tries to realize better its central mission, it is often important to maintain both line and staff units' integration with the central mission while flexibly and innovatively responding to evolving and changing external markets and environments. However, internal flexibility/innovation and integration needs often conflict. Thus, how to resolve these conflicting needs becomes somewhat of a dilemma (Lorsch and Allen, 1973; Nielsen, 1981, 1983d).
The experience curve from the economist's perspective
Authors: Hall Graham , Howell Sydney 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper undertakes a critique of experience curves from several angles. It considers the extent to which they can be regarded as an extension of learning curves, and concludes that the benefits from learning‐by‐doing at plant level are exhausted relatively early. It goes on to consider the evidence that there is a common slope to experience curves, their usefulness for forecasting prices, and possible reasons for a spurious correlation between accumulated output and average cost. It concludes by demonstrating the differences in strategic implications between the various possible economic factors which may underlie the experience curve. The conclusion is that experience curves are partly spurious, and of little practical value in forecasting or decision making.
Modelling the effect of buyer and seller power on the margins of commodity plastics
Authors: Cowley P. R. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn the last decade, large sectors of the chemical and plastics industries in the U.S.A. and West Europe have suffered drastic declines in price and gross margin during periods of low use of industry capacity. This paper shows that the major changes in gross margin observed for some commodity plastics can be modelled successfully in terms of the balance between buyer power and seller power. These industries have visibility of prices and industry occupacity and comparable concentrations of sellers and important buyers. The modelling follows Burgess (1982) in expressing buyer and seller power as simple functions of buyer and seller concentrations, industry occupacity and ‘cohesion’ between sellers. This work provides a first practical test of this new approach. It is shown that the model fits the observed data best if the ‘cohesion’ declines as occupacity declines. It is suggested that the approach would be useful in understanding the behaviour of other ‘near‐commodity’, capital‐intensive businesses, and in helping to distinguish between those businesses where margins are likely to remain relatively stable and those which might face drastically declining margins if the industry occupacity declines or new entrants change the balance between sellers and buyers.
Strategic groups: Theory, research and taxonomy
Authors: McGee John , Thomas Howard 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper discusses the concept of strategic groups, focusing upon the importance of intra‐industry strategic groupings in understanding differences across firms within an industry. The problems involved in identifying strategic groups within industries are examined through a comprehensive review of recent studies. It is demonstrated that much of the research has used surrogates for elements of a firm's strategic direction, e.g. vertical integration, product range, R & D expenditure, to suggest bases by which creative and sustainable groups are formed. The authors argue that certain theoretical concepts such as mobility barriers, isolating mechanisms and controllable variablesprovide much firmer bases for identifying strategic groups within industries. Thus, taxonomies for understanding the nature of strategic group formulation can be developed. Implications of the strategic group concept for such strategic issues as the structure‐performance linkage, firm mobility, patterns of rivalry, industry evolutionand firm growthare then examined. The paper concludes by indicating fruitful directions for strategic group research in the context of the strategic management field.
Strategy and strategic choice: The case of telecommunications
Authors: Butler Richard J. , Carney Mick 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper outlines a model of organizational strategy that takes into account both the task ambiguity and concentration of the environment. A competitive strategy, in the sense as used in classical economics, is most suitable with low task ambiguity and concentration. When task ambiguity increases a shift to an innovative strategy can be expected. When concentration is high consolidative and cooperative strategies with respectively low and high ambiguity can be expected. These latter two strategies, in particular, tend to impose institutional and regulatory constraints upon firms, an aspect that is seriously neglected in the conventional business policy and strategic management literature. This model is illustrated using the case of the British telecommunications industry which has recently been subject to considerable regulatory and technical change. Implications for management are that strategy should be matched to environmental conditions as defined by task ambiguity and concentration. However, these dimensions are not fixed but enacted by firms in a particular industry. Implications for government are that a more contingent approach to regulation and de‐regulation needs to be considered.
The value of formal planning for strategic decisions: A comment
Authors: Foster M. J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn an earlier paper in the SMJ, Armstrong (1982) conducted a review of the empirical evidence relating to the question of whether formal planning for strategic decision‐making pays off, or more concisely whether strategic planning pays. Armstrong found that the evidence was equivocal. He also found that the methodological purity of a number of the 12 studies, which he claimed to constitute the totality of the evidence, was in doubt. For that reason he assessed the rigour of the studies relative to a framework previously proposed by Terpstra (1981). Using this framework he found that the studies rated poorly.