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A Meta Analytical Review Of Factors Affecting The Strategic Thinking Of An Organisation (129)

Author/sAqueeb Sohail Shaik Sanjay Dhir

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsStrategic ThinkingMeta- AnalysisHomogeneityHeterogeneityEffect Size.

Abstract: A structured review of literature on the factors affecting the strategic thinking of an organisation has been conducted in this study. It offers some theoretical insights by analysing the divergent or analogous views of authors on these factors by analysing the empirical studies conducted in the literature. Meta Analysis is the methodology adopted in this study which analyses the different empirical studies conducted in the literature and determines the variation or similarities in the views of authors over the same factor based on their effect sizes. This study analyses over 45 different empirical studies conducted in the literature on the factors affecting the strategic thinking. The findings of this study identify the homogeneous or heterogeneous nature of the factors affecting the strategic thinking in an organisation. The study fills the unattended gaps in the literature by analysing the homogeneous and heterogeneous nature of the factors affecting the strategic thinking of a organisation.

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Voluntary Communications During M&A Deals: Impacting Upon Information Asymmetry And Evaluative Uncertainty (289)

Author/sYun Luo Maureen Meadows Duncan Angwin

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsM&Avoluntary communicationsinformation asymmetryevaluative uncertainty

Abstract: In this study, we explore both the volume and content of voluntary communications activities during M and A deals, in order to assess their impact on acquirer stock performance. Stock performance during M and A deals is an important consideration, particularly in the case of equity deals where an acquirers ability to increase their firms share price will also increase their ability to buy the target company. We use two measures of stock performance, stock volatility and cumulative abnormal returns. Our dataset includes 548 large M and A deals between US acquirers and US targets where both acquirer and target are publicly traded firms completed over the period 2010 to 2016. We analyse more than 15,000 voluntary communications taking place between the announcements of the deals and their completion dates. Our results indicate that, in the short term, cumulative abnormal returns CARs are higher for acquirers that engage in more voluntary communications during M and A deals than for those firms that engage in fewer. In the longer term, we find a significant relationship between the strength of the sentiment expressed in voluntary communications and stock volatility. These results provide empirical support for the argument that managers can use voluntary communications to influence market perceptions of their acquisition strategies.

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Learning Orientation and Social Enterprise Performance: The Mediating Role of New Product Development Capability (354)

Author/sCharan Raj Bhattarai Misagh Tasavori Caleb Kwong

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsSocial enterpriselearning orientationnew product development capabilitysocial and economic performance

Abstract: Although social enterprises are encouraged to improve their performance not only to fill the increasing funding gaps but also to address the increasing social issues, little is known about how they can do so. Scholars have identified learning orientation and new product development capability as two valuable resources that improve commercial firm performance. However, considering the differences between social enterprises and commercial businesses, how they improve the economic and social performance of social enterprises is still unclear. Aiming to fill such research gaps, drawing on the resource based view and dynamic capability perspective, we analysed data obtained from a survey of 164 UK social enterprises and found that the adoption and the development of learning orientation, a valuable resource, and new product development capability, a dynamic capability, can improve both the economic and social performance of social enterprises. Furthermore, we also found that new product development capability fully mediates the learning orientation to improve the economic and the social performance of social enterprises.

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Building a Dynamic Capability for Resilience: The Case of a Tour Operator Confronted with a Succession of Disruptive Events (382)

Author/sGulsun Altintas Veronique Ambrosini

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

Keywordsresiliencedynamic capabilitydisruptive eventoutbound tour operator

Abstract: There are few studies on outbound tour operators which organize and sell trips on different foreign destinations. We also do not have an understanding of whether and how they modify their capabilities when faced with disruptive events. This means that one question remains largely unanswered: How does an outbound tour operator build resilience? Our qualitative study shows that resilience building takes place through the creation of a dynamic capability for resilience. This dynamic capability is built through the routinization of a successful experimentation. The factors underpinning this dynamic capability are the ability to identify the magnitude of the event, successful event management and implementation of changes. The commitment of employees and customers also promote the creation of the dynamic capability.

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Unleashing Technological Opportunity: Organizing Demand Side Value Creation (400)

Author/sCharles Baden-Fuller

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsBusiness ModelsValue CreationCapture and AppropriationKnowledge-based view

Abstract: We unpack the theoretical and practice basis of the digitally-enhanced solutions business model, contrasting it with the dominant product business model paradigm of strategic management. With the product business model, competitive advantage and rents come from superior resources and capabilities. In contrast with the digital solutions-based-business-models value is created and sometimes co-created through interactions between the firm and its customer/consumer; competition faced by firms adopting the digital solutions-business-model is significantly muted by information asymmetries concerning demand-side data; and power and profits comes to those that are creative and innovative with respect to customer demand data rather than those who have more resources. We also explore the solutions business model in the context of platform enterprises, and finally we consider the consequences for organisation design.

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Industry-makers and Strategizing: A Literature Review (412)

Author/sReza Aboutalebi

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsIndustryStrategy ImplementationMIO ModelTen Forces frameworkbuilding-blocks of the industryindustry characteristic

Abstract: Industry features are considered by Porter (1980), Schmalensee (1985) and many other scholars as the prime determinants of effective strategy formulation and/or implementation. While industries are widely different from each other, there are some common elements or features that shape all existing and future industries. This paper aims to identify these common building blocks of industries and their possible effects on strategizing. In terms of methodology, a systematic literature review was employed. Inclusion criteria were all published studies in top ten related journals that have at least one of the nine keywords about the industry. This study identified 47 factors or characteristics that form every industry. These industry features grouped into ten sets of elements based on their common-sense connectivity, which shapes a tentative framework, the Ten Forces Framework, reflecting the interaction among building-blocks of the industry with each other and with strategy implementation practice inside of an organization. The macro-environment, industry and organization (MIO) model was proposed by connecting these three levels of analyses together.

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Learning from Failure: A Case Study of International Joint Venture Performance (560)

Author/sCraig Vincent Robinson James Forrest Cunliffe

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

Keywordsjoint ventureinternational joint ventureperformance measurementpartnership

Abstract: This paper examines the causes of international joint venture failure, focusing on the case of a failed IJV between a US industrial company and a Saudi Arabian conglomerate from the perspective of the Saudi partner. Our objective was to identify factors leading to the failure of this IJV and examine these in relation to existing research, which tends to include only the western partners perspective. Data were collected via semi structured interviews with relevant senior management, supplemented by an indicative questionnaire and an examination of historical company records. Analysis facilitated by NVivo identified a number of key issues including the importance of developing, and building on, early stage trust and the apparent low emphasis placed by Saudi management on the role of cultural differences in precipitating failure. This contrasts with existing research and suggests a number of areas worthy of further study.

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Cultural Practices and Variations Influence on Managerial Discretion and its Implication on National Competitiveness (651)

Author/sMoustafa Haj Youssef

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

Keywordsmanagerial discretioncultural practicescultural variationnational competitivenessCEOs

Abstract: This paper examines cross cultural differences in managerial discretion and the extent to which variations in inter and intra cultural practices affect the degree of freedom in decision making that is afforded to executives. Research into the degree of discretion, or latitude of executive action, has primarily focused on individual, firm, and industry level factors which, either enable or otherwise constrain the freedom of executive action. However, research into its national level antecedents and consequences remains limited. We further develop the national level construct of managerial discretion by empirically investigating the influence of cultural practices and their variations on CEOs discretion and its consequent implications across 18 countries. We find that cultural practices individualism, power distance, future, humane, and performance orientations, along with gender egalitarianism and assertiveness and the degree of variation surrounding each of these are associated with the managerial discretion. In turn, we conduct a multilevel regression analysis on a panel dataset spanning 17 years of national competitiveness levels to empirically demonstrate the direct influence of managerial discretion on national competitiveness. Finally, we show that managerial discretion mediates the relationship between cultural practices and national competitiveness. We contribute to the field of cross cultural and strategic management, by discovering for the first time new national level antecedents and consequences of managerial discretion, offering new theoretical insights and practical implications.

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Strategic Capabilities, Middle Managers and Organizational Ambidexterity (795)

Author/sBaku Morikuni Catherine Wang Romano Dyerson

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsMiddle ManagersOrganisational AmbidexterityCapabilities.

Abstract: This paper sets out to address a gap in the organisational ambidexterity literature, the role played by middle managers. Through a systematic review of the literature, we assess current knowledge and relevant research in relation to the connections between the strategic role of the middle manager and the development of organisational ambidexterity. We argue that the view of the middle manager in the processes of organisational ambidexterity is fragmented and partial. Based on a systematic analysis of the literature, we identify six capabilities needed by middle managers in organisational ambidexterity processes. These capabilities form the foundation of a conceptual framework that explores the possibility of differing portfolios of middle manager capabilities coming into play depending upon the form of organisational ambidexterity pursued. This suggests that the role of middle managers in organisational ambidexterity may be more nuanced and differentiated than is currently acknowledged.

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The Dynamic Nature Of Consensus: A Longitudinal Study Into Cognitive Shifts And The Assumption Of Consensus Development (857)

Author/sDavid John Carrington Ian Alexander Combe

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsConsensusBuilding ConsensusCognitive MappingCognitive ShiftStrategy Formation

Abstract: In this this empirical study we report the findings based on longitudinal research into the assumption that consensus develops over time within organizations when addressing external environmental change and responding to crises. The cognitive maps of leaders and followers are analysed to investigate shifts in consensus within an organization in response to a financial crisis over a four year period within a single case study firm. The inclusion of a midpoint within three phases of data collection provides new empirical evidence that the scope of consensus fluctuates, rather than builds over a sustained period of time. The findings question the assumption that consensus develops over time when organisations respond to change reported in prior empirical studies.

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Need for Speed? Relevance of First Mover Advantage in Emerging Industries: Lessons from the Search Entry Industry (959)

Author/sTara Elizabeth Frawley John Fahy

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsFirst Mover AdvantagePerformanceEmerging Industries.

Abstract

Abstract

Despite the perils of first movership, there is stronger support for early entry (Bryman, 1997; Silverman et al., 1997) into a marketplace. Arguably first mover advantage is more difficult to attain in high velocity environments, where consumer needs, technological opportunities and competitor activity are constantly in a state of flux (Teece, 2007). The aim of this research is to explore the relevance of first mover advantage to performance in an emerging industry. This research employs a contextually embedded, longitudinal case study of first movership within the search engine industry, using multiple method approach (interviews and documentary evidence). The findings reveal that high performers in the search industry were predominantly early movers. The research also reveals that it was the exploitative behaviour of entrants post-entry or the strategies undertaken, which ultimately explains performance differentials, rather than market entry alone. It is proposed that further research must focus on what capabilities enable first or early movers to first sense the optimal time to enter and to then seize timing advantages in emerging industries. This research posits that the dynamic capability perspective offers conceptual richness to strengthen the first mover theory and form new conceptual insights.

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Digital Platform Evolution: The Effect of Stock versus Novelty of Content in Platform Adoption (960)

Author/sCarmelo Cennamo M.Mahdi Tavalaei

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsPlatform adoptionindirect network effectcross-side network effectplatform evolutiongenerativity

Abstract: How digital platform technologies evolve is an important question not just for the design of the platform architecture and the organizational mechanisms governing its evolution, but also importantly for its consequences on value creation for platform users, and accordingly on competitive dynamics. One perspective emphasizes the network effects dynamics and thus the static, inertial trajectory of platform evolution, the platform with a lead in network size will grow larger in network and value through self reinforcing feedback. Another perspective emphasizes the dynamic evolutionary aspect by stressing the generativity property of digital artifacts. Because a digital platform allows the creation of new, and often unanticipated diverse content by external complementors, its value is continuously reshaped by new content, evolving in new directions, attending to new uses and functionalities, and thus meanings to its users. Thus, the network effects logic would suggest that the stock of a platforms content largely defines the value of the platform to prospective users, and thus drives its adoption. The generativity logic would instead suggest that novel content shapes the evolutionary trajectory of the technology and thus its functionalities and value to prospective users, accordingly, it should be the factor driving platform adoption largely. We integrate both perspectives to test the effect of these two inertial and dynamic components on platform adoption and evolution, and the implications for platform competition.

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Institutional Risks, Ownership Context, Investor Identity, Perception, and Preferences: A Study of Indian Banks (1096)

Author/sShubhabrata Basu

TrackStrategy

Paper TypeFull Papers

KeywordsInstitutional riskinvestor preferenceownershippsychological perceptionIndian Banks

Abstract: Institutions are perceived by investors, as semblance of stability against uncertainties, a mechanism to facilitate transactions and a repository of investment security. Therefore, when institutions are exposed to risks, that have contagion potentials, how would that affect investor preferences? Using 2,304 (lagged) investment-month data points, from Indian commercial banks facing unprecedented NPA related liquidity cum credit risks, and covering 92 banks in aggregate for 145 months, we find that investment preferences are contingent upon identity of the investors (peers or commoners), ownership (state owned or privately owned) and preferences based on psychological contracts fostered by the investors, regarding duration and size of investments. We present novel insights into the risk return investment preferences in the context of Indian Banking Industry.

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The Influence of Power Distance on Top and Middle Managers Strategy Communication An Insight from Kuwaiti Context (1144)

Author/sJarrah Almansour Demola Obembe

Track: Strategy

Paper Type: Full Papers

Keywordspower distancestrategy processsocial practicetop and middle managersstrategy communication

Abstract: We examine the role of power distance in regulating the strategy communication practice among top and middle managers from a social practice perspective. We argue that power distance cannot be treated as a material factor that can be controlled and easily measured beyond the organisation boundary; rather, it is the accumulation of social interactions between organizational members that need to be internally understood. Based on a single case study with 27 interviews drawn from public sector organisation, we find that strengthening the communication practice among organizational members and aligning both individual- and group-level cognition are key drivers for successful communication of strategy in public sector organization. Furthermore, we found that in a high power distance culture, the most powerful individuals make decisions dictatorially. Equally, organisations with high power distance culture are prone to deliberate mismanagement and high cultural tension. Our exploration therefore pushes the field forward by enriching the under-researched area of power distance and the cognitive understanding of social practice.

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An Analytical Review of Strategic Technology Management in the Public Sector in the GCC: The Case of Kuwait (1146)

Author/sJassim Alfahhad Jarrah Almansour

Track: Strategy

Paper Type: Full Papers

Keywordsstrategic technology managementtop and middle managersstrategy communicationstrategy implementationGCC

Abstract: Strategic technology management concept, through widely orchestrated by its significance in developing originations and their national strategy, is rarely known in developing countries. In this conceptual study, we shed the light on the importance of adopting effective strategic technology management the necessity of creating respective managerial positions within organizations. Our study was based on the under-developed literature and the dearth of relevant strategic technology management information. We argued while GCC countries acquire the necessarily capacity and resources to develop the strategic technology, it is still way beyond development countries in terms of adopting strategic technology management and relevant practices in its organizations. Using data from multiple case studies with 27 interviews from top and middle management teams, we find that raising strategic awareness among organizational members and aligning both individual- and group-level cognition are key drivers for successful implementation of strategic technology management in public sector organization. Our exploration demonstrates a vital contribution to the under-researched area of strategic technology management and the cognitive understanding of such concept and relevant practices.

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Leadership and Strategic Management Effectiveness during Crisis in the Construction Sector: A case study. (1147)

Author/sEvangelia Fragouli Anastasia Lazaridou

Track: Strategy

Paper Type: Full Papers

Keywordsconstructionmanagementleadershipeffectivenessprojectcrisis

Abstract: This research explores the importance of critical success factors for effective project management under a crisis condition and investigates crisis management practices within the construction sector. The case study of the Greek construction sector is examined through an empirical study and distribution of a questionnaire to a sample of 154 managers and engineers in construction companies applying descsriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis. Forming a set of 6 factors labeled as Organization and Human Resources, Project realization issues, Organizational bond and technology background, Planning and organizing issues, General environment and Project features, the study concludes that the most important skill for a crisis situation is the managerial one. The study recommends the importance of integration of a crisis management policy in an operation level in order management and leadership effectiveness to be enhanced.

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Impact of the Banking Industry and Economic Growth in SSA: Insights from Ghana (1166)

Author/sKweku Adams Dawda Adams Richard B Nyuur James Kwasi Ansah

Track: Strategy

Paper Type: Full Papers

Keywords: N/A

Abstract: This paper examines the role of financial services sector in the economic development of sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries and the myriad of factors inhibiting the sectors contribution to economic growth. It unpacks how regulatory inconsistencies and restrictions in West Africa have curtailed capital formation in Ghana and less than optimum contribution of the sector to economic growth. The paper suggests that excessive regulations and weak enforcement of rules, government bureaucracy and corruption, negatively affects a country's financial system. It is, therefore, necessary to balance the need for stronger regulation with appropriate levels of sector involvement in the regulatory process that supports the growth of the financial system. Participatory regulation requires that regulators proposing regulatory changes should hold consultative forums involving individuals from the private sector, corporate and private users of financial services, experts and service providers (including accountants, auditors, consultants, commercial lawyers) who can add value to the regulatory process. These issues present a number of implications that are discussed.

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