Entrepreneurial orientation and the threat of imitation: the influence of upstream and downstream capabilities

This paper uncovers the complexity between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and performance. The paper explores the effect of the threat of imitation, which is a key external factor to explain competitive dynamics, and hence highlights effectiveness of EO. Also the paper accounts for the role of upstream (technical) and downstream (marketing) capabilities as they influence effectiveness of EO. Our results show that, under threat of imitation, downstream marketing capabilities facilitate taping into opportunities derived from EO, which positively affects performance. Conversely, available upstream technical capabilities do not aim at EO when imitation threats exist in the environment. Of importance is that we question the complexity between EO and performance can be better understood using a configurational approach

A new approach to the concept of knowledge strategy

<p><b>Purpose:</b> This paper presents a novel way to conceive knowledge strategy (KS). It suggests that a firm could outperform another by establishing a coherent and integrated KS depending on the objectives pursued and the understanding of knowledge management (KM) by managers, the use of KM tools, and organizational aspects to support KS implementation.</p> <p><b>Design/methodology/approach:</b> A cluster analysis was used to study the effect of KS on business performance and innovation based on a cross-sectional sample of Spanish firms. Additional statistical analyses were used in order to develop a taxonomy of KSs.</p> <p><b>Findings:</b> The paper shows that the way an organization approaches knowledge management has major implications on the development of their strategy and the outcomes of KS application. Four types of KS are thus described based on the empirical analysis, i.e. proactive, moderate, passive and inconsistent, each of them having different effects on business performance and innovation.</p> <p><b>Research limitations/implications:</b> The research was limited to high rate innovation industries. Future studies could include other industries and a more diverse sample of firms.</p> <p><b>Practical implications:</b> The conception of KS presented here is a powerful approach that can lead an organization to achieve further innovation and higher levels of business performance.</p> <p><b>Originality/value:</b> An integrated and coherent KS has the potential to produce optimal results in terms of technological innovation and business performance.</p&gt

Can strategic planning make strategy more relevant and build commitment over time? The case of RACC

It is all very well for a company to devise a strategic plan, but that does not guarantee positive results. Still, many companies find that how they conceive of strategy and their approach to strategic planning has a major impact on the usefulness of what results from the process. The authors of this paper argue that strategic planning that guides discussion among managers at different levels can play an important role in stimulating the collective process for shaping the development of common goals and priorities, acting as a strong glue to align the organisation around a chief purpose. This paper describes how translating strategy into managerial action requires common understanding of strategy and its underlying logic. It examines how the planning process of Reial Automobil Club de Catalunya (Royal Automobile Club of Catalonia) served to establish a common understanding and commitment to strategy among the firm’s managers over time, yet, in the process, that strategic planning changed both in methodology and in purpose. The study therefore sheds light on the debate of the emergent versus the planned approaches to strategic planning as it suggests that RACC used both a formal and an emergent strategy. The analysis of the case also sheds light on the relationship among distinct components of a planning system and how their interdependencies change as strategic planning is transformed to meet different purposes. In particular, it demonstrates that a firm’s approach to strategic planning influences the prospects for its successful implementation

Case Study: design and development of strategy processes at RACC

RACC is an automobile club in Spain that has funded significant growth by reinvesting its profits due to the not for profit structure. This case study looks at the development of the strategy planning process at RACC over a 15 year period. The process had evolved by fostering managerial participation to achieve strategic goals. However in 2005 and 2006 the organisation faced serious problems and significant changes were required. The question faced by RACC was whether the participative process of strategy development that had served it so well was compatible with these changes

Creating and maintaining strategic blind spots: exploring failure in the Scottish banking system

This paper explores situations in which issues critical to the success or failure of a firm remains on the edge of strategic conversations. We draw on data gathered from top management about instances of these “strategic blindspots” to analyse their formation and impact on strategic decision making. Our data is drawn from the Scottish banking sector which features a number of firms which rose from domestic to international prominence before experiencing significant difficulties during the credit crunch. We use qualitative and quantitative data including interviews with board members and senior management from the firms, documents, presentations and public reports. The paper characterises strategy making routines which permitted denial of actual risks during an extended period of economic prosperity but which subsequently threatened the survival of the firm

Case study: RACC’s turning point

This case study looks at the development of the strategy process over a 10-year period. The RACC process evolved by fostering managerial participation to achieve strategic goals. However, at the time of the case the strategic development department was puzzled as to whether the coming year’s participation could be as helpful as it had been so fa

Sequence of thinking and acting in strategy-making

This paper examines the emergent and deliberate views in strategy making through, what we develop as, a sequence of thinking and acting.Combining the features of thinking and acting may enhance the organization’s ability to achieve change, an ability that remains untapped unless it is accompanied by a change in mental models. Both action thinking emergent issues as well as thinking–acting deliberate issues may constitute triggering events, when contrasted with a previously agreed frame of reference. We develop a framework to show how thinking co-evolves with action in a succession of strategic activities, and within an agreed upon frame of reference. Our aim is to shed light on the circumstances under which deliberate or emergent modes take place throughout the strategy making process. We claim that changes in strategic activities are determined by attention-triggering events, driven by both thinking and acting

Strategy beyond the firm: interorganizational capability and industry development

This paper reaches over boundaries, extending the thinking of CK Prahalad into new areas, focusing on the ways in which dynamic capability is fostered in inter-organizational spaces, and how inter-organizational exchanges lead to industry level competitiveness. We begin by offering an examination of the potential for resource and capabilities based theorising to contribute to our understanding of inter-organisational and industrial strategy. Then we suggest ways in which a rules-based perspective might enrich and complement resource based thinking and we propose a rudimentary research framework based on a selective combination of the two. We conclude by reporting on the early stages of an project in which these are ideas are being tested and refined in relation to the development of the renewable energy industry in Scotland