The Enactment of Strategic Leadership

This Open Access book explores the meaning and roles that strategy and leadership play in our lives. Based on decades of experience, the author contemplates whether we believe strategic leadership exists because it actually exists, or whether it exists because we believe it does? Both answers are true. The author argues that the duality of the essence of strategic leadership is clear. It may appear to be personalised, or it may seem to be an important characteristic of the organization enacted everywhere where there is guidance. In fact, the discussion about strategic leadership raises more questions. In this thought-provoking book, the author puts forward a robust critical assessment of one of the most widely used concepts in management research and practice. Beginning with an ontological and historical discussion around which the concept of strategic leadership has developed, the book continues to discuss the phenomenon of strategic leadership. Utilising a post-modern perspective and by heavily drawing on concepts such as hegemony and ideology, the author then discusses the role of organizational culture and networks, as well as the underlying tensions that come associated with strategic leadership

Pressure applied: coercive isomorphism and strategic decision-making process in MNC

Achieving and maintaining legitimacy is a structured process for multinational companies because of the unclarity of the process, the complexity of the business and the complex legitimate environments within which the subsidiaries operate. Coercive isomorphism can be seen as a means of achieving legitimacy for multinational subsidiaries. In this paper, the authors explored the embodiment of coercive isomorphism for strategic decision making in MNCs (Multinational Companies). The starting point was that business activity of MNCs is unique and specific and that the adopted theoretical postulates of particular emergent forms of institutional isomorphism are focused solely on coercive isomorphism while achieving legitimacy (of subsidiaries). In this paper, the authors focused solely on the study of the influence of formal pressures in the context of coercive isomorphism, that is the ultimate source of coercive isomorphism, while informal pressures, although significant, serves the purpose of creating the intensity of the coercive isomorphism. The results of quantitative and qualitative analysis are presented in this article. The theoretical part of the paper summarizes the key ideas of coercive isomorphism, while the empirical part of the paper consists of quantitative and qualitative research. The relationship between the form of forced isomorphism and the decision-making process was examined by multiple regression cross sections

THE IMITATION GAME: ARE THE MNCs IMMUNE TO MIMETIC ISOMORPHISM?

Organizations tend to shape their practices and policies mimicking those they consider to be successful and legitimate. This phenomenon is called a mimetic isomorphism. Mimetic isomorphism is the result of uncertainties in an environment and of unclear organizational goals. Current institutional isomorphism studies in the organizational sciences have been focused mainly on the impact of mimetic isomorphism on a particular action and the impact of this form of isomorphism on organizational outcomes. The authors of this paper want to examine whether the mimetic isomorphism has an influence on the strategic decision-making process in multinational companies or whether the concept of institutional freedom actually exists as suggested by some authors. Extensive triangulation research was performed and the results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis are presented in this article. The theoretical part of the paper summarizes key ideas of mimetic isomorphism and contributes to the theoretical understanding of this form of isomorphism from the MNC perspective. The empirical part of the paper consists of quantitative and qualitative research. The correlation of the form of mimetic isomorphism with the decision making process was examined by multiple cross-section regression analysis

KONKURENTSKI REPERTOAR PODUZEĆA U TELEKOMUNIKACIJSKOJ DJELATNOSTI

Our paper describes how competitive action repertoire concept and the external regulatory environment influence the performance of a firm in the regulated telecommunications sector. Based on panel data of 103 firms across Europe that provide fixed broadband Internet to end customers during the time period of 3 years, results indicate that aggressiveness and the complexity of an offer have a positive relationship with market share growth. Contrary to widespread views, we find that the most aggressive firms in the market in fact lose market share on a year-on-year basis. Our results suggest that complexity and aggressiveness have a positive relationship with changes in market share gains and that the effects hold for non-regulated firms, but not for regulated ones.Rad prikazuje kako konkurentski repertoar poduzeća i eksterno regulatorno okruženje utječu na uspješnost poduzeća u reguliranoj telekomunikacijskoj djelatnosti. Na temelju panel analize podataka na 103 poduzeća koja pružaju uslugu fiksnog pristupa Internetu krajnjim korisnicima u zemljama Europe i u vremenskom promatranju kroz tri godine, rezultati pokazuju da konkurentska agresivnost i kompleksnost poduzeća pozitivno utječu na rast udjela na tržištu. Za razliku od općeprihvaćenog mišljenja, rezultati empirijskog istraživanja pokazuju da najagresivnija poduzeća zapravo gube tržišni udio iz godinu u godinu. Kompleksnost i konkurentska agresivnost pozitivno utječu na promjenu udjela na tržištu kod nereguliranih poduzeća, dok to nije slučaj kod reguliranih poduzeća

Exploring Use of Media Content Analysis in Competitive Dynamics Studies

Media content analysis is commonly used as a tool for data collection in competitive dynamics research. Competitive dynamics give a comprehensive longitudinal view on competitive moves and responses effects which are measured through various models that bring insight on the consequences on performance of observed firms. Research in competitive dynamics deeply reveals competitive behavior of firms, focusing not only on the competitive moves of one competitor but also on detailed interaction of all of them in their “market battle”. The prerequisite for the research is undoubtedly the high-quality data sources and well-designed data analysis. Presented in the paper were a number of issues we faced during the conduct of our recent study in which 2,699 media reports on competitive moves were collected in seventeen firm dyads in Croatia

SWOT ANALIZA TEMELJENA NA STAVOVIMA MENADŽERA TRGOVAČKIH DRUŠTAVA IZ PODRUČJA “HOTELI I RESTORANI” U REPUBLICI HRVATSKOJ

The purpose of the research is to provide an enhanced understanding of the top mana gement team (TMT) members’ attitudes about the Croatian hotel industry environment in 1999 and in 2005. Field research was carried out in 1999 and in 2005 utilizing questionnaires. The surveys examined the TMT members’ attitudes to the companies’ external and internal environ-ments. SWOT analyses, correlation matrixes, reliability analyses and regres-sion analysis were used to examine the perceived situations and tendencies in this industry.The authors’ viewpoint is that it is more appropriate to stop at the SWOT analysis and to suggest that top management of hotel companies focus on improving the internal factors in the category neither strengths nor weak-nesses instead of focusing on the strategies according to the TOWS matrix. This is an essential supposition for the company’s effectiveness at building and gaining of competitive positions from which to act on the threat factors from the external environment. Scale reliability analysis has shown that the scales are reliable. Re-gression analysis and testing by means of partial correlation coeffi cients, used in testing the relation between the environment and the TMT dynamics, have shown that in 1999 there is no signifi cant linear relation between the external environment and the TMT dynamics, but that the relation is indirect through the internal environment. In 2005 the same analyses indicates that there is a signifi cant statistical relation between the external and internal environment and the TMT dynamics.Svrha istraživanja je razumijevanje stavova timova vrhovnih menadžera o okruženju trgovačkih društava iz djelatnosti Hoteli i restorani u Republici Hrvatskoj u 1999. i 2005. godini. Empirijska istraživanja provedena su 1999. i 2005. godine pomoću upitnika. Istraživanjima su ispitani stavovi članova timova vrhovnih menadžera o vanjskom i unu-tarnjem okruženju. U radu je korištena SWOT analiza, korelacija, analiza pouzdanosti skale i regresijska analiza kako bi se ispitala situacija i tendencije u ovoj djelatnosti.Argumentira se stajalište autora o primjerenosti “zaustavljanja” na SWOT analizi i savjetuje se usmjeravanje vrhovnog menadžmenta dioničkih društava iz ove djelatnosti na ojačavanje unutarnjih čimbenika u grupi ni snage ni slabosti umjesto fokusiranja na strategije po TOWS matrici. Ovo je ključna pretpostavka za gradnju i stjecanje konkurent-nih prednosti temeljem kojih se može djelovati na prijetnje iz vanjskog okruženja. Analiza pouzdanosti skale pokazala je da su skale korištene u radu pouzdane. Regresijska analiza i koefi cijenti parcijalne korelacije korišteni za ispitivanje povezanosti između okruženja i dinamike članova tima vrhovnih menadžera pokazali su da u 1999. godini nije bilo statistički značajne veze između vanjskog okruženja i dinamike, ali je veza bila indirektna - preko unutarnjeg okruženja. Ista je analiza 2005. godine pokazala da i vanjsko i un-utarnje okruženje imaju statistički značajnu linearnu vezu s dinamikom tima vrhovnih menadžera