Capabilities for strategic flexibility:a cognitive content framework

Different forms of strategic flexibility allow for reactive adaptation to different changing environments and the proactive driving of change. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for decision makers to not only possess marketing capabilities, but also the capabilities for strategic flexibility in its various forms. However, our knowledge of the relationships between decision makers’ different ways of thinking and their capabilities for strategic flexibility is limited. This limitation is constraining research and understanding. In this article we develop a theoretical cognitive content framework that postulates relationships between different ways of thinking about strategy and different information-processing demands. We then outline how the contrasting beliefs of decision makers may influence their capabilities to generate different hybrid forms of strategic flexibility at the cognitive level. Theoretically, the framework is embedded in resource-based theory, personal construct theory and schema theory. The implications for research and theory are discussed

Antecedents of strategic flexibility:management cognition, firm resources and strategic options

Purpose: Current conceptualisations of strategic flexibility and its antecedents are theory-driven, which has resulted in a lack of consensus. To summarise this domain the paper aims to develop and present an a priori conceptual model of the antecedents and outcomes of strategic flexibility. Discussion and insights into the conceptual model, and the relationships specified, are made through a novel qualitative empirical approach. The implications for further research and a framework for further theoretical development are presented. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative research design is used applying multiple data collection techniques in a branch network of a large regional retailer in the UK. The development of strategic options and the complex relationship to strategic flexibility is investigated. Findings: The number and type of strategic options developed by managers impact on the degree of strategic flexibility and also on the ability of the firm to achieve competitive differentiation. Additionally, the type of strategic option implemented by managers is dependent on the competitive situation faced at a local level. Evidence of managers' limited perception of competition was identified based on their spatial embeddedness. Research limitations/implications: A single, in-depth case study was used. The data gathered is rich and appropriate for the exploratory approach adopted here. However, generalisability of the findings is limited. Practical implications: Strategic flexibility is rooted in the ability of front-line mangers to develop and implement strategic options; this in turn facilitates competitive differentiation. Originality/value: The research presented is unique in this domain on two accounts. First, theory is developed by presenting an a priori conceptual model, and testing through in-depth qualitative data gathering. Second, insights into strategic flexibility are presented through an examination of managerial cognition, resources and strategic option generation using cognitive mapping and laddering technique. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Strategic Management

New Yorkx, 405 p.: illus.; 24 c

Strategic management/ Greenley

x, 405 hal.; 24 cm

An investigation of company product decision making

This article is concerned with an investigation of the approaches taken by companies in making product decisions. The first part is concerned with a review of the range of product decisions as presented within the literature. This range is established within the context of corporate planning, with a major split between long term strategic planning product decisions, and short term operational planning product decisions. The second part of the article is concerned with the results of a survey that was designed to investigate the criteria that companies use within their product decision making. These criteria included those applicable to strategic planning, but also incorporated a range of criteria applicable to short term operational planning, as proposed in a recent article by Greenley [8]. The overall conclusion to the survey results was that a common and universal approach to product decision making cannot be identified within this sample of companies. A low level of agreement as to the relative degree of importance of the criteria was evident, and, little attention to differentiating product decisions with time was also evident. The results also challenge the importance given by the literature to the concepts of product life cycle, portfolio analysis and synergy. Finally, the author suggests two implications as a consequence of these results.

Strategic planning and company performance: An appraisal of the empirical evidence

Although the prescriptive strategic management literature implies a positive association between strategic planning and company performance, with directional causality from strategic planning to performance, confirmatory empirical evidence is equivocal. The overall aim of this article is to investigate whether or not an association is evident, from the published empirical evidence. This investigation was based on an appraisal of the methodological rigour of the empirical studies. Many differences were found among the methodologies of these studies, while the rigour of each study is seemingly limited. Consequently, their results cannot be legitimately combined, and therefore it cannot be concluded that an association is evident. This conclusion highlights the dichotomy between strategic planning as a determinant of performance, and strategic planning as a process to improve the effectiveness of management. Directions for further research are given for tackling this dichotomy.

Managerial opinions of marketing planning

Previous research into marketing planning has provided only limited indications of managerial opinions, as part of the wider issue of managerial behavioural influences on marketing, which itself has received limited attention. However these opinions have the potential for affecting the effectiveness of planning, which, as will be explained later, is particularly crucial to the marketing function with its associated corporate wide ramifications. Results of research into managerial opinions of marketing planning are reported in this article. The implications of these results led to a range of propositions about the influence of these opinions on the effectiveness of marketing planning.

Strategic management/ Greenley

x, 405 hal.; 24 cm