Strategic Change

Environmental analysis is a critical part of the strategic management planning process. The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) framework is proposed by many as an analytical tool which should be used to categorize significant environmental factors both internal ...

This article extends previous research on how work continues in the face of disruption by theorizing continuity as patterning and highlighting the difference between continuity of a thing and continuity as a process. Based on interviews with people who continued providing mental health care during and after the disruption caused by Hurricane Katrina, we show that continuity is a dynamic process that entails people orienting to what actions they can take and how they can connect these actions into paths in an unfolding material, social and personal situation. The paths, taken together, are a pattern of work (in our case a pattern of mental health care). While recognizing that exogenous goals play a role, we highlight the importance of the endogenous experience of an activity in taking action and creating paths. Viewing continuity as patterning suggests new roles for organizations in supporting flexible responses to disruption.

A theoretical approach is presented of an organisational justice framework that may provide an enriched perspective to examine strategic change, enhancing the understanding, design, implementation, and effectiveness of strategic change initiatives. The organisational justice framework provides an understanding of employees' perceptions on trust and fairness during an organisational strategic change process in the context of the justice approach, although perceived fairness has been seen as playing an important role in the process of sustaining trust in the organisation. The study demonstrates the importance of analysis of the response to strategic change by employees, the impact on organisational trust, and the influence of the fairness judgment.
DOI: 10.1504/IJTCS.2013.053413
Vol. 4, No. 1, 2013 Pages 83-94

This paper reports on experience with managers on business and management programmes and ‘action’ research which has shed light on the use of SWOT and on its practical difficulties and limitations. Warning is given that a too simplistic adoption of the SWOT activity can lead to damaging consequences and suggestions are made as to how organisations can introduce this form of analysis to avoid its potential pitfalls through the use of Performance-Importance, Opportunity and Threat matrices.

While recognising some of the limitations of SWOT analysis, the paper also acknowledges its benefits, the value of which is not only seen in its outputs (which may be used in the development of sound strategic business plans) but also in the very process of carrying it out. Highlighted are the extra benefits to be gained in the use of SWOT not just as a static analytical tool which helps generate an understanding of business activity but, also, as a dynamic part of the management process which can actually facilitate management development and which can be harnessed to the advantage of all involved. It can be seen as a valuable management tool which may be easily absorbed with good effect into the realities and practicalities of an organisation’s existing planning and strategy formulation processes.

Empirical evidence suggests that cost-based considerations, firm-specific characteristics, and owner-specific factors — such as desire for control and managerial independence — are important determinants of capital structures of entrepreneurial firms.

The Concept of a Change of an Enterprise Strategy

The paper presents the concept of a change of an enterprise strategy. Nowadays enterprises operate in a very turbulent, dynamic and changeable environment. These features of the environment result in the necessity to constantly observe changes which take place in the enterprise environment, and skillfully predict the direction of those changes in the future and adjust to them in order to stay on the market. We may say that enterprises must be ready to change their strategies in order to keep up with fast changes in environment.

Financing is a critical issue for the survival and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Business angels play a key role in financing these enterprises, especially innovative ones with high growth potential. Business angels fill the gap between founders, family, and friends on one side, and institutional venture capital funds on the other side, as a financing source. Business angels invest a large amount of money in seed, start-up, and early-stage enterprises.Business angels are important for small and medium-sized enterprises because they provide more than money. They are hands-on investors and contribute their skills, expertise, knowledge, and contacts in the businesses they invest in. They are wealthy persons with great business experience, willing to invest and offer their wealth and knowledge to owners and to entrepreneurs to start or develop their businesses.Business angels like to remain anonymous, so many ideas cannot be implemented. To address this issue, many countries establish business angel syndicates and networks to facilitate the process of matching entrepreneurs and business angels.Financing is a critical issue for the survival and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Business angels play a key role in financing these enterprises, especially innovative ones with high growth potential. Business angels fill the gap between founders, family, and friends on one side, and institutional venture capital funds on the other side, as a financing source. Business angels invest a large amount of money in seed, start-up, and early-stage enterprises.Business angels are important for small and medium-sized enterprises because they provide more than money. They are hands-on investors and contribute their skills, expertise, knowledge, and contacts in the businesses they invest in. They are wealthy persons with great business experience, willing to invest and offer their wealth and knowledge to owners and to entrepreneurs to start or develop their businesses.Business angels like to remain anonymous, so many ideas cannot be implemented. To address this issue, many countries establish business angel syndicates and networks to facilitate the process of matching entrepreneurs and business angels.Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Nowadays firms are facing challenges of integrating sustainable principles into their long-term strategic development objectives to both reduce their environmental and social impacts while maximize the economic returns. In pursuit of such goals contemporary firms may follow different routes to make strategic changes to adapt to the new business environment and show varied performance of sustainable development. Based on the dynamic capabilities view this paper develops a conceptual framework examining the necessary capabilities firms need to obtain to develop more sustainable strategies and to gain competitive advantage. Using the case study of a world leading telecom company, this paper illustrates the main dimensions of dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability - scanning capability, identification capability and reconfiguration capability - that drive firm’s strategic change towards sustainability. The research findings suggest that these dimensions of dynamic capabilities can help firms to establish unique strategic position and mobilize firm resources to derive better competitive advantage from corporate strategic change towards sustainability.

This paper aims to fill a gap in the literature of strategic management by providing a
profile of organizations working in Egypt regarding their practice of strategic planning.
Based upon responses from 120 organizations, the respondents have a positive attitude
towards strategic planning.

There are relatively few significant differences in the findings between manufacturing
and service organizations compared with the differences between local and foreign organizations
and also between small and large organizations. Unexpectedly, a high percentage
of the respondents are not familiar with some of what are seen as the traditional
tools of strategic management.

Organization ability to anticipate and respond to the existing opportunities while observing the need for change is a vital ingredient in sustaining competitiveness and viability. The contemporary organization is faced with shifting competitive and dynamic operating environment requiring regular shifts in strategy by TMT in order to enhance performance. Despite wide interest from scholars, the association between TMT diversity and strategic change and how this influence performance is unclear. This study sought to examine the influence of TMT diversity on performance of Public Benefit Organizations (PBOs) in Kenya and the intervening effect of strategic change. The study relied on the resource based view and upper echelons theories to offer the foundations of the assessment. A cross sectional research design within a positivistic framework was adopted for the study. A sample of 138 respondents was acquired from National and International PBOs. Quantitative and qualitative data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found that TMT Diversity statistically significantly explains 10.4% of the variability in PBO Performance. Further findings were that TMT diversity only explains 2.8% of the variability in Strategic Change (an effect confirmed to lack statistical significance); but when strategic change and TMT diversity were considered in a joint effect, the model was found to explain 11.5% of the variability in PBO Performance. However, the lack of statistical significance in the relationship between strategic change and TMT diversity disproved the mediating role of strategic change in the TMT Diversity and PBO performance relationship. The study therefore concludes 427 that TMT diversity has an influence on PBO performance, though strategic change has no mediating effect in this relationship. The study recommends that the stakeholders in the sector should enhance TMT diversity in their organizations while carefully balancing the role of TMT in driving strategic change. Further studies targeting TMT diversity and strategic change in varying environments and contexts should be undertaken. The study contributes to the upper echelons theory in clarifying the impact of strategic change in TMT diversity and organization performance relationship. It further contributes to the advancement of PBO management policies and practices raising the need to consider instances where TMT diversity can drive or stifle strategic change efforts.

There is considerable research evidence to confirm that the accumulation of knowledge contributes to the competitive advantage of firms. However, in strategy consulting, one of the most knowledge-intensive professional services, established firms that exploited their knowledge accumulation by adding exploitative consulting practices have found their performance has deteriorated.The increasing share of exploitative practices in the strategy consulting industry has attracted both established ICT-related consulting firms and new entrants. Moreover, it has enabled clients to expand their problem-solving abilities. These developments, in terms of competitiveness and client competencies, have reduced the attractiveness of exploitative practices for established strategy consulting firms.To analyse this development and to provide strategic options for the established firms, a conceptual framework is proposed. Based on this framework three strategic options are identified: ‘follow the herd’, ‘become ambidextrous’ and ‘back to the original focus’. In summarizing our argument, we highlight the pros and cons of these options and the implications for senior management.There is considerable research evidence to confirm that the accumulation of knowledge contributes to the competitive advantage of firms. However, in strategy consulting, one of the most knowledge-intensive professional services, established firms that exploited their knowledge accumulation by adding exploitative consulting practices have found their performance has deteriorated.The increasing share of exploitative practices in the strategy consulting industry has attracted both established ICT-related consulting firms and new entrants. Moreover, it has enabled clients to expand their problem-solving abilities. These developments, in terms of competitiveness and client competencies, have reduced the attractiveness of exploitative practices for established strategy consulting firms.To analyse this development and to provide strategic options for the established firms, a conceptual framework is proposed. Based on this framework three strategic options are identified: ‘follow the herd’, ‘become ambidextrous’ and ‘back to the original focus’. In summarizing our argument, we highlight the pros and cons of these options and the implications for senior management.Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This study explains aspects and strategies of critical decision in crisis management. Critical decisions enable organizations to cope with consequential environmental threats or take advantage of important opportunities in the presence of highly restricted time. In particular, critical decisions involve a process of thinking and acting for optimal solutions to complex problems in the presence of highly restricted time and aversive environments. The context of critical decisions can be due to scarce natural/economic resources, uncertain factors, aversive environment, environmental difficulties, ambiguous circumstances, unclear and volatile situations, or a combination of these factors. Firstly, this study presents different typologies of endogenous and exogenous crises for organizations and different types of critical decisions that can be categorized in responsitive, proactive and recovery. Secondly, the study proposes strategies for critical decisions in different environments based on theory of rational choice. Final part of this study shows how a complex problem can be treated in a wider perspective of ecological rationality by approaches of resolution, solution and dissolution that lead to satisficing critical decisions for bounded rationality of human societies.

This paper seeks to argue that despite the easy surface pervaisiveness of notions of turbulence, instability and chaos, such conceptions have yet to radically influence our views of change. Most of the change literature can be seen to be rooted in a traditional modernist paradigm which sees change as linear incremental progression. While there are some theorists who appreciate the limitations of the modernist paradigm, there are few who have begun to develop a truly postmodernist approach to change. This paper represents a small step in that process and concludes by surfacing the practical implications for change agents of transcending the modernist paradigm.‘Speculate what our ideas of cause and effect might have been had melting butter been our model rather than billiard balls. As it is, the world may seem to us to be a succession of clicks, pushes, ticks and tocks. Had the melting of butter or wax seized our imagination instead, the world would have appeared to us as a series of simmering, drippings, meltings, and splashes…’ (Hanson, 1969, pp. 282–283).

ABSTRACT Commercial funding to microfinance institutions (MFIs) seems to follow the negative screening approach, being driven mainly by financial performance and professionalization of the MFIs while subsidized funding seems to follow a positive approach, being driven mainly by targeting poverty alleviation and social inclusion.