Strategic Change

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.

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 conceptual study describes an approach to corporate entrepreneurship using an outsider perspective – learning to think like an outsider. Three propositions using this perspective are examined in the context of offensive and defensive corporate entrepreneurship. The impact of market conditions on entrepreneurship are used as a basis for developing these propositions. Finally, we investigate the factors that have a significant impact on the success of entrepreneurial efforts by the firm. These variables include: processes, values, resources, organizational structure, corporate culture, and leadership. We use examples of how mature corporations have responded, with particular attention to the changes confronted by Research In Motion (RIM).

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.

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.

This paper discusses the idea of strategic change with context to TQM & Innovation. As strategic change consists of continuous change and discontinuous change, so that’s why we analysed both because these are the emergent factor of total quality management and innovation. It also explains the process that how the organizations adopt innovation and TQM. This study describes the relationship between Strategic Change, Innovation, and Total Quality Management. This study provides proves from the literature that these three factors have strong affiliation with each and other and also provides prove that the adoption Of Innovation and TQM is very crucial in Modern era.

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.

Companies often initiate strategic changes either to adapt to an evolving environment and/ or to improve their competitiveness and performance. In this paper, I examine why some strategic changes are fruitful for the companies that initiate them whereas others are not. I propose a framework about the fruitfulness of strategic changes based on their expected impact on competitiveness and likely stakeholder commitment to the changes. I propose that strategic changes are likely to be most fruitful when their potential to enhance competitiveness is high and the stakeholder commitment is likely to be high. At the other end of the spectrum, companies should avoid implementing strategic changes that have low potential to enhance competitiveness and where the stakeholder commitment is low. Being poor strategic choices, these changes may not enhance competitiveness or performance, but, in fact, detract from them. I provide case-based evidence for the framework drawing on strategic changes implemented by Starbucks, McDonald’s and Tupperware and also identify conditions, specifically relating to decision making process and corporate governance, under which detrimental strategic changes may be implemented. I also offer a set of recommendations to companies for avoiding making the poor strategic choices discussed in the paper.

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.

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.

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.

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 focuses on the strategic change efforts of one university in the United Kingdom which changed its form and resource deployments to focus on the production of interdisciplinary research through leadership and social networking lenses. We found that that choices made by the TMT and its agents resulted in debilitating strategies which impacted member commitment as well as energizing innovative networking strategies. We also found competing interests as well as obstacles that intensified the bifurcation, such as leadership influence actions, the way research is evaluated, and absent norms of reciprocity. We concluded that in university settings leading people by vertical influence actions are less effective than using horizontal strategies in times of strategic change.

Key Words – strategic change, social and structural networks, vertical and horizontal leadership 4700 words

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.

In many organizations, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become such an integral component of business processes and connectivity with customers, that ICT has become a strategic and not merely a technological issue. Technology spends in the ...

This policy report, entitled ‘Global Sustainable City-Regions,’ covers the work developed by the lecturer, Dr Igor Calzada, MBA, as the editor of the publication and students/participants of the first edition of the New Masters course MSc in Leadership for Global Sustainable Cities from September to December 2015 at the Institute for Future Cities in the Business Faculty at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow (Scotland - UK).

Specifically, this policy report follows a two-sequential-module structure:

• The first module, entitled ‘Global Cities: Sustainability and Society,’ consists of six methodological units.
• Thereafter, the second module, entitled ‘Public Policy, Governance and Strategic Change in Cities,’ consists of five methodological units.

The policy report focuses on three urban global issues in a comparative basis. The MSc was developed in a team-based dynamic by applying qualitative action research methodologies to understand and interpret each case and to benchmark and contrast with other cases that addressed the same global urban issue.

The cases were selected jointly by the lecturer and the students/participants in a dynamic process in order to achieve a suitable selection of cases that would allow them to:

• arrange groups around one specific global urban issue,
• compare cases around the same specific urban issue, and
• produce a full case study by applying the two-sequential-module methodology.

As a result, the following three global urban issues and seven Global Sustainable City-Region case studies were selected. Each student/participant worked on each of them, as follows:

Global Southerners
Mumbai (Kirsten MacDonald)
Shenzhen (Ning Qiu)

Resilient Contradictors
Reykjavik/Iceland (Christopher Dynes)
Portland/Oregon (Gemma Murray)
Budapest (Nikolett Watson-Puskás)

Regional Networkers
Glasgow/Scotland (Gavin McAdam)
Rotterdam/Randstad (Frankie Barrett)

---
The series of editions have been published as follows:

Calzada, I. (Ed) [Abubaker, H., Bensaid, M., Butler, M., Cameron, M., Doin, S., Duke, I., Dutary, R., Fleming-Knox, A.R., & Klinefelter, T.] (2018), Global Sustainable City-Regions: Naples, Glasgow, Rio de Janeiro, Lyon, Panamá, Kuala-Lumpur, & Silicon Valley, Zumaia: Translokal – Academic Entrepreneurship for Policy Making – Publishing, in collaboration with the Institute for Future Cities, University of Strathclyde. ISBN (e-book): 978-84-946385-5-8. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.21794.73922

Calzada, I. (Ed) [Candel, M., Fritsche, L., Hui, D., Islam, O., Issar, S., Kamwanja, A., Lucy, L., Mueller, R., Piamsawat, N., Riekkinen, V. & Sampson, R.] (2017), Global Sustainable City-Regions: Stockholm, Berlin, Kolkata, Abu Dhabi/Masdar, Bengaluru, Malawi, Belfast, Hong Kong, Seoul, Helsinki, & Scotland, Zumaia: Translokal – Academic Entrepreneurship for Policy Making – Publishing, in collaboration with the Institute for Future Cities, University of Strathclyde. ISBN (e-book): 978-84-946385-0-3. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14958.72000/2.

Calzada I. (Ed) [MacDonald, K., Qiu, N., Dynes, C., Murray, G., Watson-Puskas, N., McAdam, G., & Barrett, F.] (2016), Global Sustainable City-Regions: Mumbai, Shenzhen, Reykjavik, Portland, Budapest, Glasgow, and Rotterdam, Zumaia: Translokal – Academic Entrepreneurship for Policy Making – Publishing, in collaboration with the City Protocol Society and the Institute for Future Cities, University of Strathclyde. ISBN (e-book): 978-84-942752-7-2. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3053.1609.