Strategy (Business)

Unravelling the complexity of collective mental models: A method for developing and analysing scenarios in multi-organisational contexts

by Chris Goodier

The futures of construction: a critical review of construction future studies

by Chris Goodier

A competitive future for UK construction?

by Chris Goodier

Causal mapping and scenario building with multiple organisations

by Chris Goodier

Synthesising emerging issues within key futures study reports in construction

by Chris Goodier

Future scenarios for the European construction industry

by Chris Goodier

Anticipating tomorrow: the future of the European construction industry

by Chris Goodier

Scenario planning for construction companies

by Chris Goodier

The future of UK housebuilding

by Chris Goodier

Enhancing strategic planning in the UK construction industry

by Chris Goodier

Importance of internal and external factors when adapting to environmental changes in SME sawmills in Norway and Finland: The manager's view

by Erlend Nybakk

Husso, M. & Nybakk, E. 2010. Importance of internal and external factors when adapting to environmental changes in SME sawmills in Norway and Finland: The manager's view. Journal of Forest Products Business Research 7(1): 14 pp.

Drawing upon the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and Porter’s five forces, this study examines CEOs’ perceptions... more Drawing upon the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and Porter’s five forces, this study examines CEOs’ perceptions of the drivers of competitive advantage in Finnish and Norwegian small- and medium-sized (SME) sawmills. Using qualitative data from CEO interviews and secondary data sources, the results show differences in relevant resources among SME sawmills. In some cases, high-quality raw material is a driver of above-average industry performance, while certain organizational resources, together with correct positioning within an industry, are a way to compensate for a lack of other sources of competitive advantage. Resources such as advanced production technology or a flat organizational structure are essential to diluting the weaknesses of the case companies. Our cases also clarify the important role of intangible resources (e.g., personnel being willing to change).

Assessing the Short-term and Long-term Benefits of Mergers

by Kerem Kilic

Leveraging dynamic capabilities: A contingent management control system approach

by Brian Gordon

Co-authored with Ian McCarthy.
Published in 2010.
In Wall, S., Zimmerman, C., Klingebiel, R., & Lange, D. (Eds.) Strategic Reconfigurations: Developing dynamic capabilities in rapid-innovation based industries pp. 13-33. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Dynamic capabilities help explain why some organizations survive overtime. However, they have been mostly viewed as... more Dynamic capabilities help explain why some organizations survive overtime. However, they have been mostly viewed as abstract phenomena with limited attention given to the mechanisms that managers might use to create and direct them. In this chapter, we present a model that explains how contingent management control systems leverage the organizational behaviors necessary for dynamic capabilities. We focus on how variations in environmental velocity affect the characteristics of the feedback that these systems receive. This in turn, influences control system emphasis and the paradoxical forces of exploitation and exploration that guide and direct the capability processes of coordination/integration, learning and reconfiguration.

A multidimensional conceptualization of environmental velocity

by Brian Gordon

Co-authored with Ian P. McCarthy, Thomas B. Lawrence, and Brian Wixted.
Published in 'Academy of Management Review', 2010

Environmental velocity has emerged as an important concept but remains theoreti- cally underdeveloped, particularly... more Environmental velocity has emerged as an important concept but remains theoreti- cally underdeveloped, particularly with respect to its multidimensionality. In re- sponse, we develop a framework that examines the variations in velocity across multiple dimensions of the environment (homology) and the causal linkages between those velocities (coupling). We then propose four velocity regimes based on different patterns of homology and coupling and argue that the conditions of each regime have important implications for organizations.

Achieving contextual ambidexterity in R&D organizations: a management control system approach

by Brian Gordon

Co-authored with Ian P. McCarthy.
Published in 'R&D Management', 2011

Research on how managers control R&D activities has tended to focus on the performance
measurement systems... more Research on how managers control R&D activities has tended to focus on the performance
measurement systems used to exploit existing knowledge and capabilities. This focus has been
at the expense of how broader forms of management control could be used to enable R&D
contextual ambidexterity, the capacity to attain appropriate levels of exploitation and
exploration behaviors in the same R&D organizational unit. In this paper, we develop a
conceptual framework for understanding how different types of control system, guided by
different R&D strategic goals, can be used to induce and balance both exploitation and
exploration. We illustrate the elements of this framework and their relations using data from
biotechnology firms, and then discuss how the framework provides a basis to empirically
examine a number of important control relationships and phenomena.

Strategic domain pioneering and nonlocal action

by Brian Gordon

working paper, 2012

When rival firms adopt similar strategies, competition drives down returns and compresses variance.  One... more When rival firms adopt similar strategies, competition drives down returns and compresses variance.  One important source of advantage arises from Schumpeterian innovation and the ability to undertake nonlocal action.  The question arises, can nonlocal action be strategic?  One prominent answer, typically associated with the evolutionary school of strategy, suggests no, asserting that innovation ultimately is driven by luck and serendipity.  This paper suggests otherwise, arguing that nonlocal action can be strategic because firms can purposefully pioneer new domains of scientific, engineering, and technological knowledge in the pursuit of Schumpeterian innovation in products, technologies, and modes of production.  To this end, a new theory of strategic domain pioneering is introduced.  The idea of strategic domain pioneering as a ‘technology for exploration and nonlocal action’ and some implications for the theory of organizational and managerial control systems and the locus of knowledge are discussed in the final section.  In orientation, the theory of strategic domain pioneering introduced here is congruent with the new behavioral theory of strategy forwarded by Gavetti (2011).  By showing how knowledge creation processes can be actively managed for strategic ends, this paper expands upon and extends Gavetti’s nascent framework in new directions.

Making a face: Graphical illustrations of managerial stances toward customer creativity

by Kirk Plangger

Co-authored with Colin L. Campbell, Pierre Berthon, Leyland Pitt, and Ian McCarthy

Creative consumers – consumers who adapt, modify or transform a proprietary offering – represent an intriguing paradox... more Creative consumers – consumers who adapt, modify or transform a proprietary offering – represent an intriguing paradox for business. On the one hand they can be a black hole for future revenue, with breach of copyright and intellectual property, while on the other hand they represent a gold mine of ideas and business opportunities. This problem is central to business – business needs to both create and capture value; the problem is that creative consumers demand a shift in the mindsets and business models of how firms both create and capture value. We develop a typology of firms’ stances to creative consumers based upon their attitude and action towards customer innovation. We then consider the implications of the stances model for corporate strategy, and examine a three-step approach to dealing with creative consumers, namely, awareness, analysis and response.

The Ecological Allowance of Enterprise: An Absolute Measure of Corporate Environmental Performance, its Implication for Strategy, and a Small Case

by André Reichel

Vertical integration as organizational strategy formation

by Georges Romme

Published in: Organization Studies, 1990

This paper contributes to research into the strategy-environment relationship, especially looking at the issue of... more This paper contributes to research into the strategy-environment relationship, especially looking at the issue of vertical integration. It aims at a synthesis of process and content approaches to strategic change on the level of the organization's dominant group. The key factor is uncertainty, which will be defined as the gap between perceptual competence of the dominant group and environmen tal difficulty. After presenting a typical vertical integration case, the vertical integration literature is surveyed. Next, a framework of strategy-making under uncertainty serves as a vehicle to formulate some propositions on the formation of vertical integration strategy.

A Decision Support System for Corporate Planning in the New Zealand Dairy Industry

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (1982). A Decision Support System for Corporate Planning in the New Zealand Dairy Industry, Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics, statistics and operations research,. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.

A Decision Support System (DSS) is described, the prime objective of which is to aid in the location of new... more A Decision Support System (DSS) is described, the prime objective of which is to aid in the location of new investments in a multi-site, multi-product dairy processing company. A network program model is described which optimises the collection of milk from farm groups (netcells) and the allocation of the milk to a range of final products and byproducts through consideration of product prices, Process costs and transport costs. Constraints include process capacities, overtime capacities, and final product demands. Site dependant product yields are considered through use of an iteration procedure surrounding the network model. This procedure updates estimates of the mean company yield used to set upper and lower arc constraints in the product demand phase of the network model. Milk tanker collection distances are estimated by an expected travelling salesman distance method in conjunction with accurately measured netcell to factory 'bridging distances' and an inter-factory diversion network of road distances. To cope with daily fixed cost charges, a heuristic procedure employing cost relaxations and a number of pre-solution feasibility tests is used. Seasonally varying factors (milk supply, product yield and farms visited per tanker trip) are accommodated by solving the network model for the average day in each month for twelve months, then summing the results multiplied by the number of production days in each month. Implementation as a DSS was facilitated through use of an interactive computer system incorporating computer-generated graphic displays. Applications of the DSS to location planning, industry rationalization and other corporate planning activities are described. Recommendations on the use of the model to identify the feasible set of candidates for location studies are made, and methods for identifying the appropriate timing of investments are considered.
Keyword: Corporate planning; Network program system; Operations research; Corporate support; Dairy processing; Dairying planning; 230117 Operations Research; 230299 Statistics