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The purpose of this paper is to report on a research study aimed at comparing the causes of organisational decline and turnaround strategies involved in cases of successful and unsuccessful turnarounds, with a view to identifying the differences, if any, between the two groups, which in turn is expected to provide useful information to academics, practitioners and policy makers.

Since turnaround is a business phenomenon of general interest, their stories are often published in business periodicals, which are a rich source of data on them. In order to tap this data source, the present paper employed a method of content analysis for the proposed investigation on the cause of organisational decline and turnaround strategies used. In order to quantify the data, a three-point scale was developed, where the presence of a cause/strategy is rated as “3”, its ambivalence as “2” and its absence as “1”, whose validity was assessed through the inter-rater agreement indices. The data thus generated are amenable to statistical analyses, using which the more commonly prevalent causes of organisational decline and the strategies commonly employed for turnaround by the successful and unsuccessful companies are identified.

The findings of the present study have generated a few useful insights. First, the primary causes for organisational decline are the internal weaknesses of the organisation; in fact the external changes can adversely affect the organisation only if it is internally weak. Second, organisational decline caused by multiple factors (which is usually the case) can be managed effectively by adopting a variety of strategies; hence a single-pronged strategy is often found to be ineffective. Third, the more successful turnarounds had a diverse portfolio of strategies including those of institution-building, often employed in a phased manner, consistent with the stage theories of turnaround.

The limitations of this research arise mainly from the generation of data from published sources and the consequent biases, which can be managed, to a large extent, by using multiple sources for the same case for reducing the publishers’ biases as well as by having multiple raters for identifying the researcher’s biases, if any.

The study has highlighted the need for addressing the internal causes of organisational decline on a priority-basis rather than blaming the external factors, besides pointing to the need for adopting a variety of strategies for dealing with the diversity of causes affecting the organisation’s health, particularly the need for institutionalising the changes. These findings can be of help especially to turnaround managers and policy-makers in dealing with organisational decline and thus contribute to the creation and enhancement of economic value.

This paper aims to investigate the role of resource orchestration in turnaround attempts following the organizational decline in the context of an emerging economy.

Multicase study of three Brazilian textile firms, following their trajectory from 1997 to 2009. We did a “historical reconstruction using the methodology” proposed by Mintzberg and McHugh (1985) to guide our data collection and analysis procedures. The methodology is geared towards the study of the evolution of organizations over a past period, wherein the researcher reconstructs the events after they have occurred, having developed them from documentary analysis and oral history.

The results indicate that resource orchestration is a critical capability for ensuring the coordinated implementation of operational and strategic actions in a turnaround. Moreover, in a context involving severe environmental jolts, the conservation of organizational slack appears to influence the effectiveness of resource orchestration and explains the different outcomes the firms in this study achieved in their turnaround attempts.

This paper may be useful to practitioners involved in turnarounds, helping them evaluate the consequences of decisions involving the acquisition, reconfiguration, bundling and divestment of firm resources.

Besides contributing to the advancement of theory-informed research on decline and turnaround, this paper may be useful to practitioners involved in turnarounds, when they consider the consequences of decisions involving firm resources.

This paper helps advance theory-informed research on decline and turnaround in developing economies, helping address a gap in the extant literature, primarily focused on firms in developed countries.

Investigar, en el contexto de una economía emergente, el papel de la orquestación de recursos en los intentos de recuperación después del declive organizacional`.

Estudio multicaso de tres empresas textiles brasileñas siguiendo su trayectoria desde 1997 hasta 2009. Hicimos una “reconstrucción histórica utilizando la metodología” propuesta por Mintzberg y McHugh (1985) para guiar nuestra recopilación de datos y procedimientos de análisis. La metodología está orientada hacia el estudio de la evolución de organizaciones en un período pasado, en el que el investigador reconstruye los eventos después de que han ocurrido, habiéndolos desarrollado a partir del análisis documental y la historia oral.

Nuestros resultados indican que la orquestación de recursos es una capacidad crítica para garantizar la implementación coordinada de acciones operativas y estratégicas en un processo de recuperación. Adicionalmente, en un contexto que implica impactos ambientales significativos, mantener la holgura organizacional parece influir sobre la eficacia de la orquestación de recursos y explica la diferencia de los resultados que las empresas encuestadas alcanzaron en sus tentativas de recuperación.

Este artículo puede ser útil para los profesionales implicados en procesos de recuperación, ayudándoles a evaluar las consecuencias de las decisiones que implican la adquisición, reconfiguración, agrupación y desecho de recursos de la empresa.

Este estudio contribuye al avance de la investigación de base teórica sobre declive y recuperación en economías en desarrollo, ayudando a eliminar una laguna en la literatura existente, la cual se a centrado principalmente en empresas en países desarrollados.

Investigar o papel da orquestração de recursos nas tentativas de turnaround após o declínio organizacional, no contexto de uma economia emergente.

Estudo multicaso de três empresas têxteis brasileiras, seguindo sua trajetória de 1997 até 2009. Fizemos uma “reconstrução histórica usando o metodologia” proposta por Mintzberg e McHugh (1985) para guiar nossa coleta de dados e procedimentos de análise. A metodologia é voltada para o estudo da evolução de organizaçöes ao longo de um período passado, em que o pesquisador reconstrói os eventos após ocorreram, tendo-os desenvolvido a partir da análise documental e da história oral.

Nossos resultados indicam que a orquestração de recursos é uma capacidade crítica para garantir a implementação coordenada de ações operacionais e estratégicas num turnaround. Adicionalmente, num contexto envolvendo choques ambientais significativos, a preservação da folga organizacional parece influenciar a eficácia da orquestração de recursos e explicar a diferença dos resultados que as empresas pesquisadas alcançaram nas suas tentativas de turnaround.

Este artigo pode ser útil para profissionais envolvidos em turnarounds, ajudando-os a avaliar as consequências de decisões envolvendo a aquisição, reconfiguração, agrupamento e descarte de recursos da empresa.

Este estudo contribui para o avanço da pesquisa de base teórica sobre declínio e turnaround em economias em desenvolvimento, ajudando a eliminar uma lacuna na literatura existente, focada principalmente em empresas em países desenvolvidos.

Building on the enactment perspective and past work on the self‐fulfilling prophecy, this paper explores how organizational decline can be enacted through self‐fulfilling prophecies of decline. We present two self‐fulfilling prophecy‐based models of organizational decline, one in which decline is enacted unintentionally through the predictions of an organization's managers, and a second in which decline is enacted unintentionally through the predictions of external constituencies. We articulate propositions that capture the dynamics of each model and that are intended as a platform for future empirical research. We also discuss the implications of our theoretical framework for future theory development on the causes of organizational decline, and offer suggestions for managers who wish to avoid organizational decline.

To provide practicing managers and consultants with advice about common pitfalls encountered in diagnosing the causes of organizational decline. Hopefully, the paper will help managers and their advisors avoid these pitfalls.

Reviews common problems that the author and other researchers have documented in their research examining how firms and organizations respond to poor performance.

Shows how managers naturally have “blind spots” in perceiving and interpreting the sources of organizational problems.

Provides managers with explanations for why they may have a difficult time spotting organizational problems. Also, gives practical tips for avoiding the pitfalls encountered in diagnosing decline.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how family and business priorities influence organisational decline and turnaround in a family business.

Following critical realism as philosophical orientation, this research is based on an exploratory single case study.

This research identified specific socioemotional wealth priorities driving this organisation decline and turnaround. The study also determined how the family and business dynamic leads to decisions that first trigger the organisational decline and then explain the successful implementation of turnaround strategies.

Findings of this research provide limited and contingent theoretical generalisation. Accordingly, replication and further quantitative research is required for a better understanding of this phenomenon.

Managers can benefit from this paper by noting which behaviour could lead to organisational decline and which factors could lead to a turnaround. Similarly, managers can learn about the importance of the alignment of socioemotional wealth priorities as a critical response factor to determine whether to follow exit strategies or turnaround (succession) actions.

The study contributes to the organisational decline literature and family business literature. It advances the understanding of how family businesses should balance family and business priorities to avoid organisational decline and identify strategies successfully implemented for turning around.

El objetivo de este artículo es determinar cómo las prioridades familiares y del negocio influyen sobre la declinación y recuperación organizacional en una empresa familiar.

Se usa investigación cualitativa basada en caso único de estudio y realismo crítico como orientación filosófica.

Esta investigación identifica prioridades socioemocionales específicas que explican la declinación y recuperación organizacional de una empresa familiar. Se determina como la dinámica familiar y empresarial lleva a tomar decisiones que primero desencadenan declinación organizacional y luego explican la implementación exitosa de estrategias para la recuperación organizacional de la empresa en cuestión.

Los resultados dan soporte a una generalización teórica y contingente. En consecuencia, se requiere replicación y más investigación cuantitativa para una mejor comprensión de este fenómeno.

los gerentes pueden beneficiarse de este artículo al identificar qué comportamiento podría conducir a la declinación de la organización y qué factores podrían conducir a su recuperación. Del mismo modo, los gerentes pueden aprender sobre como alinear prioridades socioemocionales y hacer de esto un factor crítico en la definición sobre implementar estrategias para continuar (sucesión) o dejar el negocio.

El estudio contribuye a la literatura sobre declinación organizacional y también a la literatura sobre Empresas Familiares. Avanza en la comprensión de cómo las empresas familiares deben equilibrar las prioridades familiares y del negocio para evitar el declive de la organización y da luces sobre estrategias implementadas con éxito en la recuperación organizacional de una empresa familiar.

Most mature organizations face a major decline in performance at some time during their existence. For more than three decades, it has been suggested that the management practices that could cure a troubled company could have also kept it well. Inspired by this concept, this paper is proposing a preventive approach to early implementation of turnaround strategies as an alternative for otherwise traumatic rescue efforts, further along the downward spiral.

Corporate turnaround strategies and associated risks are integrated with a risk-based approach, along with a proactive decision-making process. The link between turnaround research, resource-based view, the sources of organizational decline, and the governance of organizational-decline-related risks – is explained.

The integrated model streamlines a preventive organizational process for considering the suitability of commonly used turnaround practices – for the non-crisis business routine of a mature company. By considering and adjusting the risks associated with such practices, it addresses risk aversion at the early stages of decline and determines the optimal sequence and timing of retrenchment and recovery activities. As such, it encourages mature companies to take actions for reducing their exposure to organizational decline. Accordingly, the model is named the “Anti-Aging” framework.

Empirical testing of the suitability of turnaround strategies for non-crisis situations is proposed as a direction for future research.

The Anti-Aging framework opens an opportunity for the senior management of a mature organization to respond earlier to organizational decline and avoid the trauma associated with otherwise more challenging conditions, for the benefit of all stakeholders.

The Anti-Aging framework proposes an innovative way of bridging the gap between the benefits of early implementation of turnaround strategies, and major obstacles faced by willing, traditional management teams of mature organizations.

Limited research on root cause analysis exists in educational leadership. Accurately diagnosing and detailing root causes—the why—of organizational failure, as is relatively common in other fields, could improve principals' ability to devise situationally- and contextually-responsive solutions in their improvement plans. In this study, the authors analyze school improvement plans to provide insight into how principals use root cause analysis to identify their and their school's failures as a way to respond strategically with goals and action steps.

In this exploratory qualitative study, the authors develop coding schemes and leverage an existing rubric of school improvement plan quality to assess what principals identify as root causes for 216 priorities across 111 school improvement plans.

The overall quality of root causes submitted by principals was low, typically between “beginning” and “developing” stages. The majority of root causes aligned with priorities and desired outcomes, but fewer than one-third had a systems focus. Moreover, less than half of root causes suggested that school leaders played a part in the organizational failures. The vast majority of plans instead identified teachers as the root cause, foundational fault or “why” of the problem.

An increased understanding of root cause analysis conceptualization and development seems necessary if improvement planning is to be a strategic response to a school's most serious organizational challenges. The predominant approach to school improvement planning has focused almost exclusively on how to succeed or become better with little investment in identifying root causes of organizational decline or failure. This initial study of root cause quality in school improvement planning is a key first step in critically thinking about how improvement is to be achieved when failure is unconceived.

Organisational decline has far-reaching, negative emotional and financial consequences for staff and customers, generating academic and practitioner interest in turnaround change processes. Despite numerous studies to identify the stages during turnarounds, the findings have been inconclusive. The purpose of this paper is to address the gap by defining these stages, or episodes. The characteristics of leaders affect the outcome of organisational change towards turnarounds. This paper focusses, therefore, on the leadership requirements during specific episodes, from the initial crisis to the full recovery phases.

A total of 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with executives from the public sector in South Africa who went through or were going through turnaround change processes and 3 with experts consulting to these organisations.

Contrary to current literature in organisational change, this study found that, in these turnaround situations, leadership in the form of either an individual CEO or director general was preferable to shared leadership or leadership distributed throughout the organisation. This study found four critical episodes that occurred during all the public service turnarounds explored, and established that key leadership requirements differ across these episodes. The study shows how these requirements relate to the current literature on transactional, transformational and authentic leadership.

The findings on the leadership requirements ultimately inform the selection and development of leaders tasked with high-risk turnaround change processes.

Four episodes with corresponding leadership requirements were established in the particular context of public sector turnaround change processes.

The field of organization development is fragmented and lacks a coherent and integrated theory and method for developing an effective organization. A 20-year action research program led to the development and evaluation of the Strategic Fitness Process (SFP) – a platform by which senior leaders, with the help of consultants, can have an honest, collective, and public conversation about their organization's alignment with espoused strategy and values. The research has identified a syndrome of six silent barriers to effectiveness and a dynamic theory of organizational effectiveness. Empirical evidence from the 20-year study demonstrates that SFP always enables truth to speak to power safely, and in a majority of cases enables senior teams to transform silent barriers into strengths, realign their organization's design and strategic management process with strategy and values, and in a few cases employ SFP as an ongoing learning and governance process. Implications for organization and leadership development and corporate governance are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine organisational learning (OL) and individual managerial learning and provide a comparative evaluation of the ability of each to generate organisational benefits.

A theoretical model of organisational learning is developed which was then longitudinally tested in four organisations using causal cognitive mapping methods.

The results demonstrate that organisational learning can increase shared managerial understandings that may lead to organisational benefits derived from higher degrees of unified action. However, the study also revealed potentially dysfunctional aspects of organisational learning such as cohesive managerial mental models inhibiting learning and organisational learning can be slower than individual learning.

The research methodology and analysis is innovative and unique in this context. The author recognises the need for further research.

There is benefit for managers in promoting organisational learning; however, care must be taken to recognise when this learning is dysfunctional.

Whilst there have been strong theoretical assertions that OL is crucial for organisational survival and success, this is one of the few longitudinal empirical studies to support these claims. Another contribution is the generation of empirical evidence derived from cognitive methods which have rarely been used in the organisational learning context.