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Article
Publication date: 21 June 2019

Mark Lehrer and Stefan Schmid

The purpose of this paper is to develop the hitherto unexplored concept of strategic discipline.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop the hitherto unexplored concept of strategic discipline.

Design/methodology/approach

Three fairly iconic firms of the Germanic Mittelstand (ALDI, Stihl and Hipp) are examined. The meaning and relevance of strategic discipline is derived.

Findings

Intuitively, strategic discipline may seem like the antipode to the much-discussed concept of pivoting. In fact, strategic discipline is shown to be the natural corollary of strategic pivoting as a successive phase in a company’s development.

Research limitations/implications

In fast-moving or fast-changing environments, strategic discipline may be inappropriate. Furthermore, the exercise of strategic discipline can restrain growth. Once firms have attained a certain size and saturation of the market, the desire for further growth may entail a willingness to loosen the hold of strategic discipline.

Practical implications

Strategic discipline can enable firms to avoid falling into common strategic pitfalls. From this paper, the authors distill three basic dimensions of strategic discipline: cultivating simplicity, resisting short-term temptations and focusing on implementability.

Originality/value

The success of firms depends as much on the strategic choices they make as upon the strategic choices they decide not to make. Most prior research has focused on the visible strategy choices companies have made a lot more than on the practically invisible history of strategic choices that firms have not made. This contribution does the opposite, filling an evident gap.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 41 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 11 October 2018

Ping Wang and Joan Mileski

This study aims to promote strategic maritime management as a new emerging discipline to foster research in strategic maritime issues.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to promote strategic maritime management as a new emerging discipline to foster research in strategic maritime issues.

Design/methodology/approach

An existing academic discipline maturity model is adapted by including four phases of dynamic evolutionary paths to evaluate the phase of maturity of a research discipline. The model is validated by means of two matured disciplines: strategic management and maritime economics.

Findings

It is found that the current research of strategic maritime management is at a phase of emergence of discipline and ready to move to the maturity phase. It is also found that the evolution of the path of strategic maritime management resembles the early evolution path of strategic management but lags 30 years behind. Future research directions of strategic maritime management can be referred to the research streams in the maturity phase of strategic management.

Research limitations/implications

The adapted academic discipline maturity model brings in the longitudinal and dynamic perspectives of the evolution of an academic discipline, which helps maritime strategists identify gaps and opportunities and evaluate the appropriateness of applying a strategic management paradigm to a specific research topic.

Originality/value

The adapted academic discipline maturity model brings in the longitudinal and dynamic perspective of the evolution of an academic discipline, which helps maritime strategists define the gaps and opportunities in strategic maritime management research.

Book part
Publication date: 1 August 2004

Michael A Hitt, Brian K Boyd and Dan Li

The field of strategic management has advanced substantially in both theory and empirical research over the last 25 years. However, there are “cracks” beginning to occur in the…

Abstract

The field of strategic management has advanced substantially in both theory and empirical research over the last 25 years. However, there are “cracks” beginning to occur in the methodology “dam.” To grow as a discipline, strategic management research must meet and deal effectively with methodological challenges in several areas. We address these challenges in each of the following areas: research questions, data collection, construct measurement, analysis of endogenous relationships, and applications. We present a concise view of the future suggesting ways in which these challenges can be overcome and explain the benefits to the field.

Details

Research Methodology in Strategy and Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-235-1

Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2014

Moses Acquaah

The purpose of this study is to review the literature on strategic management in Africa with special emphasis on how strategy constructs have been measured and present a roadmap…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to review the literature on strategic management in Africa with special emphasis on how strategy constructs have been measured and present a roadmap to help improve strategy research in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis of empirical research on strategic management published in journals using data from Africa from 2000 to 2013 is conducted to examine construct measurement practices.

Findings

The findings indicate that the average sample sizes in strategy research in Africa is not large as strategy research in general, and have low statistical power. While the studies rely heavily on single-indicator measures, there were also several studies using scale or multiple measures that report reliabilities.

Research limitations

Limitations of the research include small number of studies used, inability to examine journal effects’ of the findings due to few numbers of papers from many of the journals, and lack of examination of the influence of the context and topical areas of the articles on the use of the construct measurement techniques.

Practical implications

The study provides information about the use of construct measurement techniques and power analysis in strategy research in Africa. It further encourages the use of larger sample sizes, the examination of power, and more focus on variables which allow the assessment of reliabilities and validity.

Originality and value

Little is known about construct measurement practices of the empirical research in and about Africa in the discipline of strategic management. This chapter builds on extant research on construct measurement issues in strategic management research, but with the unique value-added contribution of focusing on the African environment where the discipline is beginning to take hold.

Details

Advancing Research Methodology in the African Context: Techniques, Methods, and Designs
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-489-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 23 December 2005

Luca Zan

This article reflects on the lack of focus on history characterizing the strategic management field. Reasons and consequences of such a peculiar situation need to be pointed out…

Abstract

This article reflects on the lack of focus on history characterizing the strategic management field. Reasons and consequences of such a peculiar situation need to be pointed out in order to develop a better history-grounded research approach inside the field.

In terms of (the missing) history of thought, a fear of history seems to characterize the field, for a more aware historical understanding of strategic management and practices is likely to question not only notions and concepts, but the very perception of the field as a practically oriented discipline. A lack of historical reflection is usually preferred, wherein strategic management seems to come out of the blue, ignoring its inner evolution over time, and the relationships with previous bodies of knowledge in the business realm, such as for instance administrative sciences and accounting.

In terms of the history of practice the situation is – if possible – even worse, with an obscure understanding of contexts and features of managerial practices in the past. Archival research is called for here, drawing on two research projects on pre-industrial revolution context (the Spanish Royal Tobacco Factory in the XVIII century, and the Venice Arsenal in the turn of the XVI century), in order to examine how prior management practices can influence and inform our present understanding of the discipline of strategic management. A less simplistic view of managing practices in the past emerges, which challenges the commonly held cycle of innovation and discontinuity perpetually alleged in the strategic management field to legitimize its own existence as a research area.

While strategic management tools show a potential contribution to historical understanding in this archival research, a more historically aware understanding of the evolution of the field is thus intended as a way to falsify strategic management theory.

Details

Strategy Process
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-340-2

Article
Publication date: 21 November 2016

Thomas Kenworthy and Jaydeep Balakrishnan

The purpose of this paper is to analyze more than three decades of theory testing published in leading operations management (OM) journals.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze more than three decades of theory testing published in leading operations management (OM) journals.

Design/methodology/approach

This piece examines the amount of theory testing, the extent to which theories are tested multiple times, and the disciplinary origins of the theories that are tested.

Findings

The analysis revealed that empirical OM researchers have increasingly responded to demands for more theory-driven knowledge over time. OM researchers are developing and using a wide array of domestic theories to understand empirical data. The examination also revealed a substantial focus on theory borrowed from other scientific fields.

Originality/value

The findings here suggest that OM is clearly a maturing discipline. As the discipline matures, it is important to consider to what extent borrowed theories and frameworks can offer value to OM. A preliminary vetting model is advanced in order to critically assess foreign theory. It is hoped that future screening promotes only the most useful non-domestic theory, thereby ensuring sufficient journal space for domestic theory and resulting in effective solutions to the pressing, practical problems of the OM field.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 54 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 December 2015

Robert Chapman Wood, Daniel S. Levine, Gerald A. Cory and Daniel R. Wilson

This chapter introduces evolutionary neuroscience and its organizational applications, especially its usefulness for motivation analysis in macrolevel disciplines such as strategic

Abstract

This chapter introduces evolutionary neuroscience and its organizational applications, especially its usefulness for motivation analysis in macrolevel disciplines such as strategic management. Macrolevel organizational disciplines have mostly lacked a theory of motivation beyond self-interest assumptions, which fail to explain many important macrolevel organizational phenomena. Evolutionary neuroscience provides an empirically grounded, parsimonious perspective on the human brain and brain evolution which helps clarify the profound complexities of motivation. Evolutionary neuroscience’s theory of the physiological causes of self- and other-interested motivation can support better macrolevel motivation analysis and unify disparate, potentially conflicting motivation theories. Examples are offered of how neuroscience-based motivation theory can support more comprehensive strategic management analysis of competences and competitive advantage.

Details

Organizational Neuroscience
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-430-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2018

Krassimir Todorov and Yusaf H. Akbar

Etihad Rail Company is planning to implement a mega infrastructure project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They have included freight rail system as part of the 2030 Abu Dhabi…

Abstract

Case synopsis

Etihad Rail Company is planning to implement a mega infrastructure project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They have included freight rail system as part of the 2030 Abu Dhabi economic vision and the UAE national Charter 2021. The plan is to link the UAE’s main cities via the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) border. This ambitious project presents a formidable task for the Etihad Rail Company and the region as there is no previous railway history of this kind. The project requires coordination of rail standards from East of Ghwefatet and the Northern Emirates cities and will ultimately be combined with the Western Saudi Arabia borders. The transportation system in the region will be improved greatly with the introduction of a cargo and passenger railway system in addition to the current road system and other means of transportation. The Etihad railway network is the first infrastructure project in the UAE and it will bring economic, strategic, social and environmental changes to the country. This case aims to present an overview of the strategic management dimensions of the Etihad Rail and the processes involved. This case will analyze whether Etihad’s top management team should make a decision to focus only on freight rail or to include passenger transportation as well. Many questions will be addressed in this paper such as the following: What steps should Etihad take in order to start passenger rail? Will economical, strategic and environmental aspects affect it? And if so, how? The case will focus on the analysis of the different aspects of Etihad Rail by using strategic management tools as guidance for implementation and determining its success factors.

Details

Strategic Management in Emerging Markets
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78754-166-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2012

Trine Susanne Johansen and Sophie Esmann Andersen

Integration is a key component within marketing‐ and corporate communication. Benefits include synergetic representations, increased credibility and transparency. However…

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Abstract

Purpose

Integration is a key component within marketing‐ and corporate communication. Benefits include synergetic representations, increased credibility and transparency. However, integration may be problematic. With the purpose of re‐conceptualizing integration, this paper aims to discuss how organizational self‐understanding and self‐presentation are challenged by consumer resistance as integrative communication practices prevent organizations from fully engaging in meaningful stakeholder dialogue.

Design/methodology/approach

Framed by a cross‐disciplinary review of integration as a concept, Arla Foods' “ONE” is analyzed by way of a qualitative content analysis as an exemplary case of integrated communication. Subsequently, the case is approached from a critical consumer perspective, drawing on empirical studies of consumer responses to and conversations with Arla Foods.

Findings

An alternative approach to integration is presented replacing the notion of “one voice, one sound, one story” with an emersion of the organization into consumer narratives and market cultures. Integration is re‐conceptualized as moving from an intra‐organizational perspective towards a co‐creative perspective.

Research limitations/implications

There is a need for further re‐conceptualization of integrated communication in order to develop a theoretical framework and definition that articulates a co‐creative view on integration.

Practical implications

Re‐articulating integration based on co‐creation carries different potential consequences for communication management, e.g. listening to consumer voices, self‐reflection and co‐development.

Originality/value

The original contribution lies in re‐conceptualizing integration as moving from an intra‐organizational perspective towards a co‐creative perspective with both practical and research implications.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 May 2011

Helle Kryger Aggerholm, Sophie Esmann Andersen and Christa Thomsen

The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualise employer branding in sustainable organizations at the intersection of branding, strategic human resource management (HRM) and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualise employer branding in sustainable organizations at the intersection of branding, strategic human resource management (HRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an outline of current conceptualisations of employer branding, the paper discusses the strategic potentials of merging corporate branding processes, strategic HRM and CSR into a theoretical framework for reconceptualising employer branding as co‐created processes and sustainable employer‐employee relationships.

Findings

When organizations adapt strategies for sustainable development (including CSR), it affects how to approach stakeholder relations and organizational processes, including the employee‐employer relationship and employer branding processes. However, current employer branding conceptualisations do not comply with such changed corporate conditions. The suggested framework reconceptualises employer branding as an integrated part of a CSR strategy, thus offering a new way of approaching employer branding as supporting sustainable organizational development and long‐term employer‐employee relationships.

Practical implications

The proposed conceptualisation of employer branding implies a shift in focus from end result to process. As part of the process, organizations need to approach employees as corporate partners in order to co‐create employer‐employee values.

Originality/value

This paper suggests and discusses a new conceptualisation of employer branding, which appreciates co‐creation and employer‐employee dialogue as strategic processes for supporting sustainable organizational development.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

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