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This paper aims to identify the archetypes of marketing mix standardization-adaptation in MNC subsidiaries and to examine the relationships between MNC subsidiary strategy, environment and performance through the theoretical lenses of fit and equifinality.

The authors use a mail survey to collect data from MNC subsidiary business units located in multiple countries. They apply a novel archetypal analysis method to identify the diverse archetypes of marketing mix standardization-adaptation in MNC subsidiaries. Finally, through cross-tabulation and regression analysis, they examine the relationships between MNC strategy, environment and performance.

They identify four archetypes of MNC subsidiary standardization-adaptation including a new archetype that is not recognized in the literature. This analysis finds partial support for both fit and equifinality, suggesting complementarity between the two theories.

The study could be extended with longitudinal data to examine the dynamics in MNC marketing mix strategy and performance in response to the changing business environment.

The findings suggest that MNC subsidiary managers could deploy a broader set of international marketing strategy configurations than those currently prescribed to enhance performance.

The authors use a novel configuration-based archetypal analysis method and extend the theoretical typology of international marketing strategies pursued by MNC subsidiaries. The partial support for both fit and equifinality expands the theoretical lens through which we can examine the relationships between MNC marketing strategy, environment and performance.

The purpose of this paper is to build a case against strategic equifinality. This is accomplished by employing hybrid ideal types approach and testing the effect of these strategic types on firm performance among service firms in the context of a developing country.

Data were collected via a self-administered survey. The final sample of this study encompassed 169 ideal type hybrid companies operating in the tourism industry in Mugla, Turkey.

The research findings indicate that prospectors and hybrid prospector-analyzer (PA) orientations outperform defenders based on several financial and non-financial performance measures. However, all other strategic orientations show identical performance.

The research findings imply that adopting a hybrid strategy is a viable option. In addition, SMEs in developing countries should exercise some caution when deciding to adopt a defender strategy.

This study uses hybrid ideal types for service firms in a dynamic business environment in a developing country.

Zahra and Covin (1995, p. 46) report that “the current interest in corporate entrepreneurship arises from its potential usefulness as a means for renewing established organizations and increasing their ability to compete in their chosen markets.” In addition, a number of researchers support a contention made by Schollhamer (1982, p. 82), that “corporate entrepreneurship is a key element for gaining competitive advantage and consequently greater financial strength” (Covin & Slevin, 1991; Peters & Waterman, 1982; Zahra & Covin, 1995). Interestingly, however, other researchers argue that corporate entrepreneurship can be risky and may be detrimental to a firm’s short-term financial performance (Burgelman & Scales, 1986; Fast, 1981).

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the organizational literature and improve the understanding of the slack and performance link by: examining the slack and performance relationship using a configurational approach and by considering equifinality and its possible effects on this relationship.

Using cluster analysis, ANCOVA, and means comparisons this study identifies different configurations of slack and their associated performance implications.

The results show that configurations with higher levels of slack outperform those with lower levels of slack suggesting a positive relationship between slack and firm performance. The findings also demonstrate that alternative configurations of slack can result in similar levels of performance suggesting the existence of equifinality in this relationship.

This study contributes to prior research by moving beyond traditional linear and contingency views of slack and considering a configurational approach. An important contribution of this study is that while level of slack may be important it appears that how the various types of slack are bundled also serves as an important factor in firm outcomes and should be examined by future researchers.

The results indicate that managerial attention should be paid to not only identifying appropriate levels and types of slack for the organization but also to appropriate ways to bundle theses resources.

This study provides an important contribution to the literature by determining if certain slack bundles result in higher levels of performance and if there are multiple ways of bundling slack resources that result in similar performance outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of different configurational archetypes of strategy and strategic management accounting and to appraise how management accounting's horizontal and vertical alignment with strategy can facilitate performance.

The study deploys a holistic configurational approach to examine the relationship between strategy, strategic management accounting, and performance. Configurations are derived empirically, using an inductive approach, from a sample of 109 manufacturing companies.

The observed configurations (i.e. “analytics”, “blue‐chips”, “first movers”, “domestic protectors”, “laggards and socialism relics”) constitute varying levels of performance and varying degrees of fit. Support is provided for the equifinality proposition that different strategic and structural alternatives are associated with similar performance levels. Equivocal support is provided for the configurational proposition that internally consistent configurations are associated with higher performance.

The variables examined do not fully capture the complexity of pertinent configurations. Limitations revolve around application of the cluster analytical technique and its reliance on researcher judgement.

The study's most important message concerns the manner in which it highlights the fallibility of assuming a singular relationship between strategic choices and management accounting system design. While prior research has tended to offer fragmented and unidirectional management accounting prescriptions, the authors raise the notion of how key variables can interact to create an effective organization.

The paper breaks new ground by showing that multiple designs of strategy and strategic management accounting may be equally effective in a particular context. This finding challenges much traditional contingency‐based modelling in management accounting.

The product‐process matrix of Hayes and Wheelwright is widely known for its prescriptive managerial guidance. Yet, most empirical studies have found no support for its performance assertions or have even contradicted them. The purpose of this paper is to propose a contingency theoretical generalization and extension that accommodates both the performance implications of the original model and the best‐known departures from it.

The authors test their extended model with survey data from 151 manufacturing plants.

The authors' model extends the process dimension of the original model into a specificity dimension that depends not only on the layout of the process but also on the flexibilities that can be achieved with advanced manufacturing technologies. Similarly, the product dimension, which was operationalized as product variety in the original matrix, is generalized to the complexity of the production task, where product variety is only one element among others. Furthermore, the authors extend the model to accommodate also the dynamism of the task environment.

In addition to the testing of the extended model, the study provides openings for further theoretical development. In particular, the findings demonstrate the value of the contingency theoretical concept of suboptimal equifinality to operations management research.

The study updates the product‐process matrix to match the modern industrial reality and thus enables the continued application of this important operations strategy prescription.

The study integrates insights from previous research in operations management and contingency theory into a generalization and extension of the product‐process matrix.

The research aims to identify the impacts of strategic knowledge (SK) and information technology capabilities (ITC) on innovation ambidexterity (IAM) through business process performance (BPP).

The research framework is developed based on the theoretical grounding of resource orchestration (RO) (SK and ITC) impacts on IAM. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used to test the research framework on a sample of 441 responses from Brazilian firms.

The results suggest that SK and ITC facilitate BPP, resulting in IAM. The findings also suggested differences in path coefficients in the SK and ITC of the business value generation process framework under environmental turbulence (ET). Finally, a strong SK of ITC is especially important in enabling BPP and IAM in large firms. Another case of most manufacturing and service firms demonstrated that both SK and ITC are essential to impacting IAM through BPP mediation.

The findings provide insight into how professionals can think and plan carefully to align SK and ITC for achieving balanced innovation and improving BPP in the dynamic business environment.

The study establishes a relationship between SK, ITC, BPP and IAM. The study developed novel constructs of SK and ITC and tested them, which gives new insight and links among the constructs.

The European Innovation Scoreboard is an important indicator of innovation performance across European Member States. Despite its wide application, the indicator fails to highlight the interlinkages that exist among innovation measures and focuses primarily on the linear relationship between the individual measures and the predicted outcome. This study aims to address this gap by applying a novel technique, the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), to shed light on these interlinkages and highlight the complexity of the determinants underlying innovation performance.

The authors adopted a configurational approach based on fsQCA that is implemented on innovation performance data from European Member States for the period 2011–2018. The approach is based on non-linearity and allows for the analysis of interlinkages based on equifinality, that is, the model recognises that there are different potential paths of high and low innovation performance. In addition, the approach allows for asymmetric relations, where a low innovation outcome is not the exact inverse of that which leads to high innovation outcome.

The results clearly indicate that innovation outcomes are not based on simple linear relations. Thus, to reap the desired effects from investments in innovation inputs, the complex set of indicators on which innovation performance is based should be taken into consideration. The results clearly indicate the elements of equifinality and asymmetric relations. Different paths lead to high innovation performance and low innovation performance.

The method applied to investigate the determinants of innovation performance is the prime original factor of this study. Thus, the study contributes to literature by highlighting the complexity involved in understanding innovation. By recognising and attempting to detangle this complexity, this study will assist not just academics but also policymakers in designing the necessary measures required to reach this important outcome for a country’s competitive edge.

This chapter develops a theoretical model using the equifinality perspective to connect multiple systems of HR practices to alternative organizational structure types. We argue that firms following an exploitation strategy maintain competitive advantage through high levels of efficiency and reliability in production and delivery of existing products or services. Firms following an exploration strategy maintain a competitive advantage through continuous innovation and knowledge exchange and combination. Hence, organizations are more likely to successfully execute either strategy by implementing an HR system that would create the organizational structural characteristics that support the workforce requirements of the chosen strategy.

This study aims to examine the entrepreneurship profiles of migrants and refugees relying on a neo-configurational approach that increases understanding of causal complexity, equifinality and causal asymmetry patterns to high entrepreneurial intentions in the two groups.

Using a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method, the authors analysed 52 respondents – migrants and refugees. The findings show the existence of equifinality in which different configurations can lead to high and low entrepreneurial intentions, underlying that traumatic experiences have a major role in entrepreneurial intention. It also demonstrates that core conditions are associated with refugee’s configurations and causal asymmetry. The cross-sectional character of this research impedes the searching for a better causal relationship. The lack of studies that approach the subject of refugees makes it challenging to develop a robust theory in this sense.

The paper highlights five main configurations – two related to migrants’ profile and three related to refugees’ profile – that enable expanding the current knowledge and practices to better customize practices to increase entrepreneurial intention.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research using a configurational approach to explore migrant and refugee entrepreneurship intention profiles.