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Conventional wisdom says stakeholders matter to managers as they develop strategy – but do they? If so, what type of stakeholders matter and what can managers do?

An in-depth exploration of five deep case studies where senior executives embarked upon strategy development. Analysis revealed five significant factors for managing stakeholders effectively.

These findings include: determining the nature of a stakeholder, separating those who care about the strategy and its implementation from those who do not but still could impact it; addressing stakeholders at an appropriate level; considering internal as well as external stakeholders and attending to the stakeholders’ responses to proposed strategies and the consequent dynamics created.

(1) The research was conducted with senior managers, and the authors detail the difficulties involved in doing so within the introduction and (2) The research was specific to the healthcare sector, but has relevance to all strategy makers.

This paper explores five factors and their implications and suggests techniques to address them that are well established and available to promote the effective strategic management of stakeholders.

Empirical research in strategy formation with elites is rare because it is difficult to gain access and trust. Empirical research in stakeholder studies is even rarer. By combining the two elements, the authors gather and interpret a unique dataset.

This study examined the relationship between 130 firm's business investment strategy and their firm performance, as measured by return on investment (ROI) and earnngs per share (EPS). ROI was used as the accounting performance measure and EPS was used as the market‐based performance measure. Results indicate that the accounting performance measure (ROI) may be more appropriate for firms pursuing share‐increasing and turnaround business investment strategies. Whereas both accounting (ROI) and market‐based (EPS) measures may be more appropriate for firms pursuing less risky profit‐oriented business investment strategies.

This chapter develops a conceptual understanding on open strategy through a systematic literature review. With a sample of 148 publications, the authors examine the key debates in the field of open strategy and identify a number of limitations such as an excessive definitional focus and a lack of distinct empirical analysis of research in the field. The author’s analysis clarifies open strategy by classifying its main characteristics and harnessing the different aspects together in a comprehensive definition. In doing so, the authors examine how the underpinnings of open strategy can be conceptualized in order to provide a research agenda for how future empirical investigations into open strategy could progress our understanding of an evolving practice.

Strategic management is traditionally seen as an exclusive managerial task rather than inclusive where accountability is reserved for top managers. However, contemporary strategy management practices increasingly pay attention to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) by engaging with broader internal and external stakeholders via more open business models such as ecosystems. Hence, central to our examination is the concept of openness disposition, which in the context of strategic management refers to the tendency of individuals, collectives, and managers to make strategy transparent, participatory, and/or inclusive, or look for closure. While openness in strategy is regarded as a positive means of contemporary management, fostering diversity, creativity, innovation, and empowerment, there are some researched downsides too. The purpose of this chapter is to address the openness puzzle in strategy and gain a deeper understanding of the dilemmas of bottom-up strategy initiatives, and investigate the associated dilemmas, if any in the context of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We contribute to addressing the performative effects of the dynamic expansion and contraction in openness within the SME strategy process while using the concept of openness dilemmas, tensions, and disposition. Using the Management Control Theory, this chapter will combine theory with SME practitioners’ experiences of bottom-up strategy initiatives to increase EDI in their organisations. Based on findings that emerged from a four-year longitudinal multiple case study research with 10 European SMEs, we found that bottom-up strategy exercises are more interactive. They consider a greater number of views, increase legitimacy, and EDI at the workplace, and yield more process benefits, but are time-consuming and difficult to organise that require special attention to the capability, reciprocity, and credibility dimensions.

The concept of core competence underlies competence-based competition and competence-based management. When new firms get established, due to resource constraints, managers have to make conscious decisions to develop certain competencies and not others. In order to have all competencies that are required to be successful, firms look for strategic alliances and to leverage their partner firms’ competencies. In this paper, we develop a contingency model for firms that have to go for strategic alliances to explain which core competencies should be developed internally, which core competencies could be from the alliance partner, which type of alliance will be suitable and whether the firm should choose a short-term, long-term or permanent alliance. Using Hamel’s (1994) generic core competencies and the type of market (industrial or individual), we suggest which type of strategic alliance should be chosen for leveraging a partner’s competencies.

This paper aims to identify the sources of innovation in the current business environment of China. With the set target of transforming China into an innovative society by 2020, the Chinese government has taken dramatic measures to foster the nation’s innovation capability. Whether this Chinese model of promoting innovation has been successful and can be sustainable are controversial issues which need to be analyzed from an academic perspective. In recent years, there have been successful cases of innovation driven by grassroots entrepreneurs, especially in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. Therefore, it is time to analyze their success factors from the perspectives of both corporate strategy and government policy.

The methodology used in this research is a comparative case analysis, and several high-profile cases in China’s ICT industry have been selected for this comparative study. Information used in the analysis comes from publicly available sources such as business school case studies and industry and news media reports. The authors have been following the evolution of China’s ICT industry for more than a decade; insights from their prior research and knowledge gained through industry contacts are also used in the analysis.

Generally speaking, the types of innovation in China’s ICT industry can be categorized into a top-down or a bottom-up approach. For the top-down approach of innovation driven by the government, the authors analyzed the case of the Chinese government’s effort to build an industry value chain through fostering the Chinese indigenous third-generation mobile communications standard time division–synchronous code division multiple access. In comparison, the authors use several success cases, including the ecosystem built around the highly successful XiaoMi mobile phone and Tencent’s mobile portal WeChat, as it showcases of the bottom-up approach of innovation driven by grassroots entrepreneurship. The comparison of these two approaches suggests that massive government-sponsored projects are unlikely to generate genuine innovation in the highly competitive and dynamic ICT sector. The government’s role should be to foster entrepreneurship and to create a fair business environment.

This research uses the method of comparative case studies to identify the source of innovation in a highly dynamic and uncertain business environment. Findings of this study shed light on the government policy toward innovation in the ICT industry and on the business firms’ strategy on innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigates how organizational learning, absorptive capacity, cultural integration, specialization of the acquired firm and characteristics of transferred knowledge impact innovation performance subsequent to overseas acquisitions.

Survey responses from 222 Chinese multinational enterprises engaged in overseas acquisitions.

Differences between acquiring and acquired firms’ capabilities, while having a positive direct influence, suppress the positive impact of organizational learning and absorptive capacity, suggesting that multinationals require some basic level of capabilities to appropriate value from overseas acquisitions.

This paper investigates the impact of knowledge-seeking overseas acquisition of Chinese multinationals on innovation performance, as this appears to be the primary motive for making such acquisitions.

Knowledge-seeking overseas acquisition should be based upon the absorptive capacity of the acquiring firm and complementarity between both firms. In knowledge-seeking overseas acquisitions, establishing an effective organizational learning mechanism is necessary for improving innovation performance.

This paper reports on the behaviour and innovation performance of Chinese multinationals through analysis of primary data.

This paper aims to argue for a China transmuting to fast overtake USA in innovation based on the extrapolation of past statistical trend. Case studies in self and co-innovation are provided so that the documentation of the dynamics of knowledge flows and a brain-linguistic explanation is given as to why, in the future, the Chinese are likely to lead in innovation.

This paper illustrates a multi-method approach in research for Chinese Management Studies. First, the sociological background of China is highlighted (Mao Zedong’s aphorism). Second, insights from OECD patent database are utilized. Third, the use of comparative research and development case-studies: self-innovation (Chinese) and co-innovation (contrasting Japanese versus French cooperation with Chinese). Fourth, is the inter-disciplinarily approach wherein the assimilating of knowledge is related to recent advances in brain research. Fifth, emphasizing the different levels in organizing for innovation: national (China), organizational (SOE), group processes and person-to-person, synapses within individual brains.

Statistical trend suggests that China is transforming and is on the path toward overtaking the USA in innovation. When will this happen? Using extrapolation as an indication, China may surpass the USA by the 50 per cent mark within the next decade. Insights into the processes of self-innovation and co-innovation are provided. Authors argue for a brain-linguistic explanation (Hebb, 1949) for further understanding why China will eventually lead ceteris paribus innovation, a function of the human brain.

This paper highlights on the basis of statistical trends (using OECD database) a rising, innovative China that is poised to overtake the USA in the near future. A major contribution is in providing insights of interactional processes required to foster innovation: self and co-innovation (comparing Japanese and French). The critical brain-linguistic role as the rationale as to why the Chinese are given a greater, more developed brain power that will eventually surpass the West in innovation.

The purpose of this study is to both understand the motives for volunteering in local government (a strong/structured context) and determine how such motivation and other demographics interact with organisational contexts to influence volunteering outcomes.

The study adopts a functional approach to volunteerism. The Volunteer Functions Inventory is modified to better assess the motivations of elected local government volunteers. The responses of 152 Maltese local councillors were used to answer four research questions empirically.

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the introduction of a seventh VFI dimension, namely the political function. The study provides evidence that local councillors who received greater amounts of functionally relevant benefits reported more satisfaction and a stronger intention to continue volunteering in local government. The aggregated effect of multiple motives as well as other person-based determinants (marital status and education) produced a significant impact on volunteering outcomes in this strong/structured situational context of this public sector environment.

This study contributes to a better understanding and assessment of the motivations of elected local government volunteers. It addresses practical recommendations for sustaining civil society, while acknowledging the potential and contribution of volunteers with various demographic characteristics.