Generic Strategy and Performance: an Empirical Test of the Miles and Snow Typology

Previous research has considered the strategy-performance relationship in industries of relatively low degrees of dynamism and volatility. This study empirically tests the Miles and Snow typology with a dynamic, growing and volatile service industry. Results support earlier research and suggest that, considering catalogue and mail-order houses (SIC-5961), reactors did not perform as well as businesses adopting other generic strategies. However, prospectors experienced significantly higher levels of revenue growth than other businesses. Further, analysers were significantly more profitable than businesses adopting other strategies. These results suggest that combination strategies are a viable means for sustaining competitive advantage.     

The impact of organisational alignment on the effectiveness of firms’ sustainability strategic performance measurement systems: an empirical analysis

Sustainability is becoming a mainstream issue for many organisations. A limited number of studies exist, however, on integrating sustainability into daily practices. Indeed, most of the research to date addresses only the definition and motivation for companies’ interest in environmental and social concerns. This paper contributes to the research on integrating sustainability into companies’ daily activities both directly and indirectly. It analyses the extent to which top management’s commitment to sustainability directly affects structural and social alignment and the effectiveness of measurement systems that monitor sustainability strategic performance and indirectly impacts firms’ social and environmental performance. Based on a quantitative analysis of survey responses from 405 large European companies, this paper documents the limited impact of social alignment to firms’ social and environmental performance. More specifically, the results challenge the diffuse belief that the alignment and commitment of middle managers to sustainability strategies as defined by the upper echelons have a relevant impact on the company’s social and environmental performance.     

Does merger & acquisition (M&A) strategy matter? A contingency perspective

This paper takes a contingency approach to investigate whether there are market performance variations for different types of M&A. Eight different types of M&A are identified in a typology based upon the conjunction of three contextual dimensions: external environmental, acquiring firm level strategy and CEO motivation. Drawing upon a sample of 1,926 domestic UK deals we evaluate the typology to determine whether the financial markets distinguish between different types of M&A. Results indicate significant market and risk-adjusted performance differences by M&A type. These confirm that a contingency approach to M&A performance has merit. We suggest that the proposed integrated typology, that recognizes the importance of multiple aspects of strategic fit to M&A performance, addresses the paradox that M&A practitioners continue to pursue deals despite widespread acceptance that they result in high failure rates.     

Integrating the Content and Process of Strategic MIS Planning with Competitive Strategy*

This paper presents a framework that links strategic MIS planning and business strategy and relates it to competitive advantage and company performance. To achieve this objective, the paper first delineates the dimensions of strategic MIS planning, focusing on both content and process issues. The notion of fit within dimensions, between sets of dimensions (process and content), and between MIS planning and competitive strategy is also introduced. Next, employing the Miles-Snow typology of business strategy, the paper posits normative differences in the dimensions of strategic MIS planning along different business (or competitive) strategies. The implications of our study for both decision makers and scholars are discussed. Propositions that tie competitive strategy, strategic MIS planning, and company financial performance are then presented. The paper concludes by providing direction for future research.     

A Resource‐Based View of Strategic IT Alignment: How Knowledge Sharing Creates Competitive Advantage

A critical decision problem for top management, and the focus of this study, is whether the CEO (chief executive officer) and CIO (chief information officer) should commit their time to formal planning with the expectation of producing an information technology (IT)‐based competitive advantage. Using the perspective of the resource‐based view, a model is presented that examines how strategic IT alignment can produce enhanced organizational strategies that yield competitive advantage. One hundred sixty‐one CIOs provided data using a postal survey. Results supported seven of the eight hypotheses. They showed that information intensity is an important antecedent to strategic IT alignment, that strategic IT alignment is best explained by multiple constructs which operationalize both process and content measures, and that alignment between the IT plan and the business plan is significantly related to the use of IT for competitive advantage. Study results raise questions about the effect of CEO participation, which appears to be the weak link in the process, and also about the perception of the CIO on the importance of CEO involvement. The paper contributes to our understanding of how knowledge sharing in the alignment process contributes to the creation of superior organizational strategies, provides a framework of the alignment‐performance relationship, and furnishes several new constructs.     

Managing stakeholder pressures: Toward a typology of corporate social performance profiles

Why do some firms ignore some stakeholders while courting others? We propose two key drivers of firms' social postures and derive from this analysis a novel typology of corporate social performance (CSP) profiles. Although we expect that other drivers exist, we argue that a useful starting point for understanding any given CSP profile is to consider the pressure exerted on an organization by its stakeholders in conjunction with its level of resource endowment. Our preliminary typology identifies six distinct CSP profiles that reflect different opportunities and risks for stakeholder management: the CSP Vanguard, Opportunist, Generalist, Minimalist, Specialist, and Laggard. All else equal, the first two CSP profiles imply more nonmarket opportunities than risk, whereas we expect Laggards and Specialists to face greater risk in their responses to social and environmental issues. According to our framework, Generalists and Minimalists probably operate between these two extremes of business risk. Our conceptual analysis seeks to advance research and practice for more strategic stakeholder management.     

A Study of the Role Played by Manufacturing Strategic Objectives and Capabilities in Understanding the Relationship between Porter's Generic Strategies and Business Performance

An appropriate alignment between business strategy, manufacturing strategic objectives and manufacturing capabilities reportedly influences business performance positively. However, few papers empirically analyse this proposition for the case of Porter's generic strategies of cost leadership and differentiation, and none jointly considers all four elements. This paper integrates strategies, capabilities and performance in a single model and proposes that both manufacturing competitive priorities and capabilities, articulated in terms of cost and flexibility, are essential for explaining the link between generic business strategies and business commercial and financial performance. Within this analytic framework, we test whether companies that emphasize one business strategy rather than another achieve a better alignment and superior performance. The analyses conducted with a sample of 148 Spanish manufacturers provide general support for these propositions and contribute to a deeper understanding of the role played by functional strategies in understanding the outcomes of business strategy.     

A Comprehensive Model for Measuring the Potential Impact of Information Technology on Organizational Strategic Variables*

The existing literature on the impact of information technology (IT) does not include rigorous theory building or empirical studies. This research seems to be the first comprehensive investigation towards the development of an empirically validated comprehensive model for understanding the potential impact of IT on organizational strategic variables. More specifically, organizational and industrial variables that appeared to be affected by IT are identified, measured, and operationalized in the form of a comprehensive model. This study is based on structured interviews with a carefully selected sample of 31 strategic managers who had experience using IT for strategic decisions. In addition, the variables included in the model are well grounded in the information systems literature. The variables are then empirically validated and their reliabilities critically tested. A comprehensive model is derived from these validated variables. The model is a first step towards measuring the overall potential impact of IT on an organization. The model can also be used to gauge IT's potential impact on individual strategic variables. A set of hypotheses is also presented for future research. The hypotheses primarily relate to the impact of IT on organizational strategic performance. The model provides an empirically validated foundation for testing of such hypotheses.     

Organizational Form and Strategic Alignment in a Local Authority: A Preliminary Exploration using Fuzzy Clustering

Configurational theories assume that organizational form has important implications for the degree of alignment between top and middle management on strategic priorities. Taken in combination, the structure, process and environment of an organization are thought to have a deep pervasive influence on top management’s attempts to achieve the coordination and control required to attain organizational goals. The preliminary analysis described in this article employs fuzzy c-means clustering to explore the relationship between middle managers’ perceptions of organizational form and strategic alignment within a large local authority. The results illustrate that the clustering of managers’ perceptions of organizational structure, process and environment reflect three organizational archetypes: machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy and professional adhocracy. Statistically significant differences in the degree of strategic alignment between each of these organizational forms are then examined to validate the established clustering. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.     

Digital orientation: Conceptualization and operationalization of a new strategic orientation

Although there is ample evidence that digital technologies are strategically important for value creation, extant literature lacks holistic concepts that capture an organization’s strategic orientation concerning digital innovation and transformation initiatives. This study integrates recent digitalization themes with IT business alignment research to conceptualize a new strategic orientation construct: digital orientation. The construct is manifested in four dimensions which we operationalize for computer-aided text analysis. We validate the construct based on 6498 shareholder letters from large US firms over 16 years. Building upon the resource-based view, we validate the digital orientation construct by linking it to firm performance. Our findings advance the literature on strategic orientations and bring the domains of strategy and information systems closer together. The novel digital orientation construct and the validated measurement instrument lead to many new research opportunities.     

Constructing a typology for networks of firms

Companies are now economically bound to collaborate with other enterprises, forming horizontal networks that are generally goal-based and are of a limited duration. This article specifically addresses networks of industrial small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Thanks to a five-years study, some of the main characteristics of such networks will be clarified. One upshot from the experiment was that such networks are rarely guided by formal and deliberate strategies, and that their evolutions and mutations cannot be forecast with the usual strategic planning tools. This paper presents a formal framework to analysis and design the trajectories of networks of firms, with the aim of facilitating the strategic guidance of the network. First, approaches dealing with strategic evolution are presented. Next, organizational trajectories are examined, based on the relative situation of activities and competencies between the companies inside the network. Then, a typology of SMEs networks is given and illustrated by industrial cases. Finally, a formal frame based on the typology and on the degree of achievement of the network (as expressed by a six-levels Maslow's pyramid) is presented, which allows location and guidance of SMEs networks according to their needs. As an illustration a real network trajectory is also given.     

Performance Metric Portfolios: A Framework and Empirical Analysis

The widespread adoption of supply chain management principles suggests that managers recognize the importance of evaluating operational decisions holistically. However, it is often difficult to link specific operational practices to strategic level outcomes and in turn to corporate financial results. This presents problems for both managers and academic researchers attempting to justify the often high cost of operational improvement initiatives in terms of objective accounting metrics. This study provides evidence that it is possible to demonstrate linkages between carefully chosen portfolios of tactical, strategic, and financial metrics. Survey data from 118 manufacturers are used to evaluate hypotheses linking multilevel metrics of performance across three well‐established strategic foci. We present portfolios of metrics drawn from the literature and from the Supply Chain Counciľs supply‐chain operations reference model and related design and customer chain models. Our analysis suggests that metric portfolios in which tactical metrics are designed to match strategic‐level metrics, based on alignment with a specific strategic focus, provide clearer mechanisms for understanding performance linkages.     

Shades of gray: effect of external work arrangements on firm performance under operational and strategic contingencies

This study builds on recent research on the external workforce by examining the effects of (1) temporary work (2) independent contracting, and (3) consulting on firm performance, considering the client firms’ tasks, the qualification requirements for carrying out these tasks, and its strategic context. The findings are based on a survey of 261 firms in the German manufacturing industry. At the operational level, the results indicate that the difficulty of the tasks to be performed by external workers influences their performance. Whilst temporary work and consulting are better suited for simple tasks with low qualification requirements, independent contracting increases firm performance when appointing individuals to perform complex tasks. At the strategic level we research effects by two strategic orientations; one generally increasing the internal innovation performance (innovation orientation), the other generally increasing the performance of external relationships (alliance orientation). The innovation orientation here reduces the negative effect of temporary work, whereas a high alliance orientation precipitates a positive effect of consulting on firm performance. This paper demonstrates that clients’ task requirements and their alignment towards innovation and alliances have a significant influence on the benefits to the firm conveyed by highly qualified externals.     

An Exploratory Study of Procurement Strategies for Multi‐Item RFQs in B2B Markets: Antecedents and Impact on Performance

This research explores procurement strategies for multi‐item requests for quotation (RFQs) in business‐to‐business (B2B) markets using responses from 825 purchasing professionals. The study first establishes procurement strategies that differ based on their level of strategic emphasis, i.e., the importance that is placed on the pursuit of four strategic objectives. Underlying objectives, which are obtained via factor analysis, include the focus on price, security of supply, internal procurement efficiencies, and bundle building. Next, cluster analysis is used to derive prototypical strategic approaches. The three cluster groups that emerge possess the same relative ranking of the four objectives, but differ based on the intensity with which these objectives are pursued. The clusters are labelled as the three strategic groups of strategists, opportunists, and responders. The research then explores, using an industrial buyer behavior lens, the impact of environmental antecedents in determining a particular strategy. Environmental variables include purchase importance, market uncertainty, supply base availability, buyer bargaining power, item experience, and supply base experience. Finally, the study tests the impact of procurement strategy on the buyer's perceived performance, suggesting that strategists, placing more emphasis on the pursuit of strategic sourcing objectives, achieve better performance than opportunists and responders.     

To Divest or not to Divest: A Meta‐Analysis of the Antecedents of Corporate Divestitures

Corporate divestitures have been identified as important strategic actions with a positive impact on firm performance. Yet, what is still missing in the strategic management literature is an integrative framework that quantitatively synthesizes the relative impact of various antecedents to divestitures, and theoretically reconciles the multitude of theories underlying divestiture research. To fill this gap, the author conducts a meta‐analysis (based on a sample of 35 studies) and develops four broad categories of determinants: corporate governance; firm strategy; performance; and industry environment. Evidence is found that divestitures are driven mainly by prior divestment experience, structural factors (firm size and firm diversification) and weak unit performance. In addition, the relative predictive validity of several theoretical perspectives on divestment decisions is assessed.     

Strategic Cognition of Operations Executives

The nature of operations executives’ strategic cognition, as the antecedent to their choices about operations strategy, remains underexplored in the literature. This mixed‐methods study examines executives’ thinking about supply chain strategy through the lens of managerial cognition. Our qualitative study at a pharmaceutical distributor, which examined 25 executives’ outlook on the future of the turbulent U.S. healthcare sector and their suggestions for adapting the company's supply chain strategy to that future, suggests that an executive's strategic cognition can be defined by its regulatory focus—whether the executive envisions the future environment in terms of opportunities or threats—and the level of optimism in regards to the envisioned future. We propose a typology that predicts the strategic choices of operations executives based on four types of cognition: pioneering, pushing, protective, and provocative. It describes whether an executive's strategic choices target traditional or novel sources of revenue, and if they seek to influence either the firm's structure and practices or its environment. Our empirical test of the typology using quantitative data collected in a survey of senior operations executives supports the study's propositions associating three of the four types of cognition with their respective preferred strategic choices.     

Production Competence and Business Strategy: Do They Affect Business Performance?

The purpose of this article is threefold. First, a comprehensive measure of production competence that assesses the level of support that manufacturing provides for the strategic objectives of a firm is developed. Second, hypotheses relating production competence to several financial measures of business performance are tested using data from a large sample of firms (n=65) in the furniture industry. Third, the impact of business strategy both directly on performance and as a moderating variable in relation to production competence is analyzed. The results of the study suggest that production competence may have more of an effect on business performance for certain strategies than for others.     

How organizations work: Taking a holistic approach to enterprise health

The factors that facilitate organizational learning have traditionally been analysed by organizational learning and, in particular, the learning organization literature. Following a literature review, we have identified fifteen factors. However, these factors have been considered as universal, in other words, applicable to any sector or industry. In this paper we determine the combinations of organizational learning facilitating factors in a specific sectoral context: the Spanish ceramic tile sector, through an exploratory and comparative case study of four companies that illustrate this sector. In addition, we relate the companies' combinations of factors to their strategies (Miles and Snow 1978). The study mainly reveals that: each business strategy category is related to certain factors; the organizations with the most facilitating factors are the most innovative (prospector and analyser); and becoming a prospector implies the distinctive existence of factors 1 and 2, which encompass openness to and capacity for innovative change, a culture that favours the contribution of discerning ideas and maximum attention to the environment.     

Aligning operations,marketing, and competitive strategies to enhance performance: An empirical test in the retail banking industry

The close linkage between competitive strategy and functional strategic activities is asserted to be a precondition to the achievement of optimal business performance. This study explores how the relationship between (and among) operations, marketing, and competitive strategies affects organizational performance in the banking industry. Our findings show that: (a) competitive strategy moderates the relationship between operations and marketing strategic activities, and organizational performance, (b) certain integrated strategic decisions of operations and marketing functions have a significant impact on organizational performance, and (c) the performance of retail banks within a strategic group differs depending on the quality of the strategic fit.     

企业社会责任行为中的战略管理视角理论综述

基于组织对企业社会责任(CSR)表现出的不同态度和内在动机,将企业的CSR行为划分为强制性、回应性、战略性和利他性4种类别,并在此基础上对相关理论进行回顾。通过对以往研究的比较总结,认为CSR行为在本质上作为企业的一种战略决策,受到内外部环境的共同影响并与之协同演进。由此,首次将战略管理中的协同演进观引入CSR研究,建立起CSR行为战略与组织绩效相互作用的协同演进模型,并在此模型基础上提出了下一步理论和实证研究的方向。