A Life Cycle Approach to Management Fashion: An Investigation of Management Concepts in the Context of Competitive Strategy

Abstract

Although it is generally not possible to assess their economic benefits either in advance or even in retrospect, most executives rely on the reasoning and the ideas promoted in modern management concepts. This paper presents a model for explaining and predicting the underlying management decisions. In order to exemplify the methodology described, the model is applied to ten current management concepts in the context of an empirical analysis: Business Process Reengineering, Total Quality Management, Knowledge Management and Learning Organisations, Customer Relationship Management, Lean Management, Core Competence Management, Shareholder Value Management, Growth Strategies, eBusiness/eCommerce, as well as Virtual Corporations and Network Organizations.