The role of project portfolio management in fostering both deliberate and emergent strategy

Julian Kopmann,Alexander Kock,Catherine P Killen,Hans Georg Gemünden

doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.02.011

Abstract

Formal strategy processes have been shown to be insufficient in shaping strategy, particularly in turbulent environments. Emerging strategies that constitute independently from deliberate top-down strategy processes are important for organizational adaptability. This study explores strategic control mechanisms at the project portfolio level and their influence on emergent and deliberate strategies. Based on a sample of 182 firms, we show that both deliberate and emerging strategies positively influence project portfolio success, complementing each other. In turbulent environments, the relevance of deliberate strategy implementation decreases. Strategic control activities not only foster the implementation of intended strategies, but also disclose strategic opportunities by unveiling emerging patterns. Furthermore, we find that deliberate strategy implementation and emerging strategy recognition mediate the performance impact of strategic control. Our findings suggest that strategic control at the project portfolio level has an important role to play in the purposeful management of emergent strategies.

Highlights

Almost 40 years since Mintzberg introduced the concept of emergent strategy (Mintzberg, 1978; Mintzberg and Waters, 1985), the impetus to understand the complexity of strategy processes, both deliberate and emergent, is strong and growing (Vaara and Whittington, 2012)
The limitations of deliberate strategy implementation are highlighted in a review by Hutzschenreuter and Kleindienst (2006); of 202 empirical articles on strategy processes identified in the review, 35 analyzed the impact of strategy process characteristics on corporate performance and less than half (16) of these studies showed a positive influence from deliberate strategies
Model 3 shows that the interaction of deliberate strategy implementation and emerging strategy recognition is positive and significant (b=0.06, p

Summary

Introduction

Almost 40 years since Mintzberg introduced the concept of emergent strategy (Mintzberg, 1978; Mintzberg and Waters, 1985), the impetus to understand the complexity of strategy processes, both deliberate and emergent, is strong and growing (Vaara and Whittington, 2012). Emergent strategies are realized in absence of or despite formal strategic intention and by nature fall outside traditional strategy processes; this makes it difficult to control their influence and has prompted exploration of alternate methods to manage ‘planned emergence’ (Grant, 2003; Levina and Su, 2008). This study explores how strategic control mechanisms implemented at the portfolio level can influence organizational performance by measuring performance, and providing impetus and direction for change and emergence in strategic processes (Bititci et al, 2012; Thomas and Ambrosini, 2015). The limitations of deliberate strategy implementation are highlighted in a review by Hutzschenreuter and Kleindienst (2006); of 202 empirical articles on strategy processes identified in the review, 35 analyzed the impact of strategy process characteristics on corporate performance and less than half (16) of these studies showed a positive influence from deliberate strategies. Two of the articles analyzed in the review explored the performance impact of emergent strategies, and the findings were contradictory

Methods

Results

Conclusion