Corporate-level Strategy Research Articles

A software quality strategy for the development of automatic control systems

In recognition of the engineering and managerial software quality problems encountered during the development of automatic control software systems, the authors formulate a practical corporate-level software quality strategy in order to establish a strong infrastructure to alleviate or resolve the problem areas and help to establish an environment that is conductive to the growth of the automatic control software system industry. This corporate-level software quality strategy comprises three functional-level quality strategies and related tactics. The formulated software quality strategy is implemented in the collaborating establishment and the achievement of the implementation of the software quality strategy is significant and encouraging in view of process capability maturity level promotion and product quality enhancement.

Corporate strategy and parenting theory

In November 1987, the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre was established, with the mission of carrying out research focused on corporate-level strategy and the management of multi-business companies. In November 1997, we ran a major conference to review what we had learned during the last decade. Since Brief Case has reported piecemeal on a variety of the research initiatives that we have carried out during this time, we felt that it would be appropriate to publish the background paper that we prepared for the conference, which gives a brief overview of the main propositions that we believe we have established. We would very much welcome comments on these propositions: Which do you agree or disagree with? Which are most or least important? What areas merit further research and investigation?

Challenges for strategic competitive intelligence at the corporate level

Strategic competitive intelligence is a necessity for corporate decision making in today's highly complex, “hypercompetitive” global markets, where current and potential rivals are encountered on multiple levels of competition. Key strategic decisions regarding diversification, downsizing from past diversification, and strategic alliances must be based on sound assessments of the competitive environment. Strategic CI, for example, can provide a basis for assessing the opportunities, necessities, and risks of present or future alliances, for making decisions regarding appropriate forms and intensities of present or future cooperative arrangements, and to choose among stable or variable forms of cooperation. Similarly, strategic CI can provide relevant knowledge concerning a firm's strategy-related, structure-related, and culture-related challenges with respect to diversification. D'Avini's framework of four cooperative arenas highlights why, with respect to the new competitive realities, corporate-level strategy requires dynamic, multi-level, and multi-arena competitive intelligence to identify and analyze probable threats and opportunities on all levels, and in all arenas, of competition. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Challenges for strategic competitive intelligence at the corporate level

Strategic competitive intelligence is a necessity for corporate decision making in today's highly complex, “hypercompetitive” global markets, where current and potential rivals are encountered on multiple levels of competition. Key strategic decisions regarding diversification, downsizing from past diversification, and strategic alliances must be based on sound assessments of the competitive environment. Strategic CI, for example, can provide a basis for assessing the opportunities, necessities, and risks of present or future alliances, for making decisions regarding appropriate forms and intensities of present or future cooperative arrangements, and to choose among stable or variable forms of cooperation. Similarly, strategic CI can provide relevant knowledge concerning a firm's strategy-related, structure-related, and culture-related challenges with respect to diversification. D'Avini's framework of four cooperative arenas highlights why, with respect to the new competitive realities, corporate-level strategy requires dynamic, multi-level, and multi-arena competitive intelligence to identify and analyze probable threats and opportunities on all levels, and in all arenas, of competition. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Reviewing portfolio strategy

In our work on corporate-level strategy we have often claimed that many, if not most, large corporations are over-diversified. This, we claim, accounts for the popularity of MBOs, LBOs, spinoffs, demergers, unbundling and many other ways of reducing diversification. This article explains, in the form of a letter to a fictitious chief executive, why some forms of diversification lead to value destruction while other forms lead to value creation.

Parenting advantage: The key to corporate-level strategy: Marcus Alexander, Andrew Campbell, and Michael Goold, Prism (Second Quarter 1995), pp. 23–33

Parenting advantage: The key to corporate-level strategy: Marcus Alexander, Andrew Campbell, and Michael Goold, Prism (Second Quarter 1995), pp. 23–33

A Framework for Entry Deterrence Strategy: The Competitive Environment, Choices, and Consequences

On the basis of an extensive review of the literature, the authors have developed a framework of entry deterrence strategy. The major aspects of this framework are the interconnected elements of the competitive environment, the choice of entry deterrence strategy, ranging from strategies involving a single element of the marketing mix to corporate-level strategies; and the consequences that both the strategy choice and subsequent entry decision have for the incumbent. The authors’ framework explicitly acknowledges the role of perceptions in signal detection, interpretation, and decision making in the development of entry deterrence strategy. With their framework as a focal point, they review the extant literature to make it accessible to a wider audience and provide guidance for further research.

R&D and corporate strategies in UK materials-innovating companies

This paper aims to assess the extent to which materials R&D and materials innovation are being taken into account in a strategic sense by companies involved in new and improved materials production and use in the UK. The paper maps changes in materials technology that affect such companies, and looks at how twelve UK-based large materials-innovating companies deal with materials strategy issues. It shows increased attention being given to materials in corporate-level strategy making. It shows that companies acted to diversify their materials interests in the early and mid-1980s, but then retreated somewhat in the difficult circumstances of the later 1980s and early 1990s. Our results show a trend toward the increased adoption of materials strategies, but also a diversity of approaches to the build-up of competencies within firms. Although it is a part of most companies' materials strategies, internal restructuring has not sufficed. Acquisition of large, usually foreign, companies was also very important, as was the development of international producer-user collaborations. Since the mid-1980s a fragile, but effective, set of relationships has emerged between influential UK individuals and institutions with an interest in developing new initiatives to improve materials innovation. As yet, the government has not responded with significant coordinated policies to improve integration of materials research, technology, training and innovation.

Delineating the scope of corporate, business, and marketing strategy

The conceptualization of strategy in terms of corporate, business, and functional level strategies has gained wide acceptance in the strategic management and marketing literatures. Under this schema, strategy at each level is presumed to have a well defined domain, and key decisions associated with each level are presumed to be made by decision makers at that level. While the above hierarchial conceptualization of strategy does have its merits, as pointed out in this paper, when used as a basis for defining and delimiting the scope of corporate, business and marketing strategy, and specifying the locus of strategic decision making within organizations, the overlapping nature of these strategic domains and the multiplicity of environmental and organizational factors that may lead to a divergence between the locus of strategy and locus of decision making should be recognized.

Strategy and Bankruptcy: An Exploration in to Organizational Death

Because an organizations existence is a prerequisite for its accomplishments, one would expect that researchers would be intensely interested in those factors which could lessen the likelihood of organizational decline and failure. Yet, until recently little research appeared regarding this topic and very little of it focused on the effectiveness of strategy on the likelihood of corporate bankruptcy. This research will review some of the strategy variables and investigate avenues that are most likely to hold the greatest potential for altering a firm’s likelihood of failure. An exploratory model was developed to study the effects of corporate and business level strategies, as well as cooperative interorganizational and financial strategies. A consistent, significant positive relationship was discovered between survival and a firm’s number of interorganizational linkages in the form of director interlocks. A consistent, significant negative relationship was discovered between survival and a firm S financial leverage. It was also discovered that as failing firms move closer toward bankruptcy they exhibit a degree of isomorphism with their surviving counterparts regarding certain interorganizational arrangements. That such changes in the interorganizational arrangements of failing companies do little to help save them suggests that turnaround efforts must start early in a firm 2 decline of it is to overcome the substantial amount of organizational inertia present in the corporation.

Strategy and bankruptcy: An exploration into organizational death

Because an organization's existence is a prerequisite for its accomplishments, one would expect that researchers would be intensely interested in those factors which could lessen the likelihood of organizational decline and failure. Yet, until recently little research appeared regarding this topic and very little of it focused on the effectiveness of strategy on the likelihood of corporate bankruptcy. This research will review some of the strategy variables and investigate avenues that are most likely to hold the greatest potential for altering a firm 's likelihood of failure. An exploratory model was developed to study the effects of corporate and business level strategies, as well as cooperative interorganizational and financial strategies. A consistent, significant positive relationship was discovered between survival and a firm 's number of interorganizational linkages in the form of director interlocks. A consistent, significant negative relationship was discovered between survival and a firm 's financial leverage. It was also discovered that as failing firms move closer toward bankruptcy they exhibit a degree of isomorphism with their surviving counterparts regarding certain interorganizational arrangements. That such changes in the inter organizational arrangements of failing companies do little to help save them suggests that turnaround efforts must start early in a firm 's decline if it is to overcome the substantial amount of organizational inertia present in the corporation.

Human Resource Planning: Where are we now?

H uman Resource Planning is now seen by many as an important aspect of HumanResource Management. It holds out the promise of integrating the various HRMfunctions and of involving HRM practitioners more closely in the development andimplementation of corporate level strategy and plans. This paper traces the development of the concept of Human Resource Planningand examines its use in North America, Britain and the Asia Pacific area. Based upon this review, situations in which complete, fully-integrated HumanResource Planning is likely to be feasible and practical are outlined For situationswhere this sophisticated approach is either inappropriate or is not supported withinthe organisation, simpler HRP strategies are proposed

Strategies for global competition

This article analyses the strategic dimensions of global competition. As U.S. companies enter the fight for global markets, a broader definition of corporate strategy as it relates to developing competitive advantage is needed to provide managers with superior tools to improve their strategic thinking. Corporate-level strategy involves both a ‘foreign policy’ as well as a ‘domestic policy’ dimension, and a time dimension. The foreign policy dimension relates to the company's endeavours to find a workable balance between internal development and acquisitions for entering and exploiting new technologies on one's own. The final dimension relates to time, i.e. understanding those conditions where changes in company strategy and structure are needed to help guide the company into the future. Examples are provided to illustrate these dimensions in action.

Corporate-Level Strategy, Business-Level Strategy, and Firm Performance

Corporate-level strategy and business-level strategy are operationalized in terms of interindustry and intra-industry variation, respectively. Variables representing both levels of strategy are use...

Corporate-Level Strategy, Business-Level Strategy, and Firm Performance.

Corporate-level strategy and business-level strategy are operationalized in terms of interindustry and intra-industry variation, respectively. Variables representing both levels of strategy are use...