Strategic Choice Approach Research Articles

Strategic Choice And Responsible Innovation: Integrating Approaches To Foster Sustainable Business Development

The study focuses on addressing businesses' growing need to integrate sustainability into their decision-making processes, given the recognized worldwide environmental impacts derived from industrial and technological growth. The study proposes a decision-support artifact that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In light of the principles of Design Science Research (DSR), it combines the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA), which helps manage uncertainties, with Responsible Innovation (RI) principles to guide the socially and environmentally conscious innovation process. As another novel, this artifact adopted the Borda voting system to select the best sustainable development courses of action. Data from a Brazilian solar energy company were considered to demonstrate the artifact’s application. Our results deliver a decision-making support artifact whose results serve as inputs for strategic planning for the business. These artifacts highlight the importance of collaborations for decision-making within the scope of sustainable development. This paper proposes a novel and holistic approach that recognizes peculiar aspects of managerial commitment to advancing sustainability within a business context, contributing to the literature. Managers also can apply this decision artifact to improve sustainability performance.

Managing uncertainties in fault avoidance zone of urban areas: a case study of Karaj, Iran

Purpose This study aims to develop the application of the strategic choice approach (SCA) in Karaj City (Iran) as the case study for facilitating the decision-making process concerning uncertainties associated with determining fault trace, fault buffer zone and fault setback, as well as inherent uncertainties related to urban issues – known as wicked problems – which make a clear definition unachievable for them. Design/methodology/approach The SCA was recycled in this study to manage uncertain situations in planning. It is designed to deal with problems caused by uncertainty, insufficient knowledge and unpredictable policy outcomes. In combination with the risk-based planning approach, the paper proposes a new model to deal with uncertainty and hazard risk at the same time. Findings The results indicated that such decision-making tools are helpful for urban planners who impose changes in the fault zone to save lives and properties where the process seems problematic and ambiguous. Further analysis from the SCA development not only shows that urban planning restrictions should be applied gradually and in pace with the completion of fault displacement geological data but also reveals that defining the implementation process and institutional structure is as important as the preparation of binding fault zoning documents. Originality/value The paper will push forward global research and practice because the results can be generalized for use in other earthquake-prone countries, as the considerations and obstacles have a universal character and more specifically because many earthquake-prone countries have not started to define fault avoidance zone restrictions up to now.

Selection of Naval Bases and Stations for submarines: a multimethodological approach

With the PROSUB program, the Brazilian Navy (MB) has been renewing its feet of submarines. However, this is not a movement that is exclusively Brazilian. With the worsening of crises around the world, many countries are in the process of expanding their armed forces, and coastal nations, in particular, are paying significant attention to their submarine weapons. However, as it is not only convenient to acquire submarines but also to operate them, it is necessary to define from where they will do so. Given the above, this current work aims to present a framework with a multimethodological focus, that is, presenting a combined use of the problem structuring method (PSM) Strategic Choice Approach with the multicriteria method MPSI-MARA. As a result, the ordering of some points along the Brazilian coast, made non-specific, is presented as a suggestion for the implementation of new Submarine Bases and/or Naval Support Stations.

The role of political economy in the strategic choice for automation: a case study in a German logistics firm

The current automation debate neglects the social conditions underpinning technological change. Following recent labour process analysis (LPA) concepts and the Regulation School theory of the firm, I apply a firm-level strategic choice approach to trace the political-economic and organisational conditions associated with automation in logistics. To this end, I reconstruct the strategic choice of industrial automation in a German parcel logistics firm. Moreover, I compare two types of distribution centres on the level of task automation in the company and discuss the failed implementation of the automation project. I employ qualitative data about the company and four of its facilities to trace the process. The case selection fits the current debate as logistics has a high share of routine jobs, and therefore – according to labour economists – the industry faces a high risk of automation-induced job displacement. The analysis yields that actors drew on six essential conditions for the automation project at the firm and the political-economic level. The case study demonstrates the working of an ambivalent causal mechanism and stresses the relevance of organisational affordances and material-technical requirements for successful automation projects. The results synthesise the political-economic and organisational conditions that need to be considered in technological change in logistics. Thereby the article adds to a political economy of automation. Ultimately, the findings also emphasise the need for labour strategies centring on technological change in logistics.

A multi-methodological combination of the strategic choice approach and the analytic network process: From facts to values and vice versa

The paper proposes a new multi-methodological framework combining a Problem Structuring Method and a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to address the problem of composing facts and values in the decision-making process of policy making. We position our work theoretically in relation to Latour's concept of the “collective” as a potential description of the decision-making process, with its conflicts and negotiations, openings and closures. With Latour, we can say that there are no “separate chambers” in which facts (i.e., the use of public resources, different time horizons) and values (i.e., the values of different stakeholders, the legitimacy of public decisions) are discussed; rather, all these aspects are considered together in a cycle that encompasses them, progressively expanding and contracting to arrive at a tangible result: a decision. In the paper we illustrate the transposition of the concept of this cycle in our multi-methodology, the proposal of the combination of the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) and the Analytic Network Process (ANP)—which is absent in the literature—and we then empirically test this theoretical contribution with a case study, the repurposing of a former hospital in Italy.

Review of problem structuring methods and its application in understanding the housing needs of slum dwellers in India

This paper provides an extensive review of commonly used Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) and studies their possible applications for understanding the challenges faced by slum dwellers living in informal settlements across cities in India. The study highlights the role of PSMs as a group of analytical methods for identifying the problems faced by poor and vulnerable populations and looks for possible solutions to increase their efficiency. Subsequently, the paper describes and compares commonly used PSMs such as Soft Systems Methodology, Strategic Options Development and Analysis, Strategic Choice Approach, Robustness Analysis, and Value-Focused Thinking. The paper finally draws attention to the nature of challenges involved in the application of PSMs for slum dwellers which is different from its typical application involving people in managerial positions across organizations who generally are domain experts in their fields

Using a Combination of Matrix Approach to Robustness Analysis (MARA) and Fuzzy DEMATEL-Based ANP (FDANP) to Choose the Best Decision

In today's world, selecting a suitable, reasonable option is challenging for any decision-maker. Where does this problem arise from? According to the decision-making literature, complexity “multiple criteria and interrelationship among them” and uncertainty “the vagueness of judgments and future uncertainty” have made decision-making one of the most significant problems for people. Though multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods can help decision-makers select the best alternative among multiple criteria and consider their interrelationships, they do not deal with uncertainty. Fuzzy set theory handles uncertainty arising from the vagueness of human thoughts and language in making decisions. Still, the MCDM or FMCDM techniques fail to formulate the probable futures since they use the present information and judgments to collect the data, while in the real world, choosing a method that can deal with the uncertain environment and reduce its impact on outcomes will be effective. Moreover, soft OR methods, such as robustness analysis, strategic choice approach, etc., can deal with future uncertainty but not complexity. Thus, we will use a combination of the Matrix Approach to Robustness Analysis (MARA) and Fuzzy DEMATEL-based ANP (FDANP) to address the weakness mentioned above. This hybrid method has two significant advantages: it can (i) consider numerous scenarios, criteria, and alternatives as well as the interdependency among criteria to address the complexity aspect, and (ii) examine the option performance among the different possible futures and the fuzzy nature of the problem owner's judgments to address the uncertainty aspect. This method is applied to a case related to starting a new business in Iran. The results show that by concerning the environmental situations and the possible future of Iran, education service is the most robust business to start.

Aesthetic Perspectives in Group Decision and Negotiation Practice

This paper explores the role of the aesthetics in Group Decision and Negotiation (GDN) practice, specifically how it affects the methods and the cognitive processes in the architectural field. We intend aesthetics as “scientia cognitionis sensitivæ”, a particular process and way of knowing and experiencing the problem through senses, imagination and empathy. We argue that (a) aesthetics and aesthetic features can (and do) convey knowledge about the problem; (b) we can distinguish between two kinds of aesthetics, one of the process and one of the product and (c) the aesthetics can contribute to create a “plural subject”. The issue is investigated through a decision problem about the transformation of an iconic building in the centre of Turin (Italy), in two ways: (1) by merging the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) with architectural design and (2) by approaching the same issue with Storytelling, as a method for problem-based instruction. Considering the aesthetics as a specific form of language, the paper offers innovative considerations about the role of representation and visualisation tools and models—drawing, scheme, diagrams, but also video and text—as support for group decisions and negotiations, in the construction of knowledge within decisional processes.

Assessment of actions to tackle the shortages of water in La Paz, Bolivia

Abstract Water scarcity is a persistent problem in diverse regions of the world. This study focuses on the extreme scarcity of water affecting La Paz, a municipality in the west of Bolivia. The intense drought of the last few decades and the inadequate management of water utilities have impacted several factors. Within this context, this study identified that establishing efficient water resource management is essential to guarantee social welfare. The researchers analyzed the scarcity of water in La Paz by using the Strategic Choice Approach, which is a problem structuring method based on a strategic process that takes different types of uncertainty into account. The results of this study revealed decision actions and uncertainties in two categories: the present and the future. The outputs enabled a strategic plan to be drawn up that tackles the scarcity of water responsibly and equitably. Innovation and investment in ways to reuse water are fundamental to developing a responsible solution.

The strategic choice approach to the maintenance management of a water distribution system

ABSTRACTIn a water distribution system, maintenance is an essential pillar to ensure that an efficient service is provided and to combat problems such as real water losses. Managing such a system’s maintenance needs involves multiple stakeholders, subjective variables, and requires a learning process to find a solution. Structuring the problem can provide clarity for the situation under analysis, especially by resolving the need to establish integrated management among different water company sectors. In this instance, the strategic choice approach is proposed as a framework to align maintenance management perspectives with the system’s network so as to reduce losses and ensure greater social benefits. A case study in a metropolitan region of Brazil was presented. A strategic plan is developed that features comprehensive actions and practices for enriching the control of critical decision areas and their uncertainties. The importance of establishing partnerships with universities was one distinguishing factor in the outcomes.

Facing urban uncertainty with the strategic choice approach: the introduction of disruptive events

The Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) is a method meant to deal with operational decision in a strategic way and to manage different sources of uncertainty in decision-making processes. The paper describes how SCA can deal with the future in the specific realm of urban planning in current cities, which represents a typical example of Wicked Problem, taking into account the three different levels of uncertainties that the method aims to manage (Uncertainties about the working Environment, UE; Uncertainties about Related decisions, UR; Uncertainties about guiding Values, UV). We argue that these three types of uncertainties are referred to the ‘ordinary’ problems of modern and contemporary cities. The project of an architectural/urban transformation has to do with this kind uncertainties and implications – in overcoming a series of approvals of different institutional order – and, with this purpose, takes the form of a contract. Instead, this categorisation doesn’t conceive some new and uncertain challenges of future cities, around climate change, infrastructural disruption, insecurity, pandemics, at local and global scales, that are currently under debate in the cities. In this study we suggest that this character of uniqueness can imply the exploration of a new category of uncertainty in the SCA scheme, the ‘uncertainty about disruptive events (UD)’, a type of catastrophic or just unknown in their effects. First of all, we define the PSMs (Problem Structuring Methods) as methods of structuring the «wicked problems». Secondly, we examine the SCA as «a strategic choice process through time», taking into account the three different levels of uncertainty that the method intends to manage.

Soft situational strategic planning (SSSP): A method and case study of its application in a Brazilian municipality

Municipal government planning is challenging in the extreme being characterised by ill-structured and messy problems, the complexity of which is compounded by often conflicting views and priorities of multiple stakeholders. In South America, Situational Strategic Planning (SSP) is a wide spread method of such planning. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a proposed multi-methodological approach, Soft Situational Strategic Planning (SSSP) in a South American municipal government. SSSP is a variant of SSP enhanced with elements of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and Strategic Choice Approach (SCA). Through an action research case study in a Brazilian municipality, we implemented SSSP through a strategic planning cycle. The findings suggest that SSSP complement the SSP process regarding the implementation and monitoring of strategy. The application also indicated that SSSP has the potential to make government planning processes more structured for policy makers.

A group decision model for credit granting in the financial market

Group decision models that contemplate the particularities of the decision-making process help organizations pursue their strategic objectives. In the financial market, the primary interest of organizations consists in ensuring financial returns, which guarantee stability for the organization. This study identifies major problems in the current process of credit granting in the financial market and argues the need for automatizing the organizational decision process while respecting the autonomy of decision-makers. To this end, this study proposes a group decision model based on the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) for granting credit in a financial market organization. The results show that the adoption of the proposed model offers considerable gains in terms of organizational goals, transparency of the decision-making process, security for decision-makers, and reduction of organizational conflicts.

Sustainability of Hokkaido Logistics Network by the Strategic Choice Approach

Sustainability of Hokkaido Logistics Network by the Strategic Choice Approach

On the usefulness of soft OR models in decision making: A comparison of Problem Structuring Methods supported and self-organized workshops

Applications of Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) are extensively reported in the literature; however, their evaluation remains challenging. Moreover, scholars’ disagreement on how to evaluate and compare PSMs constrains research that seeks to show whether certain PSMs are more useful than others within particular contexts and ‘better than doing nothing’. Drawing on scholars’ suggestion to evaluate PSMs through a link between action, outcomes and context, we address this gap by adopting an exploratory, quasi-experimental research design with MSc students to evaluate and compare three workshops supported by the use of (i) Strategic Choice Approach, (ii) Soft Systems Methodology and (iii) a non-PSM supported approach, and report on the findings of a quantitative and qualitative analysis. We explore the usefulness of PSMs for achieving outcomes that can support decision making. Our findings show variation in the usefulness of the three approaches and the different workshop outcomes.

Experimental Use of Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) by Individuals as an Architectural Design Tool

The paper proposes the use of the Strategic Choice Approach as a way of structuring the architectural design process, done by individuals and partly supported by meetings and interviews with DMs, experts, and stakeholders. The aim is to stimulate a debate around the use of SCA and its possible merging with architectural design, also analysing how the micro-processes involved in this merging can work in practice. We reflect on the possible use of SCA to determine prescriptive conditions on physical form at a scale that is still intermediate between the single building and the urban tissue: the method is employed as a design tool to provide alternative transformation scenarios. It represents a way of approaching the challenge of planning in an uncertain world, eliciting guidelines and strategies, and furthermore it produces an architectural project or transformation in a physical sense. Moreover, by investigating what occurs during the different micro-processes with the interviewees, we focus on some behavioural issues and effects, in relation to the context, the models of the application and the different entities involved in the interventions. This proposal shows an application to a real-world problem, currently under debate by the City of Turin (Italy), the re-use of abandoned barracks located in a prestigious residential area.

Negotiating perspectives and values through soft OR in the context of urban renewal

Negotiating perspectives and values is at the core of using PSMs to tackle complex and uncertain problem situations. Exploring how such negotiations evolve at the micro-level of real-time interactions can help grasp communicative behaviours and workshop structures that influence negotiation processes, and the achievement of outcomes. This study reports on an exploratory experiment with three MSc student groups engaged in (i) a Soft Systems Methodology, (ii) a Strategic Choice Approach, and (iii) a non-problem structuring method workshop to make progress with a case of urban renewals. Our micro-level content analysis suggests that (no)model use can lead to three different dynamics in which participants discuss different perspectives and values, negotiate their meanings, create knowledge and agree on solutions to tackle the problem situation that are added to model content. Our findings contribute to increasing our understanding of the nature of soft OR and its effects on group interactions during workshops.

The Politics of Institutional Choice Across Sub-Saharan Africa: Presidential Term Limits

During the transitions to multipartyism that began in the late 1980s, presidential term limits were adopted into the constitutions of a majority of sub-Saharan African states. Yet, a sizable minority of African governments resisted implementing such restrictions on executive power. How can this variation be explained? This article proposes an expanded strategic choice approach that posits that the degree of electoral uncertainty affects institutional choice in cases of controlled, unilateral constitutional revisions (which were common across Africa) just as much as it shapes institutional choice in situations of cooperative constitution-making through bargaining and pact-making. Based on this logic, I argue that term limits were adopted as an electoral insurance mechanism in all cases where constitutional drafters perceive the degree of future electoral uncertainty to be high, regardless of whether the constitutional review process is cooperative or controlled. Alternatively, term limits are eschewed in cases where one unified party fully controls the constitutional review process and also perceives that they will win elections into the foreseeable future. The argument is tested through a statistical analysis of the determinants of term limit choice across all relevant sub-Saharan cases.

Disentangling Actors from Their Environment? Pitfalls and Added-Value of the Strategic-Choice Approach

ABSTRACTThis article argues that the Strategic-Choice Approach (SCA) put forward by Lake and Powell (1999b) can be further developed in two directions. First, the article highlights the challenge posed by the interdependence between actors and their environment. From this it draws two conclusions. A) The SCA approach is most fruitful for synchronic analysis but more challenging to implement in a diachronic research design. B) The interdependence between actors and their environment can be lessened by distinguishing between three types of actor preferences: meta, ranked, and pragmatic-preferences. Second, it argues that the SCA is an ideal framework to combine qualitative and quantitative research designs.

Der «Strategic Choice Approach»: ein in Deutschland unterschätzter Methodenbaukasten für die Raumplanung

Taking into consideration the theory that the “Communicative Turn” in spatial planning is also visible in the planning methods used, this article discusses the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) as a complex toolbox of planning methods, which has yet to gain significant currency in Germany. Following a short introduction to the central elements of the SCA, the international resonance of this approach in terms of planning theory and planning practice over the years is presented. Based on the material of quasi-experimental applications of the SCA in teaching modules, the approach is then compared with other planning methods as regards the significance of its rational, communicative and creative dimensions, and problems in its application are analyzed. The article closes with an outlook on increased and intensified potential uses of the SCA.English title: The Strategic Choice Approach: An Underrated Set of Methods for Spatial Planning in Germany