Strategic Problems Research Articles

Reconceptualising burdens – NATO centres of excellence: club goods, informal institutions, and partner contributions

ABSTRACT Research on NATO burden sharing comprises dozens of works. Since the end of the cold war, NATO adapted, enlarged, and institutionally complexified its mandates and area of operations. Yet, burden sharing research rarely accounts for such aspects given the political and scholarly focus on NATO’s target of 2% of GDP on military spending since the 2000s. This research merges rational institutionalism with collective action models on club goods production to study NATO Centres of Excellence. These 30 institutions are externally funded, independently run, and address the collective strategic problems associated with Alliance Transformation using informal arrangements, the Memorandum of Understanding. The contents of those agreements are compared using rational institutional design theory. This article offers original data reconceptualising the NATO burdens partners undertake beyond military expenditures using COE participation and hosting while offering a framework for a future examination of how the COE institutional agreements manage strategic problems (i.e. enforcement, allocation, uncertainty, etc.) with expanded data.

Государственное управление устойчивым развитием: опыт России и Китая

The article examines modern forms of public administration of sustainable development in Russia and China. It has been revealed that national projects predominate in Russia. This framework allows to focus on solving strategic problems and to use project approach technologies for the comprehensive implementation of development priorities. In its turn, China’s strategy is characterized by support of implementation of the sustainable development goals through the adoption of specific regulatory documents for each goal and the identification of funding sources for each goal. The research shows that mutual enrichment with proven management technologies will allow both countries to implement national sustainable development goals in less time, solve common problems in border regions, influence international discourse in a multipolar world, and intensify global cooperation.

As a service or a product? A comparison of electric vehicle battery supply models

In response to the challenges posed by high costs and rapid degradation of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, Battery as a Service (BaaS) is introduced as a new EV battery supply model, alongside the traditional model of Battery as a Product (BaaP). Under this background, how to choose a battery supply model is a major strategic problem. Through game theory approach, we analyze and compare the BaaS and BaaP models under a durable goods framework. Firstly, we find that the BaaS model is more profitable than the BaaP model when battery cost or degradation rate is excessively high. The firm under BaaS can relieve cost pressures by selectively retaining used batteries and reducing the price threshold for consumers to acquire batteries. Secondly, through premature disposal of used batteries, a firm can endogenously determine the quality of battery service, making the BaaS model more profitable when battery cost or degradation rate is excessively low. Thirdly, we show that the firm under BaaS always benefits from the decrease of battery degradation rate. However, a lower battery degradation rate may reduce the firm’s profit under BaaP because of the cannibalization effect from the secondary market.

Several Propositions on the Influencing Factors of Re-employment in Urban Younger Elderly

Dealing with the active aging of the population has become a major strategic problem in China’s economic development. With the increasing number of elderly people in China, it is of great significance to explore how to promote the re-employment of the younger elderly, fully develop and use the power resources of the elderly, and relieve the pressure of social economy and family. Based on the relevant literature research, the paper constructs the integration model of the factors affecting the re-employment intention of young urban elderly people and further puts forward several hypotheses. The research suggests that society should change the social consciousness, give full play to the leading role of the government, improve the legislative and institutional system, and encourage enterprises to actively employ the elderly.

How Framing Influences Strategic Interactions

In many settings, a person’s outcome depends not only on her own behavior, but also on her counterpart’s. Such strategic decisions have traditionally been studied using normative game theory, which assumes that people adopt equilibrium strategies and will reach the same decision, regardless of how the problem is described (framed). We examine a potentially important type of framing effect—focusing on how the relationship between players’ actions generates joint outcomes. Any strategic interaction can be described by either spelling out the outcomes of all possible action combinations (which we call “outcome framing,” or simply “O-framing”) or describing what will happen if different players choose the same action or choose different actions (which we call “relation framing,” or simply “R-framing”). O-framing has been the typical way to describe a strategic problem in prior work, whereas R-framing is commonly employed in real-life communications. We propose that these functionally equivalent frames induce different psychological processes and lead to different decisions: Relative to O-framing, R-framing increases players’ beliefs about their counterparts’ likelihood of coordinating on a cooperative option. We demonstrate this effect in the context of classic games such as the Prisoner’s Dilemma and the Stag Hunt. We find that, compared with O-framing, R-framing significantly increases people’s likelihood to choose the action that maximizes collective benefits rather than individual interests, and it does so by increasing beliefs that one’s partner will choose the same action as well. We derive conditions when this effect is likely to emerge and discuss the managerial implications of this research. This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, behavioral economics and decision analysis. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.00518 .

Finding a road less traveled: Combining analysis and intuition to develop novel problem formulations

AbstractResearch SummaryNovel formulations of strategic problems are key to innovation and exploration. Conventional wisdom suggests that intuitive thinking, rather than rational‐analytic thinking, facilitates novel problem formulations. This article proposes that intuitive thinking is insufficient and that novel formulations instead depend on sequencing rational‐analytic and intuitive thinking across two phases of the problem formulation task. Two experiments using samples of strategists in organizations support the importance of analysis followed by intuition when developing novel problem formulations. This article advances the “both‐and” approach to managerial cognition by investigating how harnessing intuition and analysis in combination may lead to a desirable outcome for a managerial task. This approach moves beyond the typical, “either‐or” approach to cognition in past studies, which pit analysis against intuition in achieving desirable outcomes.Managerial SummaryUnique and potentially contrarian theories on problems—novel problem formulations—are key to innovation, exploration, and value creation. Past research indicates that strategists should rely on intuition and gut feeling rather than analysis to boldly develop novel problem formulations. I propose that intuition alone can lead to premature, obvious conclusions. This article instead claims that novel formulations depend on combining analysis and intuition in a specific sequence. Analysis helps identify hidden needs and pain points that allow strategists to think of diverse possibilities for underlying causes. Intuition helps strategists boldly utilize these ambiguous, unstructured symptoms based on subjective beliefs to develop novel problem formulations. Two experiments with real‐world strategists support the arguments.

Do nothing, do minimum or do something? Why public project appraisals “always” recommend large projects

PurposeIn the project initiation phase, an appraisal is needed to clarify the strategic problem and alternative solutions. Full-scale construction projects and simple solutions (do-minimum alternatives) should be assessed. The do-nothing alternative is the baseline for the appraisal and an option in itself. The paper explores the role of do-nothing and do-minimum alternatives in public project appraisal, which may significantly impact the attractiveness of a construction project.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an empirical study from Norway, which requires external quality assurance (QA) of early project appraisals. The data include an extensive document review of 112 projects and interviews with 41 experts involved in the appraisal processes.FindingsOf 112 appraisals, 110 recommended a major construction project, including cases where the benefits and value were low or uncertain. The do-nothing alternative was generally included as a reference but not treated as a viable option. Do-minimum alternatives were often not explored. By contrast, the external QA reports recommended do-nothing or do-minimum in 28 cases. Interestingly, although political decision-makers rarely reject projects, they may put them on hold indefinitely, implying that the actual outcome in many cases is still do-nothing.Originality/valueThe paper addresses a topic that has been understudied in the literature. The findings contribute to the broader literature on project initiation processes, project appraisal and how to reduce the risk of bias and manipulation in appraisals.

Prompt determination of predictive parameters for mining-technogenic landscape objects

The presented research is aimed at developing tools for quickly determining the geometric parameters of mining-technogenic landscape objects to solve various geotechnical and engineering problems, such as reclamation of lands disturbed by mining operations, as well as accumulated industrial waste utilization. The task of quickly determining the geometric parameters of the mining-technogenic landscape forms is proposed to be performed using the Blender software product for 3D-modeling and the Blender GIS Addon. The 3D models for mining-technogenic landscape objects have been constructed. In addition, the volumes of mined-out space at the granite quarry, the earth’s surface failure zone at the iron-ore mine and the mine waste rock dump have been determined. As a result, the values obtained were compared with actual data. It has been found that with the correct display of mining-technogenic landscape objects in the Google geospatial system, the proposed tools based on the Blender GIS Addon achieve high accuracy in determining parameters. The proposed method is predictive and cannot be independent, and it must be used in synthesis with surveying measurements of the parameters for mining-technogenic landscape objects and is a kind of a certain addition. However, it allows solving large-scale strategic problems in geoengineering.

Identifying and Improving Problems and Risks of Management Strategies Based on GQM+Strategies Metamodel and Design Principles

Due to the criticality of software and IT in today’s business environment, organisations often align business goals and IT strategies. One alignment method is GQM+Strategies[Formula: see text] (GQM+Strategies[Formula: see text] is a registered trademark (No. 302008021763 at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office and international registration number IR992843). Although GQM+Strategies employs a vertical refinement tree grid based on rationales to align business goals and IT strategies in each department and throughout the organisation, it allows multiple perspectives. This can lead to strategic problems and risks because the GQM+Strategies grid may be unclear. To address this deficiency, this study defines modelling rules with a metamodel specified using a Unified Modelling Language (UML) class diagram and employs design principles described by Object Constraint Language (OCL) to automatically configure GQM+Strategies grids. These design principles are used in an experiment as the evaluation criteria to assess potential strategic problems and risks. The results confirm that our method has the potential to support the construction of GQM+Strategies grids with a consistent perspective, aiding in the alignment of business goals and IT strategies throughout an organisation.

STRATEGIC PLANNING AS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL OF ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE

It is possible to understand strategic planning as a process consisting of defining a vision of the future, systematically analysing opportunities and threats in the external environment, as well as strengths and weaknesses of the organisation to develop strategies and actions that contribute to achieving this vision. Strategic management relies on strategic administration and planning, with some administrative aspects added during its implementation, such as organisational change, human resources management, control, performance, and organisational effectiveness. A factor of great importance for the success of strategic management is the strategy implementation process. However, the models of organisational change developed in recent years are designed to manage general changes in organisations and do not have a specific approach to managing and implementing strategic planning and the changes caused by it, i.e., they are not models with a direct emphasis on strategic management. The article aims to define the concepts of strategic planning and management, analyse strategic planning models, and determine strategic problems of developing a model of organisational change. In the course of the research, we defined the concepts of strategic planning and strategic management by analysing the theoretical approaches of various authors. As a result of the analysis, we concluded that strategic management, in which the structuring basis is strategic planning and strategic administration, in its implementation added some administrative aspects, such as system thinking, integrated control, change management, organisational learning, performance, and organisational effectiveness. The article proposes a model of organisational change for efficient implementation of an organisation’s strategic planning. Thus, the strategic planning process requires a model of organisational change that will ensure its successful implementation. The proposed strategic planning process and the associated model of organisational change should be subject to constant refinement and improvement, both in theory and their application, to a particular organisation. Keywords: strategic planning, plan, management, organisational change, strategic management.

Exact and heuristic approaches for the Modal Shift Incentive Problem

It is widely acknowledged that freight transportation in general, and road freight transportation in particular, contributes significantly to greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. In response, many countries have implemented incentive schemes to divert freight traffic from roads towards more environmentally friendly transportation modes (e.g., rail, maritime). However, incentive-based policies to promote modal shift are often sporadic and uncoordinated across non-road modes, thus preventing full leverage of dedicated budgets. In this study, we present a strategic problem encountered by national and supranational entities aiming to reduce emissions from the freight transportation sector, referred to as the Modal Shift Incentive Problem (MSIP). The problem involves designing incentive policies in the form of subsidies aimed at reducing the cost of eco-friendly transportation modes, with the aim of minimizing the volume of freight transported via less environmentally friendly modes. These incentive policies must satisfy various constraints, including a limited budget for incentives, equity requirements, and compliance with regulations pertaining to competitiveness and free-market dynamics. To address the MSIP, we propose an original mathematical formulation on the basis of a deterministic threshold modal choice model used to simulate the shipper behavior in selecting the transportation modes. Then, we develop a two-phase solution method, able to determine good solutions with a small computational burden based on the generation of a subset of promising incentive schemes. Finally, we solve real-world instances generated utilizing data derived from a comprehensive case study in Italy. The results on different instance types, in terms of number of shipments, budget, and costs, show the relationship between these factors, the complexity of the MSIP, and the modal shift.

Robust Charging Network Planning for Metropolitan Taxi Fleets

We study the robust charging station location problem for a large-scale commercial taxi fleet. Vehicles within the fleet coordinate on charging operations but not on customer acquisition. We decide on a set of charging stations to open to ensure operational feasibility. To make this decision, we propose a novel solution method situated between the location routing problems with intraroute facilities and flow refueling location problems. Additionally, we introduce a problem variant that makes a station sizing decision. Using our exact approach, charging stations for a robust operation of citywide taxi fleets can be planned. We develop a deterministic core problem employing a cutting plane method for the strategic problem and a branch-and-price decomposition for the operational problem. We embed this problem into a robust solution framework based on adversarial sampling, which allows for planner-selectable risk tolerance. We solve instances derived from real-world data of the metropolitan area of Munich containing 1,000 vehicles and 60 potential charging station locations. Our investigation of the sensitivity of technological developments shows that increasing battery capacities shows a more favorable impact on vehicle feasibility of up to 10 percentage points compared with increasing charging speeds. Allowing for depot charging dominates both of these options. Finally, we show that allowing just 1% of operational infeasibility risk lowers infrastructure costs by 20%. Funding: This work was partially funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [Project 277991500]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2022.0207 .

Quick write and 3-2-1 strategies in summary writing: ESL students’ practices, perceptions, and attitude

ESL students’ limited knowledge and probably, unawareness of suitable strategies for summary writing have translated into mostly strategic problems. Quick write and 3-2-1 are strategies that foster analytical minds in reading and writing. This paper examined students’ attitudes, performance, and knowledge retention in summary writing. A pretest-posttest-control group quasi-experimental design was employed in the study with two treatments. The sample consisted of 110 senior secondary school II students. Three instruments, a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a summary writing performance test were used for the study. The research findings showed significant improvement in students’ performance and knowledge retention in summary writing. However, findings revealed that there is no significant main effect of treatment on students’ attitudes to summary writing. This study concludes that quick writing and 3-2-1 strategies are effective in enhancing students’ performance and knowledge retention in summary. Keywords: Attitude; perceptions; performance; quick write; retention; summary writing; 3-2-1

PROGRAM PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT DALAM PENANGANAN STUNTING DI KELURAHAN PANCUR, TAKTAKAN, SERANG BANTEN

Stunting is one of the strategic problems experienced by people in Banten, especially in the Pancur sub-district, Serang, Banten. The socialization and training activity "Stunting Prevention" is a form of implementation of the Real Work Lecture (KKN) theme in Banten. This activity will be carried out in August – September 2023, located in Pancur Village, Taktakan District, Serang City. The stunting prevention outreach and training program is carried out by adopting the knowledge and importance of drinking milk which explains that food consists of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and water. Partners involved in the KKN program include children, teenagers, young people, PKK mothers, Posyandu Group and the surrounding community. Furthermore, activities to socialize parenting patterns and meet the nutritional needs of mothers and children need to be increased. Then, training on washing hands using soap by implementing 7 steps on how to wash hands using soap to kill microorganisms went smoothly. The "Lungs of the World" program by planting fruit trees, such as manga, rambutan and longan as a source of oxygen and useful for public consumption. It is hoped that the KKN program will continue to be implemented by Muhammadiyah Tangerang University as a forum for students to actualize knowledge, insight and gain experience to help overcome problems and interact in society.

Multi-Criteria Decision-Making and Machine Learning Techniques: A Multidisciplinary Analysis of the World Military Scenario

Military development is increasingly related to strategic independence and technological advantages, representing an important factor in countries’ scientific, technological, and economic development. In this context, the present work proposes a methodology for evaluating the world’s military power based on the integration between Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) and Machine Learning. To this end, data from the military, economic, and strategic spheres of 140 countries were analyzed and evaluated considering 12 quantitative variables. Considering the large volume of data to be analyzed and establishing a ranking of countries, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), an unsupervised Machine Learning technique, was used. PCA allowed the analysis of 140 countries, identifying three factors representing the collective behavior of the 12 original variables, providing a world ranking of military power. The results were compared with specialized rankings on the subject and proved robust and reliable. As a contribution to the academy and society, the authors highlighted that this work fills the gap regarding the application of PCA in military problems to classify the observations, emphasized that the proposed methodology can be replicated in the most diverse problems and serve as input in other MCDM and data science techniques. In addition, the multidisciplinary of PCA allows the technique to support the decision-making process in the most diverse areas of knowledge that involve data analysis in tactical, operational, and strategic problems.

Gaps in strategic problem‐solving methods: A systematic literature review

AbstractStrategic problem‐solving enables organizations to pursue opportunities and address emerging threats proactively. However, traditional problem‐solving methods often rely on business processes and organizational procedures, which may not be available at the strategic level. This article investigates potential gaps in strategic problem‐solving methods through a Systematic Literature Review. The study analyses the existing literature on the potential of current problem‐solving methods to identify and resolve root causes of strategic problems when formal business processes and procedures are unavailable. A rigorous literature search process guided by focused research questions examines Problem Structuring Methods, Lean Thinking, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, Balanced Scorecard, SWOT Analysis, and other techniques. The synthesis of findings reveals limitations in strategic root cause analysis. In addition, the study introduces a supplementary decision‐making frame of reference to aid the selection of appropriate methods across problem‐solving, decision‐making, and solution implementation stages. This framework addresses the common challenges decision‐makers face in navigating organizational complexity and choosing suitable approaches, as well as visually maps methods to stages based on Content, Organizational, and Analytical complexity dimensions. The framework builds on the study's findings that using a single methodology may be insufficient for a complete decision process. The proposed decision‐making framework also offers valuable guidance for integrating diverse methods aligned to decision situations.

Efficiency of tax mechanisms of introducing feasible techniques in oil and gas industry

The need to solve strategic problems related to the ESG agenda and the technological independence of the Russian economy, the key mechanism to tackle which is the introduction of the best available technologies, have updated the need for this study of the effectiveness of an integrated approach to stimulate their implementation in the production processes of oil and gas companies. The integrated approach to the introduction of the best available technologies in the Russian practice and the effectiveness of existing financial and tax incentive mechanisms were analyzed. Empirical and economic-statistical methods were used. The results of the study show that financial and tax benefits (such as fines for excessive combustion of associated petroleum gas, subsidizing the cost recovery on loans and coupon income from the federal budget on issued bonds in order to implement projects with the introduction of the best available technologies increasing the coefficient to the depreciation rate for purchased equipment, investment tax deduction) have a positive effect. They form a complex interconnected system of state influence on economic entities in accordance with national interests and strategic objectives, which is based on the carrot and stick principle. The current system of financial and tax incentives is an indirect trigger for mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas industry and its further oligopolization, since it has a differentiated character conditioned by the advantage of large companies in the possibility of using preferences due to the established conditions for their application. Therefore, further adjustment is necessary taking into account the possibility of application for small and medium-sized independent oil and gas companies. The provisions of tax legislation were adopted under the influence of strategic objectives taking into account two main factors: the utilization of production capacities after the downtime of the post-Soviet decade and the solution of problems resulted from the ratification of international agreements, in particular the Kyoto Protocol of 1996, which did not put the country’s technological independence as an absolute priority. Currently, the Russian economy should be precisely based on technological independency as the basis for sustainable long-term socio-economic development and the need to achieve tougher global international imperatives in terms of environmental protection under sanctions pressure. As a result, there is a need to review the existing preferences in order to adjust them and strengthen their interconnection taking into account the results of further research in terms of the cumulative effect of the implemented organizational and economic mechanisms that contribute to achieving carbon neutrality.

Technology to prevent snow accumulation on the roofs of buildings operated by a transport company as a solution to snow removal problems

As part of a competition of projects aimed at solving strategic problems ensuring the sustainable development of the Krasnoyarsk Railway company, a technology for removing snow from the roofs of buildings was proposed, which is conceptually different from its analogues. The technology is based on the use of compressed air and automatically prevents the accumulation of snow, preventing its deposition on the “approach” of the roof; it does not provide for the use of moving, vibrating units, scraper parts, or thermal elements that negatively affect roofing coverings. Automatic, manual, remote control and notification modes are provided. The main results of verification of theoretical studies are presented: data from experimental studies obtained on a model of a snow removal installation under conditions simulating real operating conditions are presented. The possibilities of optimizing the technology for various types of roofs, social, environmental and economic feasibility for wide application are shown.

Convenția româno-turcă (1934) – componentă esențială a Înțelegerii Balcanice –

In the context of the conclusion of the Balkan Pact (1934), it was necessary to sign a bilateral secret Romanian-Turkish convention. The convention was based on the strategic military purpose of Romania, namely the isolation of possible Bulgarian attacks, material conditions, the quality of forces, their concentration, the direction of interventions, but also the solution of the strategic problem of maritime traffic. The discussions on the convention, led by the Romanian delegation with Turkey’s, had as main purpose the interpretation of the secret articles, the exchange of information on Bulgaria and the proposals for solving possible problems.

The Romanian-Turkish Convention (1934) – The Essential Component of the Balkan Pact –

In the context of the conclusion of the Balkan Pact (1934), it was necessary to sign a bilateral secret Romanian-Turkish convention. The convention was based on the strategic military purpose of Romania, namely the isolation of possible Bulgarian attacks, material conditions, the quality of forces, their concentration, the direction of interventions, but also the solution of the strategic problem of maritime traffic. The discussions on the convention, led by the Romanian delegation with Turkey’s, had as main purpose the interpretation of the secret articles, the exchange of information on Bulgaria and the proposals for solving possible problems.