Type Of Business Strategy Research Articles

Strategic Choice and the Configuration of Management Control Systems

This paper examines firms' design of performance measurement systems to support the effective implementation of business strategy, and tests whether different strategic choices are associated with the use of different performance measures. Performance measurement choices analyzed are the extensiveness, purposes and types of performance measures used. In addition, the use of alternative controls, action controls and problem solving teams, is examined. To explain these management control choices, the structural model developed also includes other important contingency variables that are associated with business strategy, including firm competencies, technology and environmental uncertainty. An analysis of 387 survey responses from a cross-section of industries suggests the existence of three broad types of business strategy, relating to innovation, customer-quality and low-cost. The findings suggest that emphasis on different strategies is associated differently with firms' competencies, environmental uncertainty, choice of technology, and use of performance measures. Although more emphasis on low-cost or customer-quality is associated with more extensive use of performance measurement information, each of the three strategies is also associated with use of different types of performance measures. Specifically, firms emphasizing innovation emphasize measures related to innovation, cost & efficiency and market performance (including profit). High emphasis on a customer-quality strategy is associated with emphasis on measures relating to quality and managers. Firms emphasizing low-cost emphasize measures related to cost & efficiency, production (systems) and employees. These firms also use performance information for more purposes than others. The results further show that most firms pursue combined strategies, which, compared to emphasis on a single strategy, is associated with more extensive and intensive use of performance information. This study thus finds support for contingency propositions that different strategic choices are differently associated with environmental and firm-level contingencies and require different configurations of management control systems.

A Theoretical Framework for Aligning Project Management with Business Strategy

This study addresses two aspects of a topic under-researched in the strategic management literature: the alignment of project management and business strategy. Two areas of this alignment were studied: (1) The reciprocal influence between project management and business strategy, which we call the nature of the project management/business strategy alignment; and (2) the process used to align project management and business strategy. Then an empirically based theoretical framework, which highlights the impact of business strategy on project management—and the impact of project management on business strategy—as well as the mechanisms used to strengthen these alignments, was developed. This study expands on the previous, mostly anecdotal work, by using a rigorous theoretical approach to develop the proposed framework. This framework is contingent upon the type of business strategy—simple to understand and use—developed through numerous projects that are typology-free and not restricted to any particular business strategy typology, through projects that are empirically based on real-world data.

Business strategy and performance: the role of human resource management control

Purpose – To illuminate how the alignment of HRM control and business strategy affects firm performance.Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data are collected from computer and peripheral equipment industries via questionnaire. The measures include business strategy, HRM control, and performance. The major analytical technique used in this study is moderated hierarchical regression analysis.Findings – The value of any approach to HRM control can be augmented or diminished by simultaneously matching the HRM to the type of business strategy adopted by firms.Research limitations/implications – It is unknown how the selection of industries and geographical areas would affect this study's findings.Practical implications – Firms should use an appropriate combination of HRM control systems aligned with their strategic goals in order to improve business performance.Originality/value – This paper identifies the match between HRM control and business strategy and offers practical help to a firm when they are us...

Alliances Between Competitors and Consumer Information

Alliances between competitors where an established firm provides access to its marketing and distribution channels are an important real-world phenomenon. We analyze a market where an established firm, firm A, produces a product of well-known quality, and a firm with an unknown brand, firm B, has to choose to produce high or low quality. Firm A observes firm B's quality choice but consumers do not. Hence, firm B is subject to a moral hazard problem which can potentially be solved by firm A. Firm A can accept or reject to form an alliance with firm B, which is observed by consumers. If an alliance is formed, firm A is providing an implicit certification about the rival's product: consumers can infer that firm B is a strong competitor (high quality), as otherwise why would the established firm accept to form an alliance? The mechanism we discover allows for an economic interpretation of several types of business strategies.

A configuration study on the relationships between production systems and business strategy in the changing environment

This paper describes the development and analysis of a numerical taxonomy of the relationships between production systems and business strategy in the changing competitive environment. The taxonomy was developed with a standard method of cluster analysis, and is based on four types of environment, six types of business strategy and four types of production systems. Eighty-two firms were surveyed through face-to-face interviews. Four kinds of relationships between environment, business strategy, and production systems were observed. The validity of the cluster analysis is supported in the non-linear canonical correlation analysis. Underlying dimensions for the cluster analysis are interpreted as the product or service attribute and the customer focus.

The Applicability of Porter’s Generic Strategies in the Digital Age: Assumptions, Conjectures, and Suggestions

Because current management theories evolved in the context of brick-and-mortar firms, this paper examines three key questions raised by the advent of e-business: (1) Will the strategy types found among e-business firms resemble Porter’s (1980) generic strategies? (2) Will we find performance differences among e-business firms pursuing different types of strategies? (3) Will we find differences in the strategy-performance relationships of pure online firms (pure plays) and firms with both online and offline operations (clicks-and-bricks)? We conclude that integrated strategies that combine elements of cost leadership and differentiation will outperform cost leadership or differentiation strategies. We also argue that, regardless of business strategy type, clicks-and-bricks firms that closely integrate their on- and offline operations will enjoy performance advantages over their pure play counterparts.

Knowledge-based competitive advantage in the internet age: discovering emerging business strategies

Rapid developments in information technology supporting the leveraging of knowledge inter- and intra-organisationally are resulting in a number of emergent business strategies. This paper explores, from a knowledge management perspective, how information technology is making a differential strategic contribution to selected organisations. Emergent strategies are categorised as Knowledge Replication, Knowledge Diffusion/Leveragability, Knowledge Innovation, Knowledge Giveaway, and Knowledge Commercialisation. The paper discusses the advantages and potential limitations of each one of the suggested business strategy types, and develops recommendations on how other organisations might seek to additionally capitalise on their corporate knowledge.

What if planning were really strategic? Exploring the strategy-planning relationship in multinationals

We address the problems and criticisms of strategic planning leveled by Mintzberg and others by offering an alternative understanding of the ‘strategic’ in strategic planning. This view aligns various planning modalities with business strategy types; instead of planning resulting in strategy, strategy determines planning. We develop this theory linking aspects of planning with some well-known as well as some newly developed conceptualizations of business-unit strategy. Data taken from a qualitative, case-based study of strategic planning in multinationals and their subsidiaries are used to illustrate and extend our propositions concerning planning–strategy relationships. We surmise that the autonomy/dependency of the subsidiary is an important mediating variable in the type of planning necessary and feasible in these contexts.

Perception and management of legal issues in China by US firms

A survey of senior managers of American-owned firms in China about their experience with China’s legal system and with intellectual property rights violations indicates that none of them found the system efficient and few found it fair. Chinese business ethical standards were perceived to be lower than in the US. Certain types of firms and business strategies were more prone to product piracy and patent violations. A variety of methods were used to address them. Foreign managers with experience in China have insights into the functioning of the legal system and are more satisfied with it than less experienced managers.

Aligning manufacturing capabilities with business strategy: an empirical study in high-tech industry

Previously suggested frameworks for business strategies failed to consider the relationship between manufacturing capabilities and business strategies. Based on observations from high-tech industry, this study proposes a new business strategy framework, taking manufacturing capabilities into consideration. This new framework categorises business strategy types into: Pre-emptive/First Mover strategy, Low Cost/Follower strategy and Differentiation/Follower strategy. Data were collected from 113 high-tech manufacturing firms in Taiwan to validate this model. Statistical results indicate that the compatibility between business strategy and manufacturing capabilities is important to a firm's performance in new product introduction, net profit and sales. Our findings could serve as guidelines for firms in developing their business strategy. Specifically, firms should invest resources and time to develop a set of manufacturing capabilities to fit into their business strategies.

Marketing's contribution to the implementation of business strategy: an empirical analysis

AbstractThis paper describes a study that assesses the performance implications of matching marketing strategy to business strategy. In order to conduct this study we first reviewed the literature on marketing strategy to identify its key dimensions. We then conducted a survey of 1000 senior marketing executives about the strategic marketing practices adopted in their respective firms or business units, and developed scales to describe 11 strategic marketing activities. We next performed a K‐means cluster analysis using these scales to develop a taxonomy of marketing strategy types consisting of: Aggressive Marketers, Mass Marketers, Marketing Minimizers, and Value Marketers. We then observed that superior performance at the firm or SBU level was achieved when specific marketing strategy types were matched with appropriate Miles and Snow (1978) business strategy types. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An information technology trilogy: business strategy, technological deployment and organizational performance

The objective of this empirical study is to identify various profiles of technological deployment specific to various types of business strategy that best support organizational performance. Top managers from 223 organizations completed two questionnaizres analyzed using a Partial Least Squares tool (PLS graph). Profiles of technological deployment based on the strategic impact of the information system department, the technological architecture, the information system performance evaluation and technological scanning were identified. Using Miles and Snow's typology to characterize business strategy, an outward technological profile contributes directly to organizational performance for the analyzer strategic activities, while an inward profile of technological deployment contributes indirectly to organizational performance for the prospector strategic activities.

The Effects of Strategy Type on the Market Orientation–Performance Relationship

Prior research has been equivocal on the role that competitive environment plays in moderating the relationship between market orientation and a firm's business performance, even though such a moderating effect is conceptually quite plausible ( Slater and Narver 1994 ). In this article, the authors empirically examine the role of business strategy type as an alternative, potential moderator of the market orientation–performance relationship. By using an improved version of Kohli and Jaworski's market orientation scale ( Jaworski and Kohli 1993 ; Kohli, Jaworski, and Kumar 1993 ), the authors find evidence that supports the moderating effects of business strategy type on the strength of the relationship between market orientation and business performance. The authors also offer implications and future research questions based on the findings.

Human resource management and business strategy links: an empirical study

Over recent years there has been an increasing interest in the field of human resource management. Currently, the literature encourages the consideration of human resources as strategic factors, not only because they play important role in strategy implementation, also because they are beginning to be reckoned as sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Relationships between human resource management and strategy have been studied from different perspectives. This article focuses on one of them. It examines matches between human resource practices and types of business strategy. The question addressed is: do human resource management practices vary with business strategy? To answer this question, empirical research was developed. Using data collected from 200 Spanish companies, this paper demonstrates significant associations between some human resource practices and business strategy in companies. Reported results support some of the previously established relationships. Implications for future research are discussed.

Essential dimensions of a marketing strategy in the hospital industry.

This paper reviews existing literature and defines essential dimensions of a hospital's marketing strategy for each of two business strategies; using the results of a national survey, this study confirms that hospitals make different marketing decisions based on the type of business strategy adopted by the hospital.

The influence of business strategies on technological network activities

This paper investigates the impact of business strategy on technological interweavement. Based upon a sample of 451 manufacturing companies, five empirical business strategy types are identified with the help of a cluster analysis, namely the technological leader, the customer-focused developer, the cost leader, the specialiser and the dissipater. It is shown that these types differ significantly in regard to structure and intensity of their technological network. Furthermore, the findings show that there is no overall superior type of network, but that a network must match the business strategy.

International product strategies: An exploratory study

The search for different strategies that take account of the balance between the standardization of products across market segments and their adaptation to single segments, is a crucial area of research in the field of international business strategy. However, research needs to be more inductively oriented, and should therefore start by exploring patterns in the business-level strategies employed by businesses competing in two distinct local markets. This article presents an empirical survey study that searches for types of international business strategies focusing on the product standardization/adaptation dilemma. The strategies are concerned with industrial products and markets in terms of users, and the strategies distinguish Swedish international businesses operating in Sweden and Germany. With the help of multivariate analysis three types of international business strategy are identified: business concentration, product adaptation and user divergence. In the business concentration strategy, similarities in user characteristics and product design across national boundaries are emphasized. In the case of the user divergence strategy, standardization refers to the product only, while product adaptation involves localizing the product and customizing it to satisfy local needs.

The Responsiveness of Information Technology to Business Strategy Formulation: An Empirical Study

In a study involving 88 companies., the nature of the linkages between business strategy and information technology (IT) responsiveness was explored. The results indicate that variations in IT–strategy responsiveness, measured by the extent to which IT is explicitly considered in business strategy formulation, are linked to the type of business strategy being pursued by the organization. For example, IT is more responsive to business strategy in organizations which place heavy emphasis on innovation in their product and market strategies than in those which operate in a relatively stable product/market area. This implies that organizations with an aggressive business strategy are more likely than those with a conservative business strategy to explicitly consider IT as a strategic resource in formulating business strategy. This paper suggests that the extent to which IT is used to shape business strategy differs among organizations, and that business strategy can help us understand these differences.

The responsiveness of information technology to business strategy formulation: an empirical study

In a study involving 88 companies, the nature of the linkages between business strategy and information technology (IT) responsiveness was explored. The results indicate that variations in IT-strategy responsiveness, measured by the extent to which IT is explicitly considered in business strategy formulation, are linked to the type of business strategy being pursued by the organization. For example, IT is more responsive to business strategy in organizations which place heavy emphasis on innovation in their product and market strategies than in those which operate in a relatively stable product/market area. This implies that organizations with an aggressive business strategy are more likely than those with a conservative business strategy to explicitly consider IT as a strategic resource in formulating business strategy. This paper suggests that the extent to which IT is used to shape business strategy differs among organizations, and that business strategy can help us understand these differences.

The Effect of Business Strategy Type on Marketing Organization Design, Product-Market Growth Strategy, Relative Marketing Effort, and Organization Performance

This article reports an empirical investigation of the underlying relationships between business strategy type, the design of the marketing function, product-market growth strategies, relative marketing effort, and organization performance in 410 firms across a cross-section of six service industries. Business strategy type was operationalized by using the Miles and Snow (1978) typology which characterizes businesses as defenders, prospectors, analyzers, or reactors based on their product-market scope. The fmdings provide empirical support to the Miles and Snow (1978) typology in everyone of the six service industries. The managerial implications are presented and discussed.