Christoph Lechner
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Prof. Dr.
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Lechner
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Christoph
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christoph.lechner@unisg.ch
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+41 71 224 3903
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Managing Evolving Ecosystems? How Orchestrators Balance High and Low Levels of Control During Ecosystem Evolution

2023-10-02 , Alexander Göritz , Tim Meyer , Christoph Lechner

Ecosystems have become an increasingly common way of aggregating the products or services of different firms into a single offering. While the central actors in these ecosystems (i.e., the orchestrators) typically coordinate the activities of ecosystem members, they are usually not able to control their exact actions, which limits their ability to create a successful ecosystem. In this paper, we study how orchestrators choose between forms of collaboration with ecosystem members that either have high or low levels of control. Using a novel dataset of 35 ecosystems, we aim to show that orchestrators will choose lower levels of control if they want to benefit from diverse knowledge and high levels of control if they want improve coordination and secure their central position.

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Organizational Complexity Attributes and Performance during Economic Shocks: An Activity System View

2014-08-04 , Oh, Lyndon , Kreutzer, Markus , Lechner, Christoph

This study extends both complexity literature and research on exogenous shocks by examining how firms' ex-ante complexity attributes influence immediate and long-term performance in the presence of specific environmental stimuli and whether this effect varies according to type of stimulus. Taking a sample of publicly-traded U.S. bank hold-ing companies, and drawing on the activity systems view of the firm, we propose that three system-wide complexity attributes- (1) concentration, (2) task complexity, and (3) opacity of activities-influence performance outcomes after exogenous shocks. We propose that those effects differ by type of shock, i.e. whether the shock relaxes (deregulation) or tightens environmental constraints (market shock) and study the Gramm-Leach-Bliley-Act in 1999 and the financial crisis with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008 respectively. We find partial support for our hypotheses.

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Corporate Initiative Programs : A Coordination Theory Perspective

2011-06-13 , Boppel, Michael , Keil, Thomas , Lechner, Christoph

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Learning Activities and the Performance of Exploratory Versus Exploitative Strategic Initiatives

2010-09-15 , Lechner, Christoph , Walter, Jorge , Kellermanns, F.W. , Floyd, Steven

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A competitive dynamics view on complementor commitment

2019 , Dexheimer, Maximilian Jakob , Lechner, Christoph

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Modularization and Coordination of Corporate Initiatives : Towards a Program Perspective

2012-12-19 , Boppel, Michael , Keil, Thomas , Lechner, Christoph

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Do Corporate Initiatives Require Coordination?

2011-11-09 , Boppel, Michael , Keil, Thomas , Lechner, Christoph

Strategic initiatives are frequently touted as a mechanism to overcome structural inertial and create flexibility in multi-business firms. Yet, empirical research suggests that these initiatives frequently fail to reach their goals. In this paper we identify limits to the autonomy of strategic initiatives and argue that the coordination of corporate initiatives through corporate initiative programs (outside of the operating structure) is able to provide benefits beyond the reach of alternative approaches. We further argue that coordination of initiatives along several succinct dimensions improve their impact in creating cross-business synergies. Our arguments contribute to literatures on horizontal coordination, strategic initiatives, heterogeneous goals and multi-business firms more generally.

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Formal and Informal Control as Complements or Substitutes? The Role of the Task Environment

2014-08-04 , Kreutzer, Markus , Cardinal, Laura , Walter, Jorge , Lechner, Christoph

This study extends both traditional contingency approaches to organizational control as well as the fledgling, and largely conceptual, literature on more holistic control approaches by examining whether and to what extent formal and informal controls interact with each other in their influence on performance outcomes. In particular, we examine whether formal and informal controls act as complements or substitutes for each other, as well as whether such an interaction will be more or less pronounced in the context of higher degrees of exploration. Our empirical findings from an analysis of 184 strategic initiatives conducted by firms across a variety of industries provide support for the benefits of a complementary use of formal and informal controls, but also suggests that the degree of exploration at least partially moderates this effect, and thereby contribute to a more com-prehensive understanding of organizational control.

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Interdependencies of Activity Systems and Strategic Renewal

2011-11-07 , Albert, Daniel , Kreutzer, Markus , Lechner, Christoph

There are two opposing perspectives on the relationship between interdependency in activity systems and the likelihood of radical strategic renewal. Some scholars argue that interdependency increases inertia and thus inhibits radical deviation from the current state. Other scholars argue that rich levels of interdependency are necessary to undergo radical strategic renewal at all. In this paper, we claim that both strands of research have looked at different sub-dimensions of interdependency and therefore derive at different conclusions. Hence, by introducing multiple dimensions of interdependency, we show that the likelihood of radical strategic renewal is influenced by the value of three structural and two rule-based dimensions of interdependency.

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Strategic Renewal of Activity Systems : A Model for Interdependence Characteristics

2010-09-15 , Albert, Daniel , Kreutzer, Markus , Lechner, Christoph

In recent years, the phenomenon of activity systems has come to the forefront of strategy research. Previous scholars have identified interdependencies between activities as crucial to understand the strategic renewal of such complex systems. However, extant literature provides surprisingly few distinct dimensions of interdependence that characterize activity systems and influence strategic renewal success. Hence, drawing on strategic renewal literature and complexity science, we propose distinct interdependence dimensions to describe activity systems more holistically and derive a theoretical model on their role in times of strategic renewal.

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