Strategic Initiatives as Motors of Change - A Qualitative Approach to Strategic Renewal

How do organizations adapt to turbulent environments? Possible answers to that question can be found in research on strategic initiatives which has moved to the center of attention of strategic management researchers, as initiatives can offer ways for organizations to engage in explorative learning while simultaneously improving their existing capabilities. While today we have a good understanding of which contextual factors and which behavioral patterns facilitate initiative performance, there is only limited knowledge about the micro processes that determine opportunity identification as a basis of initiative emergence in established firms.

Based on qualitative data from three medium-sized companies in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, the purpose of this grounded theory study therefore was to shed light on these micro processes. Four behavioral patterns are identified as prerequisites of opportunity identification: (1) solution-driven search, (2) slack search, (3) networking, and (4) regeneration, all of which improve access to and availability of information. Findings also indicate that the availability of information facilitates opportunity identification only through an interaction with actors´ sensemaking activities. Furthermore, for strategic initiatives to emerge, organizational members have to engage in issue selling activities to gain the necessary attention and resources to pursue the initiative. Based on these findings, this study develops a model of strategic initiative emergence in established firms.