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Strategy Implementation Revisited: A Conceptual Review and Empirical Investigation of How Firms Implement Corporate Strategies
Type
fundamental research project
Start Date
01 April 2014
End Date
31 March 2016
Status
ongoing
Keywords
Corporate Programs
Strategy Implementation
Description
Strategy implementation is a crucial management task that impacts overall firm success. Despite its importance, literature has put a greater emphasis on strategy formulation. This is surprising since empirical studies and anecdotal evidence suggests that strategies often fail because of poor implementation (failure rates range between 50% and 70%) rather than inadequate strategies.
Further research is thus important from a theoretical as well as managerial point of view. While formulating a strategy is already difficult, strategy implementation faces many unique challenges, e.g. a long time span, unpredictable developments, and a large number of stakeholders. Literature has in particular paid little attention to strategy implementation in M-Form organizations. This is astonishing since the M-Form has become the dominant organizational form, diverse sets of businesses and complex organizational structures further complicate the implementation of (corporate) strategies, and investors have begun to judge the ability of firms to deliver on their promises by demanding regular updates of strategy implementation efforts.
This proposed research project addresses these shortcomings in the strategy implementation literature. I propose to examine the following research question: what is the role of corporate programs in strategy implementation? More specifically, this research projects seeks improve our understanding of (1) why and when firms set up dedicated, but temporary structures to coordinate their numerous strategy implementation efforts and (2) how do announcements of such dedicated strategy implementation vehicles influence investor and market perceptions. By examining a major structural choice in strategy implementation and the signaling effects of it, this research project will make important contributions to literature on strategy implementation in M-form organizations and to the nascent literature stream of programs.
Further research is thus important from a theoretical as well as managerial point of view. While formulating a strategy is already difficult, strategy implementation faces many unique challenges, e.g. a long time span, unpredictable developments, and a large number of stakeholders. Literature has in particular paid little attention to strategy implementation in M-Form organizations. This is astonishing since the M-Form has become the dominant organizational form, diverse sets of businesses and complex organizational structures further complicate the implementation of (corporate) strategies, and investors have begun to judge the ability of firms to deliver on their promises by demanding regular updates of strategy implementation efforts.
This proposed research project addresses these shortcomings in the strategy implementation literature. I propose to examine the following research question: what is the role of corporate programs in strategy implementation? More specifically, this research projects seeks improve our understanding of (1) why and when firms set up dedicated, but temporary structures to coordinate their numerous strategy implementation efforts and (2) how do announcements of such dedicated strategy implementation vehicles influence investor and market perceptions. By examining a major structural choice in strategy implementation and the signaling effects of it, this research project will make important contributions to literature on strategy implementation in M-form organizations and to the nascent literature stream of programs.
Member contributor(s)
Funder(s)
Topic(s)
Corporate Programs
Method(s)
Quantitativ
Range
Institute/School
Range (De)
Institut/School
Division(s)
Eprints ID
231288
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PublicationType: conference paper
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PublicationCorporate Programs: Analysis of a Major Structural Choice in Strategy ImplementationThis study examines the incidence and performance effects of corporate programs, which are temporary structures intended for the implementation of corporate strategy. Drawing on co-ordination and behavioral theories, we explore enabling conditions (why?) and precipitating circumstances (when?), which influence the decision to use a corporate program for strategy implementation and its effect on firm performance. An analysis of a unique 10-year data set of the European financial service sector shows support for our hypotheses regarding these internal factors, which increase the likelihood of corporate program presence. Although we find basically no support for the contingency arguments related to the performance effects, we find a positive direct performance effect. While these findings merit further investigations, they provide important initial insights on this emerging corporate phenomenon.Type: conference paper
Scopus© Citations 1