Michael Boppel

CEOs of large companies increasingly introduce corporate programs as a way to foster strategic renewal. Whether the goal is boosting profitability, improving business models or establishing new directions for growth, it's important to match the design of the program with the desired outcomes.

This 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.

Drawing on research on complexity and coordination, this study examines the incidence and effectiveness of corporate programs. We argue that strategic complexity, organizational complexity, and CEO limitations influence the decision to complement the existing line organization with corporate programs and its effects on performance. Based on a longitudinal analysis of corporate programs in the European financial service sector over a 10-year period, we find support that these three dimensions influence the presence of corporate programs. This analysis of corporate programs informs research on strategy execution and coordination in multi-unit firms.

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.

In corporate programs multi-business firms coordinate their portfolio of strategic initiatives that are means for renewing firms' capabilities. Research has focused mainly on capability development and organizational learning within single strategic initiatives. Despite the widespread managerial use of corporate programs, little research about effects on program-level and interplay of strategic initiatives exists. This study addresses this gap by examining the impact of several coordination and learning mechanisms on corporate program performance. Our central argument is that the degree of coordination and the facilitation of deliberate learning mechanisms influence corporate program performance. We conceptualize a corporate program learning process as a major building block of a corporate program capability. Thus, this study contributes mainly to strategic renewal, strategic initiative and dynamic capability research.