Browsing by Author "Johnson, Gerry"
Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Collective frames of reference, recognition, and managers' mental models of competition: a test in two industries(1995) Johnson, Gerry; Daniels, Kevin; de Chernatony, LeslieManagers draw upon sources of collective knowledge to cognitively represent strategic issues. It has also be argued that cognition is embedded in social interaction, enabling managers to recognize of others’ cognitions. In two separate industries, this study found that the influences upon managers’ mental models of their competitive environment include industry membership, organizational membership, and management level. The results indicate further that recognition of others’ mental models may be more pronounced than cognitive similarity.Item Open Access Leadership, symbolic action and strategic change(1989) Johnson, GerryItem Open Access Managing Strategic Change In a Railway Enterprise(Cranfield University, 1993-07) Fotini-Paradissopoulos, Helen; Johnson, GerryThe objective of this research is to investigate the way strategies are formed in a public sector organization and to assess the role of the Board-members in shaping and developing strategies. The project consisted of the following distinct steps: (1) The collection and processing of background information concerning the enterprise under study. (2) The collection and analysis of the Board's past decisions over a period of nine years. (3) The interview accounts of the members of the Board (4) The analysis of the interviews at the individual level and the construction of cognitive maps. (5) The testing of the validity of the cognitive maps of the previous stage by employing a quantitative technique in which the interviewees scored on matrices and identified the influence between elements of the strategy, the external, and the organizational environment. (6) The identification of patterns in the cognitive structure of each individual, resulting from both the qualitative (interviewing) and quantitative (matrix scoring) approaches. (7) The attempt to build theory by integrating the different sources of data and generating propositions grounded on data by relating the findings of this study to the existing literature. The major findings concerned the notion of strategy according to the Board-members' accounts. Thus, the majority of Board-members perceived strategy as something that occured outside them, something over which they had little control. The Board-members' role, as revealed in the strategy-areas studied, was a legalistic role concerning mostly ratification of proposals without active contribution to initiating and developing new strategies. It is also argued that this Board's composition, structure and processes exhibited deficiencies. The real strategist of the organization was the new General Manager who succeeded not only in creating an integrated strategy but also in getting it institutionalized (that is in establishing commitment among the people of the organization).Item Open Access Patterns of strategy development(1996) Bailey, Andy; Johnson, GerryThis paper builds on a multidimensional framework of strategy development to more clearly understand the processes by which strategy develops within organisations. It reports on a survey based research project which employs senior executives’ perceptions of the strategy development process in their organisations to examine how context specific configurations of dimensions explaining such processes can advance our understanding of strategic management. Six configurations are identified as commonly occurring and are seen to be associated with contextual variables at an organisational and industry level.Item Open Access Perceptions of competitive strategy : realised strategy, consensus and performance(Cranfield University, 1991-06) Bowman, Cliff; Johnson, GerryThis is a study of managers' perceptions of the strategic priorities in their strategic business unit (SBU). The perceptions managers have of the current competitive strategy of their SBU are used to explore four main research themes. Managers' perceptions are accessed through a brief, standardised questionnaire which contains statements about current strategic priorities. Firstly, the perceptions of managers from the same SBU are used to make inferences about the realised strategy of that business. SBUs in the sample (38) are classified into i3ur realised st:a:egy categories. These are derived from Porter's (1 980) generic strategies. A number of hypotheses concerning the performance implications of these realised strategy categories are developed and tested. Additionally, hypotheses about relationships between consensus (the extent to which managers from the same SBU share the same perceptions of strategic priorities), realised strategy, performance and organizational change are developed and tested. Secondly, the perceptions of managers from rnany different SBUs are used to derive a "mznagerial theory" of competitive strategy. This is developed in the context of a critique zf F'o;:erls generic strategies. Thirdly, the research addresses the sources of influence on managers' perceptions of strategic priorities. Specifically, the influence of the function the manager belongs to, and the industry the SBU conlpetes in are explored. Evidence of functicrnal and industry influence on perceptions is presented. Fourthly, the surfacing of managers' perceptions of current strategic priorities has been used to facilitate strategy debates with managenxnt teams. Examples of the issues raised, and the contributions to management discussion are presented. Finally, the thesis suggests ways in which the approaches taken in the study could be developed to address other issues in the field of strategic management.Item Open Access The processes of strategy development(1995) Bailey, Andy; Johnson, GerryThis paper is concerned with the processes by which strategy is developed within organisations. It builds on research into the nature of strategy development being undertaken within the Centre for Strategic Management and Organisational Change at Cranfield School of Management. Initially the process of strategy development is discussed, a number of explanations of the process are presented and an integrated framework is developed. This framework is subsequently used to illustrate the strategy development process operating in a number of organisations. The implications for the strategic management process are discussed.Item Open Access Strategic Formulation Processes: An Institutional Perspective(Cranfield University, 2003-11) Dudley, Paul; Johnson, Gerry; Balogun, JuliaMy research addresses the question of' 'how does the institutional context impact on the individual t'raming of' strategic issuesT These early stages of' decision making represent an important area of study, setting the t'Oundations t'Or the latter stages of decision-making. I show that although both the problem formulation and strategic issue diagnosis literatures have increased our understanding of these formative stages, neither has adequately addressed how 'Institutional forces' impact on the individual fi-aming of strategic issues. My research applies an institutional perspective, drawing on Barley & Tolbert (1997) and their work on 'scripted behaviours' to address this. Institutional i sts highlight the institutional context, represented by powerful social and symbolic fOrces that influence organisations, their practices and behaviours of individual actors through the enactment of scripts. A naturalistic approach, incorporating the use of semi-structured interviews was applied. Respondents were drawn from two universities: Alpha & Beta, possessing membership of' multiple institutions: academia and law, academia and accountancy. So, the research sought to understand the role of multiple institutions on the framing of strategic issues. It was established that scripts are widely shared within the institutional settings, playing a pivotal role in the framing of strategic issues (representative of top-down institutional processes being at play) but do not operate in isolation. I draw on the work of Bartunek ( 1984) to further ground the second inter-related concept described in my thesis as 'meanings'. These enable respondents to interpret institutionally defined scripts, indicative of bottom-up institutional processes also being at play. Several contributions are made, firstly to the strategic issue and problem formulation literatures and secondly to the institutional literature by focusing on micro- institutional processes.Item Open Access Subjective strategies for small business growth: An evaluation of the causal maps of small independent retailers(Cranfield University, 1995-06) Jenkins, Mark; Johnson, GerryThis study concerns the issue of small business growth. It has been widely established that small business growth is important to a region, both economically and socially, most notably through the generation of employment. However, a number of studies have revealed that only a small proportion of small businesses generate this growth. There is a lack of understanding concerning the reasons why some small businesses grow and others do not. This study considers the subjective strategies of small business owner-managers as a basis for drawing comparisons between growers and non-growers. A causal mapping methodology is used to represent subjective strategy. These causal maps provide a representation of how individual owner-managers see the development of their business. A series of propositions, developed from the existing literature, provide an indication of the characteristics which may discriminate between growth and non-growth oriented owner-managers. These propositions allow for the comparison of the causal maps which are elicited from thirty owner-managers of independent retail businesses. The thirty respondents are grouped into comparative categories based on growth and non-growth intentions and behaviours. The evaluation of these propositions indicates that the owner- managers of growing businesses hold subjective strategies that are more coherent, and include a greater proportion of performance measures than their non-growth oriented counter parts. The maps of non-growth oriented owner-managers show a greater proportion of concepts relating to control and the individual's personal needs and values.Item Open Access Theoretical and Methodological issues concerning managers' mental models of competitive industry structures(Cranfield School of Management, 1992) Daniels, Kevin; Johnson, Gerry; de Chernatony, LeslieThe methodology traditionally employed by strategic groups theorists categorizes companies on the basis of objective economic variables such as industry supply characteristics. Other lines of research have suggested that this economic approach is limited, and that a more cognitive approach is needed. Strategic groups theory proposes one way in which companies may be categorized, but it is not clear to what extent mangers categorize their competitors.