published_or_final_version / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

A key element that enables a firm to achieve better performance is a fit between environment and firm strategy. A review of the literature on strategic management reveals that this relationship is moderated by other contextual variables, and that these contextual variables have not been systematically studied. The major focus of this study was to examine the impact of an important contextual variable, property ownership type, on the environment-strategy relationship and its performance implications. To guide this study theoretically, the literature on organizational environment, strategy, the environment-strategy relationship, and property ownership was reviewed, and theoretical implications discussed. It was hypothesized that (1) firms exhibiting same ownership type were likely to respond to perceived environment with similar strategy, and such responses varied across ownership types, (2) such strategic decisions would lead to better firm performance, and (3) in addition to the indirect impact of ownership on performance through the environment-strategy relationship, ownership type also had direct impact on performance. In order to test these hypotheses, constructs were operationalized in multidimensional manner. Perceived environment was operationalized in terms of three dimensions (resource scarcity, dynamism, and complexity), and strategy was operationalized in terms of five dimensions (futurity, proactiveness, analysis, defensiveness, and riskiness). Each of these dimensions were found to be theoretically significant in previous research. The research was set in the People’s Republic of China. Two hundred and two firms were surveyed, and these firms represented four ownership types (state enterprises, collective enterprises, joint venture enterprises, and private enterprises). Analysis of results suggest that ownership type is a theoretically important variable that has significant impact on variables that subject to managerial control. Firm ownership type moderated the magnitude (in two ownership types) and configuration (in another two ownership types) of environment-strategy relationship. This moderating effect of ownership led to significant performance implications. Moreover, firm ownership also had significant direct impact on firm performance. Findings from this study contribute insight into the environment-strategy relationship and hold promise for studying strategic management issues in former centrally planned economies undergoing transition toward market economies. / Ph. D.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

by So Ting Sau, Cecilia, Tay Ko Ki, Doris. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-49). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.v / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.vi / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Statement of Problem --- p.1 / Background --- p.1 / Hypothesis --- p.2 / Scope of Study --- p.2 / Organization of the Project --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.4 / Chapter III. --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --- p.7 / Introduction --- p.7 / Quantitative Survey --- p.7 / Sample Selection --- p.7 / Questionnaire Construction --- p.8 / "Scoring, Editing & Coding" --- p.12 / Limitations of the Survey --- p.13 / Qualitative In-depth Interviews --- p.14 / Sample Selection --- p.14 / Interview Schedule & Construction --- p.15 / Background of Selected Company - Wong's International (Holdings) Ltd --- p.15 / Background of Selected Company - Myer Jewelry Manufacturer Ltd --- p.16 / Limitations of Face-to-face Interviews --- p.17 / Chapter IV. --- RESEARCH FINDINGS & DISCUSSIONS --- p.19 / Quantitative Survey --- p.19 / Background Information --- p.19 / Type of Planning --- p.22 / Company Mission --- p.24 / Objectives Setting --- p.25 / Strategy Formulation & Implementation --- p.27 / Control --- p.30 / Contingency Planning --- p.30 / Findings of the Qualitative In-depth Interviews --- p.31 / Wong's International (Holdings) Ltd --- p.31 / History of the Group --- p.31 / Type of Planning --- p.32 / Objectives Setting --- p.33 / Strategy Formulation & Implementation --- p.34 / Control --- p.34 / Contingency Planning --- p.35 / Myer Jewelry Manufacturer Ltd --- p.35 / Type of Planning --- p.35 / Company Mission --- p.36 / Objectives Setting --- p.37 / Strategy Formulation & Implementation --- p.37 / Control --- p.38 / Contingency Planning --- p.39 / Summary --- p.39 / Chapter V. --- CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS --- p.40 / Summary of Findings --- p.40 / Implications --- p.41 / Suggestions for Future Research --- p.41 / APPENDIX --- p.43 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.47