Research in international business and strategy emphasizes the important role knowledge plays in foreign expansion, and multiple research perspectives have viewed a firm‘s knowledge as the key driver of competitive advantage. Thus, in today‘s business environment, the ability to learn and source knowledge across boundaries is important to both firm performance and strategic change. My dissertation examines the ―knowledge-seeking‖ motive for international expansion, which suggests that firms expand abroad to gain new technical capabilities and knowledge from diverse institutions, which allow firms to change in dynamic markets. I extend organizational learning, the resource-based view, and internationalization theory to examine empirically how internationalization influences strategic changes by affecting exploratory search. This research also challenges the standard assumptions about the positive benefits of exploration on change, suggesting that a curvilinear relationship exists. Further, I argue that innovation capabilities enhance the relationship between strategic change and firm performance. These questions are examined using longitudinal data on pharmaceutical firms. The findings from this analysis reveal that internationalization has a curvilinear relationship with exploratory search. In addition, speed of internationalization, rhythm of internationalization, and international experience moderate the relationship between internationalization and exploratory search. Exploratory search was found to have an inverted U-shaped relationship with strategic change, suggesting the high exploratory search may negatively affect the firm. The analysis also revealed innovation capabilities negatively moderated the relationship between strategic change and firm performance (ROA). This study provides important contributions to the fields of strategic management, international business, and organizational learning.

The purpose of this research is to use a conceptual model to analyze the capacity for strategic change and then apply the model to assess the change capacity in Electrolux¡¦s three major strategic changes. Through applying the model of capacity for change to analyze the change process of Electrolux, the author will research into the following problems: • Why was the change initiated? By whom? • Why was the specific strategy (the content of change) chosen? Who formulated it? • What was the strategy for implementing the change (the process)? How was the implementation process conducted? • Characterizing and evaluating the capacity for change in the case company. After analyzing the strategic change and development of the Electrolux Group, the author found out the answers of the research problems and developed three major management implications, which are stated as follows: (1) High path dependence between stages After reviewing the development of Electrolux from longitudinal perspective, the author found that Electrolux development processes from stage to stage are characterized by high path dependence. The Group strives to build competitive advantages and realize the intended strategy in each stage in order to respond to the impacts resulted from the changes of external environment. Only competitive advantages and intended strategy of the current stage are built and realized will the company initiate a new strategy and proceed to next stage. Therefore, the shift into the next stage is influenced by two factors, namely, the realization of the stage-oriented intended strategy and the building of competitive advantages. Highly Path dependence from stage to stage characterizes the Electrolux¡¦s development stage model (see Figure 4.2). (2) Operating/industry environment factors serve as the main driving forces behind change After analyzing the development of Electrolux Group (see chapter 5), the author found environment factors serves as the main driving forces behind each change. In order to effectively respond to the impacts resulted from the environment changes and find a niche to grow, the organization has to closely monitor the environment changes. Only by recognizing the impacts resulted from environmental changes can organization decide the direction of corporate strategy and then evaluate whether the resources and capabilities the organization possesses can generate competitive advantage so as to realize intended strategy. (3) Leadership strongly impact the formation of change process As suggested in chapter 2.4, four internal factors i.e. leadership, structure, resources and capabilities, and culture would affect the change process (see Figure 2.2). After analyzing these internal factors affecting the change process of Electrolux, the author found that leadership serves as the main internal driving force in each change period. Though Electrolux¡¦s three major changes were mainly initiated by the external environment, the change process could not be implemented and the realized strategy could not be attained without the strategic leader who can clearly recognize and effectively react to the environment changes and adopt new strategic actions to realize the intended strategy in the end.

The central aim of the research was to evaluate the applicability of the normative strategic planning (SP) model in the context of the small manufacturing firm. A normative SP paradigm was developed from a review of the relevant literature and this was further refined through a review of the existing body of knowledge in the small business area and the attendant strategy and planning issues. To test the paradigm, in-depth studies were conducted in a sample of four small manufacturing enterprises and in each case, three strategic changes were jointly identified by the researcher and the respective managing directors. The studies were longitudinal in nature and were designed to measure the relevance and utility of the rational planning model in such businessesT. he methodsu sed compriseds en-&structuredin terviews and observation techniques and the changes were analysed to identify the factors that drove them. From this analysis, a more refined model was developed which integrated the change factors identified from the literature review and the change factors from the field-work. A particularly dominant concept emerged from the field-work, that of flexibility in the pursuit of emerging opportunities, a concept present in eight of the twelve changes. The work contributes to the existing body of knowledge by determining the part played by the rational planning (RP) model; by establishing how strategic changes are triggered, assesseda nd implementedi n the researchedc ompaniesa nd by building a more relevant model that might prove useful in a broader selection of small businesses. A key apriori assumption proposed inter alia that the RP model would be of little practical use in small business( SB) environments.T he main perceivedw eaknesseso f the RP model were considered to be the data requirements and associated data analysis resources thought rarely to be found in SBs and the capability of actually generating and sustaining radically new strategies. From the analysis of the 12 changes, the influence of the RP model was found to be minimal.

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From the 1980s onwards pharmaceutical manufacture evolved from a fragmented industry to a global oligopoly. In the ecology literature coevolution theory proposes that V competing species (incumbent firms) interact and shape each others’ development, and V that this in turn potentially shapes the community (industry) structure. This suggests that when exploring how firms’ strategies changed during a period of significant industry change it is important to understand processes of both strategy evolution and coevolution in order to understand the dynamics of strategic change. This led to the research question ‘How did the realised strategies of a heterogeneous set of firms coevolve during the period of pharmaceutical industry consolidation from 1992-2002?’ In order to answer this a categorisation of strategic actions realised by firms in the pharmaceutical industry was developed. This was used as the basis of a methodological framework which used qualitative document analysis to longitudinally analyse how the grand strategies and strategic actions of a set of six pharmaceutical firms evolved and coevolved. These firms had arrived at different strategic outcomes and were selected using purposive sampling and replication logic. For the period 1992-2002 it was found that each firm realised unique patterns of grand strategy evolution. Further, the strategic actions that formed realised strategies coevolved both with the strategic actions of other firms and with the structure of the pharmaceutical industry as it became increasingly consolidated and globalised. Contributions to theories surrounding the environmental determinism versus strategic choice debate have been made with the findings supporting theories of coevolution, incremental and emergent strategy, and temporal patterns in strategy development. New contributions to knowledge were the development of a theory of pharmaceutical industry coevolution, development of a methodological framework for understanding strategic change in the pharmaceutical industry, and the creation of techniques to aid strategic decision making

Thesis advisor: Michael G. Pratt / In spite of an undeniably vast and multidisciplinary body of research on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) spanning more than 50 years, extant scholarship provides little insight into how two organizations that have struggled to integrate rebound from failure in their relationship. This dissertation examines two organizations—AMC Hospital and Community Hospital—that achieved this outcome nearly 16 years after they legally merged. To understand this phenomenon, I conducted an inductive, longitudinal qualitative study of these two organizations and their members using interviews, archival data, and observations as my data sources and grounded theory techniques to analyze the data and build theory. Extending prior research on M&As, multiple organizational identity management, and identities as resources in organizations, I advance the notion of multiple identity resourcing by examining how the negotiation of multiple organizational identities fostered greater resource sharing and generation during post-merger integration. Additionally, I elaborate prior research on meaning construction during strategic change by examining how managers’ interpretations of the power and intimacy dynamics in the merger relationship influenced their strategizing, which affected organizational-level episodes of success and failure during the integration process. More broadly, I demonstrate how practices at both the level of the merger relationship and the level of strategy implementation enable successful performance during post-merger integration. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Management and Organization.

<p>Strategic change projects allow companies to align their strategy to the turbulent external environment in today’s marketplace and are therefore crucial for retaining the competitive advantage of the firm. The identification of the critical success factors for these projects has become increasingly important, because of the reported high failure rates in the implementation of such projects. The important role of SMEs for the social and economic development of a country is well-known. However, SMEs as an area of study are not often discussed by researchers and an appropriate set of critical success factors for them is lacking. Therefore, it is vital to identify the critical success factors for the implementation of strategic change projects in SMEs to ensure the success of their efforts.</p><p>This study, which seeks to determine the critical success factors for the implementation of strategic change projects within the context of SMEs makes use of a multiple-case study strategy. The cases are based in two companies where semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to obtain the primary data required. The information retrieved from the selected cases was analysed using a qualitative approach. For the elaboration of the conclusion, an iterative process was followed, moving from the data collected, to the theoretical background and to the development of theory.</p><p>At the end of the study it was possible to identify a set of eleven critical success factors that answers the research question of this thesis. In addition, a conceptual model was derived from the theoretical and empirical studies of this work, outlining three dimensions that are considered to influence strategic change project success in the SME-setting. The present study would be beneficial to the practitioners of SMEs as the identified set of critical success factors can be used as a checklist of points to concentrate on when implementing strategic change projects. This will assist them in ensuring that the crucial factors and issues are addressed during implementation. For academics, the study contributes new knowledge to the field and offers a common language for discussing the critical success factors of strategic change projects in SMEs.</p>

Strategic change projects allow companies to align their strategy to the turbulent external environment in today’s marketplace and are therefore crucial for retaining the competitive advantage of the firm. The identification of the critical success factors for these projects has become increasingly important, because of the reported high failure rates in the implementation of such projects. The important role of SMEs for the social and economic development of a country is well-known. However, SMEs as an area of study are not often discussed by researchers and an appropriate set of critical success factors for them is lacking. Therefore, it is vital to identify the critical success factors for the implementation of strategic change projects in SMEs to ensure the success of their efforts. This study, which seeks to determine the critical success factors for the implementation of strategic change projects within the context of SMEs makes use of a multiple-case study strategy. The cases are based in two companies where semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to obtain the primary data required. The information retrieved from the selected cases was analysed using a qualitative approach. For the elaboration of the conclusion, an iterative process was followed, moving from the data collected, to the theoretical background and to the development of theory. At the end of the study it was possible to identify a set of eleven critical success factors that answers the research question of this thesis. In addition, a conceptual model was derived from the theoretical and empirical studies of this work, outlining three dimensions that are considered to influence strategic change project success in the SME-setting. The present study would be beneficial to the practitioners of SMEs as the identified set of critical success factors can be used as a checklist of points to concentrate on when implementing strategic change projects. This will assist them in ensuring that the crucial factors and issues are addressed during implementation. For academics, the study contributes new knowledge to the field and offers a common language for discussing the critical success factors of strategic change projects in SMEs.

A comprehensive model of enterprise transformation is developed, along with a more specific model that includes multiple process factors inherent in transformation. The process factors are drawn from literature as well as primary research conducted for the dissertation. Specific considerations of time, cognitive attention, control and leadership are proposed to affect various outcome measures of transformation. This dissertation is conducted within the context of the retail industry. Financial analyses are included in order to provide an empirical basis for choice of retail industry context. Interviews with multiple retail executives acted as a source of primary, qualitative data with which to develop the model and inform the creation of a survey. A broad based empirical survey provided a second source of data with which to test the hypotheses about the impacts of multiple transformation factors on success metrics. Results indicate a large percentage of the variance in the outcomes of transformation can be explained with specific, actionable measures. Clarity of goals and plans, and strong leadership support are all shown to be important in affecting successful change. Additional factors, including flexibility in plans and goals, and leadership communication levels provide additional support for the hypotheses. Implications for theory and practice are elaborated, and future considerations for the research are discussed.

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