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Research into the interrelationship between firm strategy and firm performance is fairly common. Not as common is the examination of firm behaviors as an intermediate construct between strategy and performance. Additionally, the construct of adaptability, found in previous research to be highly correlated with performance, has been inadequately examined as an important macro-level construct. This study develops a theoretical model of the interrelationships among these variables and individually tests each of the links in that model with data drawn from the hosiery industry and its experience with the adoption of Electronic Commerce. The use of the Strategic Orientation of Business Enterprises (STROBE) construct (Venkatraman, 1989a) and a rigorous development of an adaptability index are important components of this research. The STROBE construct has been used only twice before for comparative analysis of firm characteristics. Specification of adaptability has been inconsistent and non-rigorous in past research. Specifically, the study model hypothesizes relationships between (1) strategic orientation and adaptability, (2) strategic orientation and firm performance, (3) adaptability and firm performance, (4) strategic orientation, adaptability and the adoption of Electronic Commerce, and (5) the adoption of Electronic Commerce and performance. To assess the model a field study of executives and managers from twenty-one firms in the sock segment of the hosiery industry was conducted. Results of the study point to several important conclusions. STROBE appears to be a useful strategic construct with which to compare firms in an industry and to identify valid strategic groups. Adaptability was found to be insignificantly correlated with any individual STROBE dimension and a potentially useful managerial variable. Additionally, as in past research, adaptability is correlated with general measures of firm performance. Although the adoption of Electronic Commerce appears to be related to specific indicators of firm performance, the interrelationship among strategic orientation, adaptability, and the adoption of Electronic Commerce yielded ambiguous results. Further research is indicated to more clearly sort out these complex relationships. / Ph. D.

This study investigates how firms navigate technological changes over time. Specifically, we determine whether firms follow a consistent strategy in regards to when they time their entry into technological waves. Resulting performance implications of these actions are also measured. The theoretical underpinnings of this study lie at the intersection of the technology literature, the learning school, firm evolutionary theory, and the resource-based view of the firm. Past studies have added clarity as to how firms behave within a single technological wave; however, investigations regarding firm actions over successive waves are needed if we are to truly understand which firm actions lead to long-term success. This study fills the research gap by investigating firm timing patterns over multiple successive waves of technology and the resulting long-term performance implications of these actions. Further, this study examines timing efforts over both competence enhancing (incremental) and competence destroying (architectural) cycles. The findings indicate that while technological follower firms are able to consistently repeat their timing strategy, technological leaders have a much more difficult time in repeating early entry timing. Repeated leadership entry was found to be difficult in both incremental and architectural cycles. Characteristics of those leaders able to repeat leadership entry are provided. While consistent entry timing was not found to impact market share, it was found to benefit firms by reducing their hazard rate. This hazard rate reduction for timing entry consistency, whether it is as a leader or as a follower, was observed during both incremental and architectural technological changes. / Ph. D.

Innovation research in the wood products industry has historically focused on factors that the firm can influence or control, as opposed to factors external to the firm. The purpose of this research is to understand how the external factors of the firm (i.e., social, technological, economic, ecological, and political or STEEP factors) impact Schumpeter's five-factors of innovation (i.e., sources of supply, methods of production, markets, products and services, and business models) in decorative hardwood veneer producing firms. Case studies of hardwood veneer firms in Austria and the United States were conducted to understand these impacts from individual firms' perspectives. Innovation strategies of the companies were identified based on their use of innovation resources, leverage of those resources and capabilities to serve customers and markets, and deliberateness or emergence. Interviews of experts in each of the environmental areas from both geographic regions also were conducted to qualify and validate the impacts. An online survey was conducted with hardwood veneer companies in Austria, Germany and the United States to quantify the impacts in these regions, and results were analyzed via cluster analysis to better understand the environmental impacts to innovation and the strategies firms were employing to innovate. The results of the study identified American firms as being most impacted by economic environmental factors and Austrian firms most impacted by social factors. Austrian/German and US firms both made more deliberate than emergent attempts to innovate. US firms most attempted to innovate their business models, while Austrian and German firms most attempted source of supply and product and service innovations. The major implications of this research are the awareness firms in the hardwood veneer industry can gain from understanding the innovation strategies their firms employ, how the environment they function within impacts their innovation, and what they can do about it. By helping this niche industry create sustainable competitive advantages, the industry can overcome the adversities of the mature industry lifecycle phase, including competitive threats from substitute products and increased competition from foreign log buyers, and shift back into a growth phase of the lifecycle. / Ph. D.

No / Contrary to some popular thinking, fish do not produce a lot of eggs because so many are eaten by predators. Rather, the rate of predation on fish eggs is high because they produce such a lot of eggs. Many fish produce thousands of minute eggs, each with an infinitesimally small chance of survival because this reproductive strategy in these species results in the highest number surviving to adulthood.

No / The paper considers the implementation of a virtual manufacturing system as an alternative to outward technology licensing in a high technology industrial sector. Brief theoretical definition and description of the two strategy options is provided to give background and context. This is followed by empirical material from a longitudinal case study of a company that has developed a virtual manufacturing system in addition to its pre-existing outward technology licensing business stream. A summary account of the company history and development is followed by description of the virtual manufacturing proposal. Analysis of this identified a number of competencies that would be required in order to succeed. The final part of the paper describes the company's response to this analysis and discusses early implementation of the virtual system. It is shown that implementation of the proposal has represented a positive response to the business challenges facing the company.

This study focused on identification of success factors of strategy implementation in retail branches of a bank. The objective of this study was to identify and investigate the possible factors which influence successful implementation of strategic plans in a retail banking environment. In doing so, establish various factors that inhibit successful strategy implementation and explore approaches or best practices that could be adopted to facilitate effective implementation of strategic decisions. The data was collected through questionnaires distributed to the branch managers of the institution. 153 respondents out of a population of 615 participated in the study. The results showed that understanding one’s local market, knowing your customer, communication, leadership, culture-strategy alignment, resources-strategy alignment, rewards and tactical plan are the top success factors of strategy implementation within branches of this bank. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The research question addressed by the study asks, "Is international integration strategic and departmental structural fit a predictor of performance in U.S.-based, single-business multinational organizations?" The study is designed to extend existing research in international integration strategy, which is often called "global strategy," "globalization," or "internationalization" in the popular press and academic research literature.

Previous studies have shown that information regarding competitors has great value for organizations, especially in terms of strategy, making strategic decisions, strategic plans, development of resources, innovation and change, etc. However, most studies tend to investigate competitive intelligence rather than competitor intelligence. Competitor intelligence may be an important factor for organizations to include in their strategy building but too few focus on its impact on such process. Therefore this paper modified one of the strategy tools which are utilized in the strategy building process of organization by including competitor intelligence, with the aim at having a better understanding how competitor intelligence has impact or contribution to the process of strategy building. The modified model shows that with the presence of competitor intelligence, the reliability and feasibility of strategic options are improved to achieve a competitive strategy, which facilitates to enhance competitive advantage and sustainability of the organization.

A central tenet of this study is the notion that a reader's metacognition affects understanding. Identifying the organisational structure of text is a valuable tool for comprehending and recalling the writer's message. In this study, participants learned to identify text structure and to direct use of that knowledge toward facilitating their academic work. The research is about students acquiring a new strategy and adjusting it to meet the academic requirements of authentic tasks in their real life context. Theoretical bases for this research included metacognition, strategy acquisition, and top-level structure strategy. A review of the literature was conducted into teacher education, lifelong literacy, and top-level structure strategy. It uncovered limited data on strategic behaviour involving the target strategy in authentic contexts. Using case study method I examined if and how student teachers developed learning behaviour using top-level structure strategy (TLS) as the target strategy. This provided a theorization of the process by which each participant became a strategist. The theory describes and predicts that some learners adopt a strategy and find it useful, some adopt a strategy and then adapt it to suit perceived needs and complement existing strategies, and others try the target strategy, decide it is not effective, and reject it. The theory, while attractive, needs to be tested beyond limitations of the method used here, and warrants replication studies, particularly broader research using quantitative methods. A qualitative, case study design was used to examine and describe the effects of strategic instructional intervention. The study was conducted in the school of early childhood teacher education in which the researcher works as lecturer and Year 1 Dean. Ethical consideration was given to the recruitment process to ensure participants' well-being and volunteers were sought from among Year 2 students. Four women participated in the study, three enrolled full-time, and one enrolled part-time. Data were gathered from pre- and post-intervention tasks and questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and written journals. They were analysed using thematic methods of analysis. A final member-check with participants was conducted eight months after the end of intervention and data collection. Study findings provided insights into students' academic experiences. Prior to an instructional intervention, participants used a range of study strategies in academic work with limited metacognitive awareness. Instruction about top-level strategy benefited them in direct ways by providing a top-level structuring technique for completing academic tasks, and in indirect ways by providing a metalanguage for thinking about strategic behaviour, evaluating it, and customizing their technique. Comparison of task performance and questionnaire responses demonstrated qualitative changes in participants' approaches to reading text after instruction. Findings provided the basis for theorizing about participants' metacognitive development across the intervention. Interviews and focus groups provided additional information regarding participants' cognitive self-awareness, active engagement in learning, and application and adaptation of target strategy. Journal entries exemplified participants' authentic applications of the strategy and provided descriptions of their strategic behaviour. The instructional intervention affected participants' perceptions of the academic experience. They became more overtly reflective about how they read and wrote, particularly in relation to assessment items, and more expressive about the nature of their own learning. Study findings based on four participants in one particular context are sufficiently robust as case study research to warrant a broader quantitative study to test their generalization. Such an extension would provide guidance for teacher educators with decisions of policy and practice that might influence explicit attention to how student teachers in early childhood education learn about learning as part of their preparation for the profession.