Gerry Johnson

Organizational Restructuring and Middle Manager Sensemaking

This longitudinal, qualitative study examined “sensemaking” during an imposed shift from hierarchical to decentralized organization. We identified a “replacement” pattern of schema development in w...

Guest Editors' Introduction. Micro Strategy and Strategizing : Towards an Activity-Based View

This introductory paper provides a background to the origins, themes and papers of this Special Issue on Micro Strategy and Strategizing. Our overarching argument is that, while the field of strategy has traditionally concentrated on the macro-level of organizations, it needs now to attend to much more micro-level phenomena. We propose an activity-based view of strategy that focuses on the detailed processes and practices which constitute the day-to-day activities of organizational life and which relate to strategic outcomes. The paper develops this view by considering two bodies of theory, those of the resource based view and institutionalism; two bodies of empirical work, those on corporate diversification and structure; and finally the process tradition of strategy research. The paper identifies the benefits of the activity-based view and introduces some challenges for further research. It concludes by introducing the papers in this Special Issue.

Measuring Organizational Performance: Towards Methodological Best Practice

Organizational performance is one of the most important constructs in management research. Reviewing past studies reveals a multidimensional conceptualization of organizational performance related predominately to stakeholders, heterogeneous product market circumstances, and time. A review of the operationalization of performance highlights the limited effectiveness of commonly accepted measurement practices in tapping this multidimensionality. Addressing these findings requires researchers to (a) possess a strong theoretical rationale on the nature of performance (i.e., theory establishing which measures are appropriate to the research context) and (b) rely on strong theory as to the nature of measures (i.e., theory establishing which measures should be combined and the method for doing so). All management research on performance should explicitly address these two requirements. The authors conclude with a call for research that examines triangulation using multiple measures, longitudinal data and alternative methodological formulations as methods of appropriately aligning research contexts with the measurement of organizational performance.

From Intended Strategies to Unintended Outcomes: The Impact of Change Recipient Sensemaking

The tendency for intended strategies to lead to unintended consequences is well documented. This longitudinal, real-time analysis of planned change implementation provides an explanation for this phenomenon. We focus on the social processes of interaction between middle managers as change recipients as they try to make sense of the change interventions. We show the extent to which lateral, informal processes of inter-recipient sensemaking contribute to both intended and unintended change outcomes, and therefore the unpredictable, emergent nature of strategic change. The findings raise the issue of the extent to which it is possible to manage evolving recipient interpretations during change implementation.

Managing strategic change— strategy, culture and action

One of the major problems facing senior executives is that of effecting significant strategic change in their organizations. This paper develops a number of explanatory frameworks which address the links between the development of strategy in organizations, dimensions of corporate culture and managerial action. In considering such linkages, and by illustrating them with examples from work undertaken in companies, the paper also seeks to advance our understanding of the problems and means of managing strategic change.

The Ritualization of Strategy Workshops

Despite the widespread use of strategy workshops in organizations, few empirical studie examine this phenomenon. The limited research that exists also lacks a theoretical basi for explaining why some workshops achieve their espoused purpose while others do not We offer a theoretical model of strategy workshop dynamics and outcomes by drawin on theories of ritual and ritualization. Our central argument is that variations in charac teristics of ritualization such as the degree of removal, the use of liturgy and the role o specialists influence behavioural dynamics within workshops and thereby the extent t which their purpose is achieved. This perspective extends research on the episodic natur of strategy development and contributes to a theoretically informed view of strategy practices

Measuring Organizational Performance as a Dependent Variable: Towards Methodological Best Practice

Organizational performance is one of the most important constructs in management research. We review the contexts that frame organizational performance as a dependent variable with specific emphasis on how it is operationalized and measured. The research contexts of past studies are firmly anchored around a multidimensional conceptualization of organizational performance related predominately to stakeholders, heterogeneous market circumstances, and time. The review of the operationalization and measurement of performance highlights the limited effectiveness of commonly accepted measurement practices in tapping this multidimensionality. By synthesizing the literature, the foundations are laid for the improved measurement of performance in management research. We conclude with a call for research that examines the effectiveness of triangulation utilizing multiple measures, applies longitudinal data and brings to bear alternative methodological formulations as means of appropriately aligning research contexts with the measurement of organizational performance. Validating these measurement approaches is an important agenda for further research. Previous Title: Measuring Organizational Performance in Management Research: A Synthesis of Measurement Challenges and Approaches

Using Frontier Analysis to Evaluate Company Performance

The measurement of performance is critical to nearly all managerial disciplines. Yet little is known about the aggregation characteristics of the components of performance and how our notion of a ‘good performing firm’ relates to what we use as a dependent variable. In this paper we propose an approach to the measurement of performance that uses the logic of frontier analysis and the technique of data envelopment analysis. The approach is shown to be a reasonable representation of the multidimensional nature of performance and is shown to replicate, effectively, the components that strategic management scholars typically consider when discussing performance. It is also shown to be superior to the simpler alternatives based on traditional approaches to performance measurement.

A cognitive perspective on managers' perceptions of competition

This paper focuses on the way managers perceive their competitive environment. Within a cognitive perspective it discusses why they might group similar competitors and considers whether they are attentive to all competing firms. The literature on similarity of perceptions between managers is reviewed. Interviews amongst managers in the North Sea off‐shore oil pumps industry revealed that they made sense of competition through a categorization process. None perceived the industry in the objective manner as economists suggest. Different perceptions as to the nature of competitions were found between managers, but more homogeneous perceptions were seen between managers in the same firm than between different firms.

Strategy through a Cultural Lens Learning from Managers' Experience

In the spirit of recent pleas for management research to engage with both the world of theory and the world of practice, this article reports on interactive work with managers which has sought to explore how their understanding of organization culture informs deliberations on strategy development and strategic change in their organizational settings and, in turn, informs our theoretical understanding of the links between organizational culture and management. The article provides case examples of such deliberations and discusses the implications for the concept of collective cognition, the significance of organizational routines and the management of strategic change.