Keith W. Glaister

Breaking the frame: An analysis of strategic cognition and decision making under uncertainty

This paper reports the findings of two experimental investigations into the efficacy of a causal cognitive mapping procedure as a means for overcoming cognitive biases arising from the framing of strategic decision problems. In Study 1, final year management studies undergraduate students were presented with an elaborated strategic decision scenario, under one of four experimental conditions: positively vs. negatively framed decision scenarios, with prechoice vs. postchoice mapping task orders (i.e., participants were required to engage in cognitive mapping before or after making a decision). As predicted, participants in the postchoice mapping conditions succumbed to the framing bias whereas those in the prechoice mapping conditions did not. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings in a field setting, on a sample of senior managers, using a decision scenario that closely mirrored a strategic dilemma currently facing their organization. Taken together, the findings of these studies indicate that the framing bias is likely to be an important factor in strategic decision making, and suggest that cognitive mapping provides an effective means of limiting the damage accruing from this bias. Copyright

Strategic Planning: Still Going Strong?

Abstract This article provides new empirical evidence on the nature and practice of strategicplanning in U.K. companies. Based on a sample of 113 public limited companies (54%manufacturing sector and 46% service sector) a descriptive account is provided of attitudestowards a range of strategic planning issues and the use of a range of tools and techniques ofstrategic planning. Among other things the article reports on respondents views to planningprocedures, the commitment to strategic activities, emphasis on areas of strategic planning,strategic objectives, and views on strategic planning processes. One finding is that spreadsheetwhat if analysis, analysis of key or critical success factors, financial analysis of competitors, andSWOT analysis are the highest ranked set of tools/techniques of analysis used by firms in thesample. Respondents indicate a very positive attitude towards strategic planning which is seen asimportant by firms in the sample.

Measures of Performance in UK International Alliances

This study examines measures of performance for a sample of UK international alliances. The paper builds on previous studies in comparing objective and subjective measures of performance and examining the influence of national culture on performance evaluation, but it goes beyond them by examining in detail the ways in which measures of performance are affected by differences in perception arising from the parent companies. Corporate culture is also included with national culture as a key determinant in the evaluation of performance. The paper also reports on new work on the differences in subjective performance evaluation between organizational modes of alliances and develops this in the context of alliance termination, and perceptions of differences in national culture and corporate culture.

Factors Determining Offshore Location Choice for R&D Projects: A Comparative Study of Developed and Emerging Regions

This paper examines empirically the determinants of offshore location choice between country clusters. Based on a dataset of 1722 R&D projects by MNEs located in developed and emerging countries, we examine the impact of home and host country, industry, and firm level variables on choice of location. We draw on the extended OLI paradigm to develop our hypotheses. Using the EU15 as a base group, a multinomial logit model is estimated between the regions of USA&Canada, Eastern Europe&Russia, emerging countries of Asia, and India&China. At the regional level, findings show that the R&D wage difference and knowledge infrastructure difference between home and host countries, the science and engineering talent pool size, and political risk level of host countries are important determining factors. At the firm level, experience of overseas R&D projects and prior experience of research in the host country are found to be important location determinants. A distinguishing feature of the paper is that we examine regions in relation to a base region, and then further examine the impact of a marginal change in independent variables on the likelihood of the choice of a region for new offshore R&D projects.

Evidence on formal strategic planning and company performance

Purpose – This empirical study of 113 UK companies attempts to examine the relationship between formal strategic planning and financial performance in a non‐US context while taking into consideration the important contingent variables identified by previous researchers of organizational size, environmental turbulence and industry.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a postal questionnaire primary data was collected from 113 UK companies. A series of multivariate analyses were undertaken to test the hypothesized relationships.Findings – While hypotheses explaining the formality of a companys planning process were well accounted for, no relationship between formal planning process and subjective company performance was observed.Research limitations/implications – Measurement validity may be a problem. The data are cross‐sectional, therefore causal linkages among the variables cannot be firmly established. Related to this point is the fact that firm performance is a function of prior, not current, plannin...

Performance Relationships in UK International Alliances

Since the mid-1970s, the incidence of alliance formation between partners from advanced industrial economies has accelerated (Anderson, 1990; Hergert and Morris, 1988; Glaister and Buckley, 1994). A major driving force for alliance formation is the recognition by many managements that in, an intensely competitive international business environment, self-sufficiency alone will not bring success, but the ability to compete will be considerably improved with the help of partners (Inkpen, 1995: 1). Two contractual forms of alliance can be identified - equity joint ventures and non-equity joint ventures. Equity joint ventures (EJVs) involve the incorporation of a new company in which two or more partners each hold an equity stake. Each partner will expect to participate in the decision-making activities of the jointly owned entity, will anticipate a proportional share of dividend, and expect representation on the board of directors (Harrigan, 1985; Geringer, 1991). Examples include the 50-50 EJV established in 1988 between ICI of the UK and Du Pont of the USA in industrial paint products for the purposes of product development, production and marketing. From ICI’s perspective, the venture was particularly important in facilitating international expansion and to cope more effectively with a common competitor. From Du Pont’s perspective, the alliance was particularly important in terms of exchange of complementary technology, and enabling both product diversification and faster entry to the market. In 1989, the UK publishing group EMAP established a 50-50 EJV with Bayard Press of France, for the purposes of product development and marketing. The venture facilitated international expansion for Bayard Press, and was particularly important in enabling fast entry to the UK market.

A causal analysis of formal strategic planning and firm performance: evidence from an emerging country

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of the strategic planning‐performance relationship by drawing on data from a sample of Turkish firms.Design/methodology/approach – The sample frame for the study was derived from the database of the Istanbul Chamber of Industrys 500 largest Turkish manufacturing companies and the database of companies quoted on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Based on a postal survey, 135 usable questionnaires were returned. Using LISREL causal modeling the moderating effects of a set of contingency factors on the relationship between formal strategic planning and firm performance were investigated.Findings – The findings show that there is a good deal of support for the studys hypotheses. A strong and positive relationship was formed between formal strategic planning and firm performance, which tends to confirm the arguments of the prescriptive strategic management literature. The test results also verify the moderating roles of environmental turbulence, organiz...

The strategic planning process: evidence from Turkish firms

Purpose – Findings on the nature and practice of strategic planning are presented from a sample of 135 large companies based in Turkey. Attitudes towards a range of strategic planning issues and the use of a variety of tools and techniques of strategic planning are reported.Design/methodology/approach – Economic forecasting models, strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, scenario construction and financial analysis of competitors are the most frequently used tools/techniques of analysis.Findings – Respondents indicate a very favorable attitude towards strategic planning which is seen as important by firms in the sample. Comparison of foreign‐owned firms and local firms indicates that the foreign‐owned firms adopt a broader and deeper repertoire of tools and techniques of strategic planning than do local firms, and they tend to believe that the strategy process is more deliberate than do local firms.Research limitations/implications – Need to look at the relationship between strat...

Performance of international joint ventures: evidence for West Africa

Performance of international joint ventures (IJVs) has been an overarching theme of research over the past two decades. In the context of West Africa, however, IJV performance has received scant attention. This paper examines a number of aspects of performance of 57 IJVs in the West Africa context. Multivariate analysis shows that partner capabilities, capital adequacy, congruity of motives and goals are significant determinants of performance. Level of control was found to have a negative impact on performance. A further significant finding is that over a number of dimensions IJVs with a private sector host partner are perceived to perform better than IJVs with the host government as a partner.

The effect of leadership style on talent retention during Merger and Acquisition integration: evidence from China

Leadership and talent retention are critical HR-related components in post-merger and acquisition (M&A) integration, but the extent to which these factors interact with each other and eventually contribute to the success of post-M&A integration is under-explored. The present study investigates the effect of leadership styles on talent retention strategies and on the effectiveness of post-M&A integration in a Chinese context. Based on in-depth examination of an M&A case study, we propose that an authoritative, coaching, task-focused and relationship-focused approach has a positive influence on talent retention and effective post-M&A integration in a Chinese context. As far as talent retention strategies are concerned, authoritative leaders use communication, whereas leaders adopting a coaching style use an incentive structure to positively influence talent retention. Furthermore, task-focused leaders use position and performance in order to identify and retain talented employees. By contrast, relationship-focused leaders emphasize the guanxi network, communication and an incentive structure in their strategies of talent retention.