Peter McKiernan

Integrating information systems after a merger

Abstract Problems with post acquisition performance still remain for many organizations choosing this stratagem as their means for growth. Much research has been conducted that concentrates on the softer ‘cultural’ issue surrounding the marriage of two organizations. It has been asserted that organizations are generally poor at amalgamating such human concerns. However, recent evidence has suggested that one of the main reasons for poor post acquisition performance in the recent merger wave of the late 1980s was the failure of organizations to consider fully the implications of merging together the harder Information Systems and Information Technologies. This research, utilizing recent survey data, investigates this issue.

The role of hindsight in foresight: refining strategic reasoning

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to deepen understanding of the role that hindsight plays in foresight. The authors argue that the past is not an isolated static state, but one that is intimately connected with the future. However, there are several biases that influence our perceptions and conceptions of the past. These biases act as constraints on our ability to understand the driving forces that emerge from the past, play out through the present and become the critical uncertainties in the future. They could result in misperceptions about events or processes and so may impair foresight methodologies, such as scenario thinking. Such a foresight bias is characterized by a combination of hindsight biases, creeping determinism and searching for information that corresponds to people’s views about both the past and the future. The cognitive linkages between past, present and future are discussed and the role of counter-to-factual analysis is emphasized as an antidote to the foresight bias. Counter-to-factual analysis is both a cognitive process and an analytical reasoning tool applied to the analysis of historical data. Using insights generated from the explorations of counter-to-factual reasoning, the authors present a hindsight-foresight paragon that fortifies current foresight enhancing techniques with counter-to-factual analysis. Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood To where it bent in the undergrowth… Two roads diverged in a wood, and I– I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost Men’s curiosity searches past and future And clings to that dimension. But to apprehend The point of intersection of the timeless With time, is an occupation for the saint— T. S. Eliot, from The Dry Salvages

Strategy past; strategy futures

Abstract Strategy is a youthful discipline, with much of its research material derived from studies in the last 30 years. Its roots, however, go back much further. Modern studies can be partitioned into four schools—Planning and Practice, Learning, Positioning and Resource-Based, each with long scholastic and practical traditions. The schools are not mutually exclusive nor do they cover all the contributions to the field. But they are a useful way of identifying the pathways to the present so that a clearer view can be formed of potential strategy futures. This article paints four such futures; some based upon an extension of the past and other, alternative, trajectories. The aim of the paper is to stimulate thinking to help the progress of the youth from adolescence to adulthood.

The strategic positioning of information systems in post-acquisition management

Abstract Although corporate growth through acquisition continues to be a popular strategy for the 1990s, the failure rate of acquired companies remains high at 50 per cent. This paper focuses on post-acquisition integration of information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) and its impact on post-acquisitive performance. Based on the results of detailed case studies and a preliminary survey, it is found that managers involved in pre-and post-acquisition decision-making often fail to adequately consider the strategic importance of IS/IT in contributing to the acquisition outcome. IS integration is often driven by the immediate requirements of operational consolidation, and organizations fail to invest in the establishment of IS infrastructures to support longer-term corporate requirements. It is suggested that the reactive status accorded to IS coupled with an observed lack of organizational learning prevents organizations from exploiting IS effectively for the achievement of acquisition success.

Back to the Future: History and the Diagnosis of Environmental Context

Traditionally, scenario thinking has been a planning tool used for improving foresight by generating alternative stories of future contexts. Such stories should enable organizations to develop better contemporary strategies and policies. However, scenario thinking has been charged with a failure to identify weak signals in contextual environments, thereby placing its strategic reputation in the balance. In this paper, we examine the scenario-building process, expose the weaknesses inherent therein, and suggest remedies for improving the strategic narrative. In particular, we investigate the linkages between scenario thinking into the past—referred to as counterfactual reasoning in psychology—and scenario thinking into the future, and their role in generating and understanding context as an emergent phenomenon. The concept of causal fields is adapted from anthropology as a diagnostic technique for assessing the weak cues to causality that influence the generation of alternative contexts. Its incorporation into the scenario method is proposed as a partial solution to the previous travails of scenario thinking.

Strategic planning in the ASEAN region

Abstract This paper reports the salient descriptive results of the St Andrews survey of strategic planning in the ASEAN region. Systematic, formal strategic planning was found to be extensive; often sophisticated; to draw increasingly on qualitative approaches whilst retaining the quantitative; often widely shared among senior managers; but frequently supplemented by ad hoc strategic decision taking.

Scenario planning for the Edinburgh city region

We examine the application of scenario-planning techniques to the detailed and daunting challenge of city repositioning when policy makers are faced with a heavy history and a complex future context. We review a process of scenario planning undertaken in the Edinburgh city region, exploring the scenario process and its contribution to strategies and policies for city repositioning. Strongly rooted in the recent literature on urban and regional economic development, the text outlines how key individuals and organisations involved in the process participated in far-reaching analyses of the possible future worlds in which the Edinburgh city region might find itself.

Pathways Towards Health Care Systems with a Chronic-Care Focus: Beyond the Four Walls

Increasing health care expenditure is a matter of concern in many countries, particularly in relation to the underlying drivers of such escalation that include aging, medical innovation, and changes in the burden of disease, such as the growing prevalence of chronic diseases. Most health care systems in developed countries have been designed to cure acute episodes, rather than to manage chronic conditions, and therefore they are not suitably or efficiently organized to respond to the changing needs and preferences of users. Hospitals provide much of that health provision and they are in need of adapting to the needs of the population. New models of chronic care provision have been developed to respond to the changing burden of disease, taking into account the role of hospitals. Further, there is considerable practical experience in several different countries showing their advantages but also the difficulties associated with their implementation. In this paper, we focus on the international experiences in terms of policy changes and pilot studies focused on testing the feasibility of moving toward chronic care models. In particular, we discuss a framework that identifies and analyzes key prerequisites to achieving high performing chronic care-based health care systems and apply it to various countries and link this proposal with the concept of the boundaryless hospital.

Strategic Responses to Low- cost Competition: Technological Lock-in in the Dundee Jute Industry

Abstract This article examines path dependency and technological lock-in in the evolution of the Dundee jute industry, from its beginnings in the 1860s to its demise in the 1970s. The evolution of the industry is explored using the resource-based view of the firm (RBV). The results suggest that the nature and construct of jute fibre was the root cause of a lack of sustainable strategic responses in the sector. Path dependent decisions and technological lock-in meant that many firms were not able to make successful strategic switches, although the capabilities of their engineering skills allowed some firms to endure for longer. Thus, the article extends the RBV to a deeper firm capability level and complements cognate literature on the UK textile sector with a finer specification of the phases in jute’s evolution.

The matching of motivations to affordances among Maltese elected local government volunteers : implications for sustaining civil society

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to both understand the motives for volunteering in local government (a strong/structured context) and determine how such motivation and other demographics interact with organisational contexts to influence volunteering outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a functional approach to volunteerism. The Volunteer Functions Inventory is modified to better assess the motivations of elected local government volunteers. The responses of 152 Maltese local councillors were used to answer four research questions empirically. Findings – Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the introduction of a seventh VFI dimension, namely the political function. The study provides evidence that local councillors who received greater amounts of functionally relevant benefits reported more satisfaction and a stronger intention to continue volunteering in local government. The aggregated effect of multiple motives as well as other person-based determinants (marital status and education) produced a significant impact on volunteering outcomes in this strong/structured situational context of this public sector environment. Originality/value – This study contributes to a better understanding and assessment of the motivations of elected local government volunteers. It addresses practical recommendations for sustaining civil society, while acknowledging the potential and contribution of volunteers with various demographic characteristics.