Thomas C. Lawton

Corporate Political Activity: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

This paper reviews the diverse literature on corporate political activity (CPA) and develops a framework that details and integrates existing research in this field. A systematic analysis of extant CPA literatures is conducted to order them into domains that have implications for organizational performance. The paper is structured into three such domain emphases, which require further research investigation: resources and capabilities focus; institutional focus; and political environment focus. The contribution of each to an understanding of CPA in pursuit or defence of corporate competitive advantage is discussed. The authors also suggest that the internationalization of business, including the more recent emergence of developing country economies and companies, presents scholars with the challenge of understanding CPA in more varied institutional settings. CPA practices continue to expand as commerce goes increasingly global and, consequently, involves a wider array of political actors and institutions. The paper contributes by increasing the clarity of CPA classification, reflecting on the implications of a multi‐polar world for CPA research and advancing future agendas for scholars in this research community.

Designing lobbying capabilities: managerial choices in unpredictable environments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how, in unpredictable policy environments, specific managerial choices play a vital role in designing lobbying capabilities through the choice of levels of investment in human capital, network relationships and structural modification.Design/methodology/approach – Using an inductive case study approach, data were collected through 42 in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews and documented archival data. Cross‐case pattern sequencing was used to construct an interpretive model of lobbying capability design. Data were framed by the dynamic resource‐based theory of the firm.Findings – Heterogeneous lobbying capabilities are adapted differently in private and state‐owned airlines as a result of diverse ownership structures and time compositions that interplay with organizational processes. The result is a divergence between private‐ and state‐owned airlines in how they engage with governmental actors and policies.Research limitations/implications – The paper contr...

Vision by design: a reflexive approach to enterprise regeneration

Purpose – This paper aims to introduce a strategic visioning method called vision by design and to use the example of Harley‐Davidsons corporate regeneration to illustrate how the method works in practice. This approach conceives visioning as a practical tool of management whose power stems from the facilitation of strategic conversations among stakeholders and the reflexive engagement of business leaders in past‐present‐future thinking.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a four‐dimensional visioning model that facilitates exploration of both the internal and external contexts of the business. The advantage of the approach lies in breaking down vision into its component parts, lending simplicity and structure to the visioning process. The study employs a case study of the turnaround of Harley‐Davidson to illustrate this method.Findings – The paper finds that, in undertaking corporate regeneration, Harley‐Davidsons senior management recognized the need for a vision that was comprehensive, in...

Aligning for Advantage: Competitive Strategies for the Political and Social Arenas

In todays multipolar world economy, strategic alignment is a key determinant of competitive advantage. Coca-Cola, Danone, Diageo, DuPont, Lufthansa and Tata are some of the companies that strive for a pragmatic approach to balancing competitive strategies with political and social obligations. Aligning for Advantage argues that to build and sustain corporate success, companies must synchronize business objectives and market positions with political and regulatory activism and social and environmental engagement. Moreover, to be credible and realizable, these external market and nonmarket strategies need to be equally attuned with corporate vision, values, and culture. The book advances a managerial process and conceptual framework for aligning corporate strategy. In some cases alignment may mean deep, strategically embedded partnerships with governments, NGOs, or other stakeholders. In others, alignment may take the form of looser, temporary collaborations with outside organizations. No matter the approach, the relationship between nonmarket and market strategies should be deliberate and genuine, not accidental or artificial. Truly aligned strategies should reconcile and modulate sometimes conflicting external demands in a way that is appropriate for the corporations geographic and market positions. In the end, companies must leverage their overall nonmarket strategy as a source of competitive advantage.

The limits of price leadership: needs-based positioning strategy and the long-term competitiveness of Europe’s low fare airlines

Abstract This article argues that a strategy of low operating costs and cheap prices is not sufficient in and of itself to establish long term competitive advantage for a growing company. Companies also need to leverage their distinctive corporate capabilities and unique experiences. In the case of service sector companies such as airlines, capabilities derive from the relationship which exists between the company, its employees, and its customers, as well as the reputation which is gradually established on the basis of reliability and quality of service. Unique experiences arise from the corporate culture and route network which an airline builds over time.

The “Voice of Industry”: Why management researchers should pay more attention to trade associations

Trade associations work to influence regulation, government policy, and public opinion on behalf of the collective needs and objectives of their members. They also serve as agents for disseminating and exchanging information within industries, and often act as informal regulators by setting voluntary standards of behavior for industry members. Yet, despite the obvious importance of trade associations for firms, industries, and societies, management and organization researchers have devoted surprisingly little attention to understanding them. In this essay, we argue that researchers must develop a deeper understanding of their purpose, sources of influence, and impact on companies, industries, and society. We go on to discuss three examples of areas of management research—institutional theory, collective identity, and nonmarket strategy—where we believe trade associations are of particular relevance and where existing theoretical perspectives remain limited without an explicit consideration of these important organizations.

Strategic reorientation and business turnaround: the case of global legacy airlines

Purpose – This paper aims to illustrate how legacy airlines can reorientate to achieve sharp recoveries in performance following prolonged periods of stagnation, decline and eroding competitiveness.Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a qualitative analysis of five longitudinal case studies of legacy airlines that embarked on strategic change between 1997 and 2006. Data collection spanned ten years and included archival data, public documents, news clippings, accounts in specialist books and internal company documentation.Findings – The paper identifies two distinct approaches for reorientation in the legacy airline industry. Companies that have fallen behind and are in risk of failure focus on regaining customer trust and loyalty, and restructuring route networks, business processes and costs in an “improvement and innovation” reorienting approach. Underperforming airlines, for whom growth has declined in traditional markets and who note that opportunities exist elsewhere, focus on product and s...

Why Trade Associations Matter: Exploring Function, Meaning, and Influence:

We explore the organizational characteristics of trade associations (TAs) and suggest theoretical approaches for undertaking research into or involving TAs in management and organization studies. Through emphasizing the role of TAs within and between industries and at the interface of business and society, we consider how TAs generate meaning and influence.

Taking by storm: a breakout strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on “breakout” – a forceful emergence from a restrictive form or position – pursued through a structured and purposeful course of strategic action. The objective is to secure and retain business routes to double‐digit growth and market prominence.Design/methodology/approach – This paper addresses a key question foremost in the minds of all start‐up business leaders: how do I manage and consolidate what I have achieved and simultaneously continue to grow the business and expand my market? The paper is based on more than five years of research into over 100 companies around the world. This involved in‐depth interviews with strategic leaders, company observations and case analysis.Findings – Findings indicate that breakouts are led, from beginning to end, by dynamic strategic leaders and typically are accompanied by sudden and dramatic increases in output and levels of activity. For business entrepreneurs who want to raise a company from a subordinate to a more ...

The Routledge Companion to Non-Market Strategy

Foreword (D. Baron) Part I: Theoretical Lenses on Mon-Market Strategy 1. Introduction: The evolution of non-market strategy in theory and practice (T.C. Lawton and T.S. Rajwani) 2. Political Knowledge and the Resource-Based View of the Firm (J-P Bonardi and R. Vanden Bergh) 3. An Institutional Perspective on Non-Market Strategies for a World in Flux (S. Feinberg, T.L. Hill, I. Sidki Darendeli) 4. How Regulatory Uncertainty Drives Integrated Market and Non-Market Strategy (A. Kingsley and R. Vanden Bergh) 5. A Politics and Public Policy Approach (D. Bach) 6. The Firm and International Relations Theory (S. McGuire) Part II: Non-Market Foundations and Structure 7. Corporate Social Responsibility (J.P. Doh and B. Littell) 8. Corporate Political Activity (A. John, T.S. Rajwani, T.C. Lawton) 9. Non-Market Strategies in Legal Arenas (A.A. Casarin) 10. Culture and International Investment (R. Mello) 11. Managing Business-Government Relationships Through Organizational Advocacy (H. Viney and P. Baines) Part III: Non-Market Impact and Performance 12. Environmental Performance and Non-Market Strategy: The impact of interorganizational ties (T. Graf and C.J. Kock) 13. Corporate Responsibility and Stakeholder Relationship Impact (C. Hillenbrand, K. Money, A. Ghobadian) 14. Strategic CSR, Value Creation and Competitive Advantage (J.G. Frynas) 15. Managing Non-Market Risk: Is it possible to manage the seemingly unmanageable? (J. Oetzel & C.H. Oh) 16. States, Markets, and the Undulating Governance of the Global Electric Power Supply Industry: Scholarship meets practice (S. Dorobantu and B. Zelner) Part IV: Non-Market Context and Challenges 17. Corporate Climate Change Adaptation: An emerging non-market strategy in an uncertain world (P. Tashman, M. Winn, J. Rivera) 18. Stakeholder Collaboration as a Catalyst for Development: Company-NPO partnerships in New Zealand (G. Eweje and N. Palakshappa) 19. Regional Trade Agreements: Non-market strategy in the context of business regionalization (G. Suder) 20. Wholly-Owned Foreign Subsidiary Government Relation-Based Strategies in the Philippines: regulatory distance and performance implications (G. White & T.A. Hemphill) 21. Non-Market Strategy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (Y. Akbar and M. Kisilowski) 22. Jeitinho Brasileiro: Adopting non-market strategies in Brazil (S. Perkins and I. Minefee) 23. Conclusion: Where next for non-market strategy? (T.C. Lawton and T.S. Rajwani)