Why do some firms outperform others? At the heart of any successful company is a well crafted strategy. Yet we don't know enough about how strategists ‘think’ when they strategize. 34 executives on Boards and Top Management Teams in 28 high and low performing firms were interviewed to elicit the strategic cognitions of how they make sense of their strategy making experiences. Results showed that executives in high performing firms compared to low performing firms, used different core perceptual dimensions and language when describing what constitutes successful strategy making. Results provide new insights in helping top managers craft better strategies.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BowmanC. & AmbrosiniV. (1996), ‘Tracking Patterns of Realised Strategy', Journal of General Management, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 59–74.
2.
CaloriR., JohnsonG. & SarninP. (1994), ‘CEO's Cognitive Maps and the Scope of the Organization’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 15, pp. 437–457.
3.
Centre for Person Computer Studies (1993). RepGrid 2 Manual, Centre for Person Computer Studies, University of Calgary.
4.
DanielsK., JohnsonG. & de ChernatonyL. (2002), ‘Task and Institutional Influences on Managers’ Mental Models of Competition’, Organization Studies, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 31–62.
5.
DunnW. N., CahillA. G., DukesM. J. & GinsbergA. (1986), ‘The Policy Grid: A Cognitive Methodology for Assessing Policy Dynamics’, in Policy Analysis: Perspectives, Concepts, and Methods, ed DunnW. N., pp. 355–375, JAI Press, New York.
6.
DunnW. N. & GinsbergA. (1986), ‘A Sociocognitive Network Approach to Organizational Analysis’, Human Relations, vol. 40, 1986, pp. 955–976.
7.
DuttonJ. E., WaltonE. J. & AbrahamsonE. (1989), ‘Important Dimensions of Strategic Issues: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 26, pp. 379–397.
8.
Easterby-SmithM., ThorpeR. & HolmanD. (1996), ‘Using Repertory Grids in Management’, Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 20, pp. 3–30.
9.
EdenC. (1992), ‘On the Nature of Cognitive Maps’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 29, pp. 261–265.
10.
EdenC. & AckermannF. (1998), Making Strategy: The Journey of Strategic Management, Sage, London.
11.
FiolC. M. & HuffA. S. (1992), ‘Maps for Managers: Where Are We? Where Do We Go From Here?’ Journal of Management Studies, vol. 29, pp. 267–285.
12.
GinsbergA. (1989), ‘Construing the Business Portfolio: A Cognitive Model of Diversification’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 26, pp. 417–438.
13.
GlaisterK. & ThwaitesD. (1993), ‘Managerial Perception and Organizational Strategy’, Journal of General Management, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 15–34.
14.
HiggsM. & HenderJ. (2004), ‘The Characteristics of the Creative Manager’, Journal of General Management, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 1–20.
15.
HittM. A., GimenoJ. & HoskissonR. E. (1998), ‘Current and Future Research Methods in Strategic Management’, Organizational Research Methods, vol. 1, pp. 6–44.
16.
HodgkinsonG. (1997), ‘Cognitive Inertia in a Turbulent Market: A Comparative Causal Mapping Study’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 34, pp. 921–946.
17.
HodgkinsonG. (2001), ‘The Psychology of Strategic Management: Diversity and Cognition Revisited’, in International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.vol. 16, eds CooperC. L. & RobertsonI. T., pp. 65–119, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
18.
HodgkinsonG. & SparrowP. R. (2002), The Competent Organization: A Psychological Analysis of the Strategic Management Process, Open University Press, Buckingham.
19.
HuffA. S. (Eds.) (1990), Mapping Strategic Thought, Wiley, Chichester.
HuffA. S. & RegerR. K. (1987), ‘A Review of Strategic Process Research’, Journal of Management, vol. 13, pp. 211–236.
22.
JankowiczA. D. (1990), ‘Applications of Personal Construct Psychology in Business Practice’, Advances in Personal Construct Psychology, vol. 1, pp. 257–287.
23.
JankowiczA. D. (2004), The Easy Guide to Repertory Grids.John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England.
24.
KellyG. (1955), The Psychology of Personal Constructs, vol. 1, Norton, New York.
25.
LarsenP., TongeR. & ItoM. (1998), ‘The Strategic Planning Process in Growing Companies’, Journal of General Management, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 53–68.
26.
MacMillanK. (1986), ‘Strategy: An Introduction’, Journal of General Management, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 75–95.
27.
RegerR. K. (1987), Competitive Positioning in the Chicago Banking Market: Mapping the Mind of the Strategist, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, USA: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
28.
RegerR. K., GustafsonL. T., DeMarieS. M. & MullaneJ. V. (1994), ‘Refraining the Organization: Why Implementing Total Quality is Easier Said than Done’, Academy of Management Review, vol. 19, pp. 565–584.
29.
RegerR. K. & HuffA. S. (1993), ‘Strategic Groups: A Cognitive Perspective’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 14, pp. 103–123.
30.
RegerR. K. & PalmerT. P. (1996), ‘Managerial Categorization of Competitors: Using Old Maps to Navigate New Environments’, Organization Science, vol. 7, pp. 22–39.
31.
SchendelD. (1992), ‘Introduction to the summer 1992 Special Issue on Strategy Process Research’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 13, pp. 1–4.
32.
SpenderJ. C. (1989), Industry recipes, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, England.
33.
StewartV. & StewartA. (1981), Business Applications of Repertory Grid, McGraw-Hill Book Company, London.
34.
StubbartC. I. (1989), ‘Managerial Cognition: A Missing Link in Strategic Management Research’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 26, pp. 325–347.
35.
TenbrunselA. E., GalvinT. L., NealeM. A. & BazermanM. H. (1996), ‘Cognitions in Organizations’, in Handbook of Organization Studies, eds CleggS. R., HandyC. & NordW. R., pp. 313–337, Sage, London.
36.
WalshJ. P. (1995), ‘Managerial and Organizational Cognition: Notes from a Trip Down Memory Lane’, Organization Science, vol. 6, pp. 280–321.
37.
WaltonE. J. (1986), ‘Managers’ Prototypes of Financial Firms’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 23, pp. 679–698.
38.
WrightR. P. (2004), ‘Mapping Cognitions to Better Understand Attitudinal and Behavioral Responses in Appraisal Research’, Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 339–374.
39.
WrightR. P., ButlerJ. E. & PriemR. December (2003). Asian Cognitions of the Strategic Management Process, Paper presentation at the American Strategic Management Society Mini-conference on Strategic Management in Emerging Economies: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom.
