Two forces that dramatically affect the sustainability of firms ’ competitive advantage in the new competitive landscape have been identified as globalization and information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet and intranets (e.g., Castells, 2000; Porter, 2001). Organizations often rely on acquired knowledge from past experiences to make higher quality decisions on business strategies for better future performance. In this context, Knowledge Management (KM) and Organizational Memory (OM) become a central issue to the effectiveness of strategic decision-making and organizational performance. This paper examines the relationship between the (re)use of knowledge/organizational memory (OM) and the effectiveness of strategic decision-making in devising corporate strategies. As part of an exploratory case study approach, a number of interviews are being conducted among top executives at a multi-national firm. As a framework, the components of the modified version of McLean’s IS Success Model by Jennex & Olfman (2002) are being used to examine for the 1.

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The notion that effective relationships between groups improve coordination, cooperation and consequently performance has considerable appeal in a broad range of contexts. In particular, partnerships are viewed as critical organizational mechanisms enabling information systems groups and their clients within organizations to utilize existing information technology investments already in place and to tap the potential offered by information technologies. This paper proposes a theoretical model drawing from socio-cognitive theory, highlighting a convergence in perspectives on key issues between the groups as the mechanism underlying partnerships. Data from a survey of 671 managers on both sides of IS-User relationships in multiple firms provides support for the model and the hypothesized relationship between convergence in perspectives and the performance of IS groups. In particular, the results suggest that a convergent assessment of the perspectives of IS groups by Users significantly enhances the performance of IS groups. This paper is among the first efforts in the IS literature to use dyadic data provided by both IS and User groups to understand IS-User relationships. Keywords: IS-User Partnerships, Social Cognition Theory, Perspective Taking, IS Performance

This paper offers a refined conceptualization of consensus formation and demonstrates in three organizations how this conceptualization enables us to uncover new patterns of consensus building. It describes a longitudinal study which investigated consensus formation in three organizations undergoing major strategic change. The study explored whether consensus building occurred during the strategic change, and if so, how. Initial participants of consensus were also investigated as well as changes in the scope of participants in consensus. Consensus building did occur, but contrary to some views, less through an increase in the strength of consensus and more through an increase in the scope of consensus. Additionally, initial consensus was not located among members of the top management team, but more within an interest group whose members benefited from the given direction of the change.

We extend the Western strategic management literature on environmental scanning to the entrepreneurial context by surveying business owners in two countries. Specifically, using the framework of Daft, Sormunen and Parks (1988), we test how perceived environmental uncertainty in seven environmental sectors and information accessibility influence scanning frequency of venture owners in the U.S. and India, two dissimilar entrepreneurial settings. Overall, entrepreneurs in India scan more frequently than do U.S. entrepreneurs, and the perceived rate of environmental change and accessibility of information are associated with their scanning. In the U.S., only perceived information accessibility prompts scanning. These results, which depart from inferences drawn from samples of managers in the Western literature, offer potential for extending scanning theory by cross-culturally broadening the theoretical nexus between organization theory, strategy and entrepreneurship in more fully understanding scanning behavior. Key Words: entrepreneurship, scanning, strategy 2 The literatures of organization theory and strategic management are replete with discussion of the influences of environmental complexity and volatility on organization decision-making, structure and

This paper is work in progress and I am thankful for any comments and suggestions regarding it. Errors and omissions might remain in the paper and the intention is not to implicate any of them to the many scholars that have moved the field forward. Please do not quote without prior permission from the author. This paper examines how managers create and develop strategy in practice. It reports findings of an in-depth investigation of managerial activities and associated learning dynamics in strategy creation, the generation and development of radically new strategies. Managerial and learning activities on different organizational levels, their influence on strategy development, and relationship to strategic change are examined. A dual longitudinal case methodology, including a single in-depth case study combined with a multiple retrospective case study is used, involving four multinational companies. The findings show a twofold character of strategy creation including an adaptive and a creative strategy motor of strategic change involving fundamentally different learning dynamics, reflecting their diverse location and social embeddedness. Adaptive learning dynamics were based on exploitation and refinement of prevailing industry and resource structures and involved a deductive reasoning or sensemaking as regards strategy, including knowledge assimilation activities such as formal intelligence and routine experiences. Creative learning dynamics evolved in the periphery of the organizations and were more remote from existing values and beliefs. They predominantly involved exploration and inductive sensemaking, including activities like informal noticing and creative experiments. The exploration/exploitation trade off interaction between the two strategy motors resulted in tension, which finally triggered strategic change.

www.sagepublications.com Consensus and divergence in perceptions of cognitive strategic groups: evidence from the health care industry

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