This paper attempts a conceptualization of coordination in Global Software Development (GSD) by arguing that distribution is a significant conditioner of software development that engenders distance-related, socio-cultural and technological conditioners. It is proposed that the core organising dimensions on which coordination analysis in GSD should focus are people, processes, information, technology and the interactions between them. It is also argued that these dimensions are characterized by process interdependencies, interpersonal and interunit conflicts, information uncertainties and equivocalities, technology representations, and their interrelations. The final argument is that the management of the dimensions ’ characteristics – which defines coordination – will be conditioned by distribution, and that the awareness of this conditioning must be central in coordination analysis. The resultant is an analytical framework that will hopefully proffer a theoretical foundation for research on coordination in GSD.

This study presents a preliminary result of an empirical analysis of an expert’s perception of computer decision aids in the sensemaking process. Karl Weick’s (1995) sensemaking dimension is the main focus of the research. A series of preliminary analyses are performed to derive the empirical values of cognitive elements embodied in the sensemaking process—especially with respect to the use of computer-aided systems for the sensemaking process. The study shows that the assessment of meaning and the comprehension of that meaning is the most difficult part of the process as derived from the standardized relevancy metric used in the assessment. Interestingly, these two cognitive elements also exhibit a high correlation of 88%--something that should have been expected since comprehension and meaning are highly embedded in the process.

Engineering and Management. He has also served as an ad-hoc reviewer for this journal. His interest areas include new product development and entrepreneurship, uncertainty and strategy choice. Richard R. Reilly holds the Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee and is a Research Professor in the Howe School of Technology Management. Before joining Stevens, Dr. Reilly was a research psychologist for Bell Laboratories, the Educational Testing Service and AT&T.

Abstract. This issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources has discussed scenario planning as a contemporary business approach to support the strategic roles of human resource departments in organizations. Scenario planning is usually situated in the domain of strategic and business planning, yet it is increasingly considered a major organizational intervention approach to overcome organizational defensive routines and bring about learning and change in organizations.The articles in this issue bring together academics and practitioners discussing a wide range of issues concerning the theory, research, and practice of scenario planning, illuminating different applications of the method as well as some pitfalls that need to be acknowledged and considered by those wishing to use it in their organizations.

We examine the extent to which two sources of policy uncertainty influence foreign-owned subsidiary exit rates. We find that prior peer exits and a firm’s own experience under the current political regime both have a strong influence on subsidiary exit rates, particularly in the presence of policy uncertainty resulting from the existing structure of a host country’s political institutions. A firm's own experience under the current political regime of a host country, however, enhances exit rates after changes in that regime. These findings point to tradeoffs between two strategies for moderating political uncertainty. Influence strategies can provide substantial gains to firms in uncertain policy environments so long as those environments themselves are not at risk of radical flux. As the probability that a policy environment could potentially enter a period of radical flux increases, a follow-the-herd strategy becomes more prominent as this strategy avoids the negative consequences of the rapid depreciation of the value of past organizational experience, in the event of a new political regime. 2 Uncertainty is a prominently featured construct in neoinstitutional research and international business. A primary focus of neoinstitutional research is the mimetic response of an organization

In re-examining the supply chain relationships of American firms, investigators usually confine their studies to the outsourcing strategies of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). A few authors meanwhile have examined how small and medium size manufacturers (SMMs) fit within the vertical supply chain. This study explores how these suppliers develop new opportunities for increasing the volume and breadth of product which they source to OEMs and how these SMMs develop ways to collaborate with their OEM customers and manage appropriate technologies. The study develops a strategic supplier typology with transaction cost economics providing the conceptual basis and a survey sample of 200 SMMs offering the relevant data. The focus is on Hadco Corporation, an electronic parts manufacturer, that has taken special advantage of OEM strategic outsourcing decisions within the computer industry. Conclusions support the general proposition that structure follows strategy. Survival in a strategic outsourcing environment requires suppliers to hone competency skills and organizational S forms that allow for adaptation and quick customer demand response through I inter-organizational linkage, networks, partnerships or strategic alliances. C

This paper reports the results of an empirical study that examines how a manager's experience with a specific strategic information technology in their industry influences cognitive managerial tasks associated with new information technologies. Specifically, we sought to assess the effects of both positive and negative managerial experiences on: the framing of new information technologies as threats or opportunities for the firm, the perceived uncertainty associated with responding to new information technologies, and the seeking of information about new information technologies. We undertook this study in the tax preparation industry and examined how managerial perceptions of new information technologies were shaped by managers' previous experiences with electronic filing technology for tax returns. 3 4 LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE: MANAGERIAL INTERPRETATIONS OF PAST AND FUTURE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES 1.0 Introduction Information and information technologies have long been considere...

Emerging (or "inchoate") industries differ significantly from mature industries. Inchoate industries are characterized by few producers, underdeveloped markets, unclear technologies, and uncertain regulatory forces. Traditional, linear-adaptive approaches to business strategy derived from the study of mature industries, such as Miles and Snow (1978) and Porter (1980), are not applicable to inchoate industries. In this paper, we argue that an interpretive approach to studying organizing and strategy-making -- specifically Daft and Weick's model of organizations as interpretive systems (1984) -- is better suited to the context of industry emergence. Daft and Weick's typology of interpretive stances distinguishes the manner in which managers attempt to make sense of equivocal and uncertain environments, and hence is independent of an industry's maturity level. This study is the first attempt to operationalize the Daft and Weick typology. Propositions and preliminary evidence pres...

comments on earlier drafts of this paper. This paper focuses on how a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, a police department crisis team, performs its work. SWAT teams operate with an external focus, facing situations of high uncertainty, and must be prepared to take immediate action. Using data collected through interviews, observation, and archival sources, I explain how this team develops its work approach. This team operates by characterizing the sources of uncertainty, focusing on the role of opponents and the character of missions they undertake. In addition, officers on the team devote substantial efforts to explicitly reduce the external uncertainty they face by gathering information and imposing control. Stances, as summaries of uncertainty and the potential range of action, provide the group with a dynamic moment-by-moment method to bridge the unknown elements in the environment with action necessary to accomplish their work.

Collective Strategy is the attempt of organizations to manage their inter-dependence by substituting contractual for competitive interconnected-ness, creating a partially endogenous social environment. This paper discusses the concept of Collective Strategy and applies it to the col-laboration of firms in an industry, which have the objective to reduce competition within the collective in order to increase firm value. It is argued that a collective strategy can be a useful and sometimes neces-sary complement to traditional strategies that attempt to create a competitive advantage on the firm level. Like for an individual firm, industry-attractiveness and the competitive position vis-à-vis rivals are Collective Strategy / I determinants of a collective’s ability to increase firm value; both can be addressed by collective strategies. Collective strategies are discussed in a new strategic context, which is characterized by lower transaction costs,