Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-14T13:46:34.577Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Organizing for the future

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2010

Loizos Heracleous
Loizos Heracleous
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore
Get access

Summary

This chapter begins by addressing the characteristics of the shifting competitive landscape, significantly influenced by the forces of globalization and information and communication technologies (ICT). It expands on the crucial role of leadership for guiding organizations towards competitive success, especially the ability effectively to balance strategic and organizational tensions and paradoxes. The implications of the new competitive environment for organizational design are then addressed, especially how firms can develop strategic flexibility. Intensified competitive churning leads to higher levels of uncertainty and risk. The chapter suggests that even though structured tools exist to help managers deal with such risk, the most effective defense at a strategic level is building sound strategic thinking and implementation capabilities. The chapter ends by suggesting that notwithstanding the hype and popular assertions that the old rules of strategy are not applicable any more, the opposite is true. Strategic clarity based on established principles is now more crucial than ever.

The new competitive landscape and its strategic implications

The competitive environment of most industries has been influenced or even restructured by the two key forces of globalization and technological advancement (Hitt 2000; Hitt et al. 1998). Globalization has been spurred on by world-wide economic development, the opening up of overseas markets to global competition, and the advancement of ICT. Even though such technologies can have some positive effects on industry structure, they are often detrimental to industry profitability because they lead to intensified competition.

Type
Chapter
Information
Strategy and Organization
Realizing Strategic Management
 , pp. 211 - 221
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beer, M., 2001. How to develop an organization capable of sustained high performance: embrace the drive for results–capability development paradox, Organizational Dynamics, 29: 233–247CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, S., 2001. Torment your customers (They'll love it), Harvard Business Review, October: 82–88Google Scholar
Courtney, H. G., Kirkland, J. and Viguerie, S. P., 2001. Strategy under uncertainty, in Strategy in an Uncertain World: A McKinsey Quarterly Reader, New York: McKinsey & Co.: 5–14
Dess, G. G. and Picken, J. C., 2000. Changing roles: leadership in the 21st century, Organizational Dynamics, 28(3): 18–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fink, R., 2002. The fear of all sums, Chief Financial Officer, August 1
Hambrick, D. C. and Fredrickson, J. W., 2001. Are you sure you have a strategy?, Academy of Management Executive, 2001(4): 48–59Google Scholar
Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C. K., 1989. Strategic intent, Harvard Business Review, May–June: 63–76Google ScholarPubMed
Harvey, M. and Buckley, R. M., 2002. Assessing the “conventional wisdoms” of management for the 21st century organization, Organizational Dynamics, 30: 368–378CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heracleous, L., 2001. When local beat global: the Chinese beer industry, Business Strategy Review, 12(3): 37–45CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hitt, M. A., 2000. The new frontier: transformation of management for the new millennium, Organizational Dynamics, 28(3): 7–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hitt, M. A., Keats, B. W. and DeMarie, S., 1998. Navigating in the new competitive landscape: building strategic flexibility and competitive advantage in the 21st century, Academy of Management Executive, 12(4): 22–42Google Scholar
Lei, D. and Slocum, J. W., 2002. Organization designs to renew competitive advantage, Organizational Dynamics, 31: 1–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintzberg, H., 2001. The yin and the yang of managing, Organizational Dynamics, 29: 306–312CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mirvis, P. H., 1997. Human resource management: leaders, laggards and followers, Academy of Management Executive, 11(2), 43–56Google Scholar
Nadler, D. A. and Tushman, M. L., 1999. The organization of the future: strategic imperatives and core competencies for the 21st century, Organizational Dynamics, 28(1): 45–60CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettigrew, A., Massini, S. and Numagami, T., 2000. Innovative forms of organizing in Europe and Japan. European Management Journal, 18: 259–273CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, M., 1996. What is strategy?, Harvard Business Review, November–December: 61–78Google Scholar
Porter, M., 2001. Strategy and the internet, Harvard Business Review, March: 63–78Google ScholarPubMed
Porter, M., 2002. An interview with Michael Porter (interviewed by N. Argyres and A. M. McGahan), Academy of Management Executive, 16(2): 43–52Google Scholar
Ruigrok, W., Pettigrew, A., Peck, S. and Whittington, R., 1999. Corporate restructuring and new forms of organizing: evidence from Europe, Management International Review, 39(2): 41–64Google Scholar
Simons, R., 1999. How risky is your company?, Harvard Business Review, May–June: 85–94Google ScholarPubMed
Slywotzky, A. J. and Morrison, D. J., 2001. The Profit Zone. How Strategic Business Design will Lead you to Tomorrow's Profits, New York: Three Rivers Press
Wetlaufer, S., 2001. Bernard Arnault of LVMH: the perfect paradox of star brands, Harvard Business Review, October: 116–123Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×