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Miles and Snow Typology: most influential journals, articles, authors and subject areas
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find out the most influential journals, articles, authors and the subject areas where Miles and Snow typology is used. The study identifies the opportunities for future research as well.
Design/methodology/approach
Review is based on 196 journal articles selected through a systematic and rigorous search process from the four databases: ProQuest, Business Source Complete, Willy and Science Direct. Total Citation, threshold citations, fractional citation and citation per year techniques are used for analyses.
Findings
Strategic Management Journal (SMJ), Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) and Journal of Marketing (JOM) are the most influential Journals. The most influential and prolific articles on the subject are from Hambrick (1983), Conant et al. (1990), Doty et al. (1993), Sabherwal et al. (2001), Desarbo et al. (2005) and Fiss (2011). Management, strategic management and marketing are the most studied subject areas.
Originality/value
Although there have been many reviews of the literature on this typology, the systematic review on Miles and Snow typology to find out the most influential journals, authors, articles and subject area has not been done before.
... Several studies have presented literature reviews on Miles and Snow typology in different dimensions (Anwar et al., 2021;Ingram et al., 2016;Walker, 2013;Zahra and Pearce, 1990). We found no systematic evaluation of the literature on Miles and Snow typology where the consequent and antecedent variables of Miles and Snow typology were explored particularly in research on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ...
... Ingram et al. (2016) did a 40 year review of Miles and Snow typology literature to provide the summary of authors, sample size, country and variables (dependent, independent and moderating). Anwar et al. (2021) did a comprehensive systematic review of articles published on Miles and Snow typology using the Scopus database to highlight the most influential authors, articles, journals, networks and themes through Bibliometric and network analysis. There are many review articles where the multidimensional research on SMEs is analyzed through systematic literature review (SLR). ...
... Over time, many strategic group scholars began to study the generalizability of typologies across industries. The common strategic typologies created by Porter (1980) and Miles and Snow (1978) were given the most initial scholarly attention and continue to be among the most extensively cited, tested and refined frameworks (Anwar et al., 2021;Anwar and Hasnu, 2016a;Parnell et al., 2012). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to present a systematic analysis of consequents and antecedents of strategy and performance. To acheive this, this systematic review article analyzes and synthesizes mainstream research on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) where Miles and Snow typology was used for strategic orientation of the SMEs. The specific focus of the research is to develop a conceptual framework showing consequents and antecedents of the strategic orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses systematic literature review (SLR) method to identify, summarize and synthesize literature on Miles and Snow typology. Preferred reporting method for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to ensure adherence to systematic approach. The key words search consists of the words: “Miles and Snow”, “Miles and Snow” and “miles-snow” from Web of Science and Scopus databases for sample articles.
Findings
The trend of research on SMEs using Miles and Snow typology is on the rise with a shift from developed countries to the developing ones. Support for strategy-performance relationship hypotheses is overwhelming but the traditional view is in decline while new antecedent and consequent variables are being added. Mediator and moderating variables are also identified.
Originality/value
The SLR where a synthesis approach was applied for finding antecedents and consequent variables of strategy-performance relationship along with a presentation of conceptual framework makes this research unique. Additionally, the article presents the trends of research over the time based on timeframe, regions, methodological approaches and hypotheses support.
... 2018), yet have barely done so in empirical terms by delving into the complexity of the strategic behaviour adopted by agri-food cooperatives. Secondly, many of the previous works that apply the typology of Miles and Snow (1978) do not take into account cooperatives' adaptive cycle in detail, and thus ignore the theoretical foundation of the strategic types (Anwar et al, 2021). As a result, many papers use only one strategic problem or do not differentiate clearly between them. ...
... This widespread application in multiple contexts and types of companies evidences its adaptability to different and varied scenarios and its universality (Bouhelal and Kerbouche, 2016). Another sign of its adequacy is its ever-increasing demand (Anwar et al., 2021), even in the digital age (Kurtz, Hanelt and Kolbe, 2021). This typology is thus considered unique because it defines organisations as "an integrated and dynamic whole" (Anwar et al., 2021) in interaction with their environment (Gnjidić, 2014) 3 and within a theoretical base of co-alignment (Conant, Mokwa and Varadarajan., 1990). ...
... Another sign of its adequacy is its ever-increasing demand (Anwar et al., 2021), even in the digital age (Kurtz, Hanelt and Kolbe, 2021). This typology is thus considered unique because it defines organisations as "an integrated and dynamic whole" (Anwar et al., 2021) in interaction with their environment (Gnjidić, 2014) 3 and within a theoretical base of co-alignment (Conant, Mokwa and Varadarajan., 1990). Miles and Snow (1978) defined four types of strategic behaviour (prospector, analyser, defender, and reactor) as a result of an adaptive process (called the adaptive cycle) of the entrepreneurial, technological, and administrative problems or characteristics that firms adopt towards their environment. ...
Entre otros factores, los resultados y la competitividad de las cooperativas agroalimentarias dependen de su estrategia (Bijman, 2012; Mckee, 2008; Pashkova, et al., 2009). Esta investigación profundiza en el comportamiento estratégico de las cooperativas siguiendo la tipología estratégica de Miles y Snow (1978). Una contribución importante es que el estudio considera el ajuste (el ciclo adaptativo) dentro y entre las características o problemas que definen el comportamiento estratégico de las cooperativas: problema emprendedor, tecnológico y administrativo. Directivos de cooperativas agroalimentarias de Canarias (España) respondieron a un cuestionario que proporcionó la información necesaria para realizar el análisis. Los resultados muestran que las cooperativas agroalimentarias adoptan un comportamiento estratégico analizador o híbrido que busca equilibrar la eficiencia y el control de costes con la innovación. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en ninguno de los problemas estratégicos en función del tamaño de la cooperativa. Sin embargo, sí surgen diferencias en algunos de los ítems cuando se analizan individualmente. Por ejemplo, en las microempresas, los puestos directivos más altos tienden a estar ocupados más por socios que han promocionado desde dentro de la cooperativa que por profesionales externos. Existe un elevado ajuste estratégico dentro del problema emprendedor, pero bastante escaso ajuste entre este problema y los demás. La planificación estratégica de las cooperativas presenta un ajuste inverso con su organización y con su ámbito de actividad. La tecnología no parece estar alineada con los demás problemas estratégicos, especialmente en lo que respecta a varios aspectos relacionados con el problema administrativo. Así pues, la planificación parece ser el principal punto débil de estas organizaciones. En este trabajo se consideran explícitamente los tres problemas de la tipología de Miles y Snow (1978) y las relaciones entre ellos. Esto nos permite aproximarnos al grado de alineamiento o ajuste entre ellos y llenar así el vacío existente en la literatura estratégica con respecto a las cooperativas.
... These exploratory studies provided active theoretical explorations (Campbell-Hunt, 2000), and in a more turbulent environment, firms expect more detailed hybrid strategies (Alnoor et al., 2022). Therefore, opening the hybrid strategy black box at a fine-grained level has become a key challenge in competitive strategy research (Anwar et al., 2021). Miles et al. (1978) described the competitive strategy in terms of the six strategic elements of marketing, growth, R&D, capital, efficiency, and stability, which classified a firm's competitive strategy into four types: prospector, analyzer, defender, and reactor. ...
... Some empirical studies have argued that pursuing pure strategies in developed economies is beneficial. Nevertheless, in transition economies, firms are better suited to implementing hybrid strategies (Shinkle et al., 2013;Acquaah and Yasai-Ardekani, 2008;Anwar et al., 2021). These studies have made the following theoretical advances: ...
... Meta-analysis results also show that the difference between pure and hybrid strategies' effects on firm performance is nonsignificant (Campbell-Hunt, 2000). Thus, scholars have focused on another subject in hybrid strategy, which concerns deconstructing the critical elements of a hybrid strategy and examining the impact of their combination on firm performance (Anwar et al., 2021). Miles et al. (1978) proposed that the competitive strategy framework, including entrepreneurial, engineering, and administrative dimensions determines whether its competitive strategy is a prospector, analyzer, defender, or reactor. ...
Purpose
The paper examines whether the hybrid strategy can generate high performance and what hybrid strategy configurations are more conducive to high performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper explores the complex causal relationships between six strategic elements (marketing, growth, R&D, capital, efficiency, stability) and firm performance. From a configurational approach, the authors utilize necessary condition analysis, time-series qualitative comparative analysis, and typical case extraction techniques to analyze 944 balanced panel data from 118 Chinese ICT firms during 2013–2020.
Findings
Chinese ICT sector firms do not rely on pure strategies (prospector or defender) to achieve high performance. The hybrid strategy is conducive to high performance. Only specific hybrid strategy configurations, including stable growth, innovative efficiency, and two-way player types, could enable firms to perform well. Six strategic elements do not constitute a necessary condition for high performance.
Originality/value
This paper proposed an integrated qualitative comparative analysis scheme, proved the effectiveness of the hybrid strategy on firm performance, and revealed how hybrid strategy configurations generate high performance.
... The Miles and Snow typology is one of the most widely-used strategy classifications in the strategic management literature (Anwar et al., 2021). According to this typology, business strategy can be classified into four strategic orientations: prospectors, analyzers, reactors, and defenders (Grimmer et al., 2017). ...
... The Miles and Snow typology categorizes a firm's strategy based on its product and market orientation, with each type having a distinct approach. Defensive strategies (defender and reactor) prioritize operational efficiency to gain a competitive advantage (Anwar et al., 2021). These firms focus on narrow product-market domains and compete in the price of products (Ingram et al., 2016). ...
This study examines the direct effect of internal factors within a business organization, including business strategy, operational efficiency, and ownership structure, on manufacturing performance. It also analyzes how these internal factors influence manufacturing performance when interacting with external factors, namely market uncertainty and competition intensity. The study compares firms with proactive and defensive strategies regarding operational efficiency and manufacturing performance differences. It also compares manufacturing performance differences between firms with foreign and domestic ownership. The sample for this study includes manufacturing firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange between 2014 and 2021. The findings indicate that business strategy, operational efficiency, and ownership structure positively and significantly affect manufacturing performance. Operational efficiency is higher in manufacturing when business competition increases. Under intense business competition, manufacturing firms with foreign ownership tend to have more competitive advantages than domestic ownership. Manufacturing firms that adopt proactive business strategies (prospectors and analyzers) perform significantly better than those with defensive strategies (defenders and reactors).
... Analyzers, according to contingency theory, blend traits of both defenders and prospectors. They operate in stable and changing markets, leveraging opportunities from prospectors while safeguarding core products like defenders (Anwar et al., 2021). This makes analyzers the ideal strategic orientation for SMEs within the contingency theory framework. ...
This study, drawing on the Knowledge-Based View (KBV) and Contingency Theory, explores how analyzer strategic orientation, learning capability, technical innovation, administrative innovation, and SME growth and learning effectiveness are interrelated. Analyzing cross-sectional data from 407 founders, cofounders, and managers of trade and service SMEs in Vietnam’s Southeast Key Economic Region through PLS-SEM, the research demonstrates that analyzer orientation positively impacts both technical and administrative innovation, thereby bolstering SME growth and learning effectiveness. However, learning capability does not significantly impact technical innovation or growth and learning effectiveness. Instead, learning capability negatively affects administrative innovation. Notably, technical and administrative innovations act as mediators between analyzer orientation and SME growth and learning effectiveness. The study provides practical insights tailored for SMEs navigating dynamic market environments like Vietnam, enriching theoretical understanding of SME strategic management within the trade and service sector.
... Thus, articles studying the hotel sector productivity and efficiency are derived from that database (Ahmad et al., 2020b(Ahmad et al., , 2020aMassaro et al., 2016;Menegaki et al., 2021). We have relied on the Scopus database because it combines the good features of other competing databases and offers its users a high level of utility and visibility (Ahmad et al., 2020c;Asatullaeva et al., 2021;Falagas et al., 2008;Naveed et al., 2022Naveed et al., , 2023 (Anwar et al., 2022(Anwar et al., , 2021Pranckutė, 2021). Scopus provides more citation analyses than the Web of Science, but covers significantly shorter time periods (Ahmad & Bibi, 2023;Ahmad et al., 2022;De Bem Machado et al., 2022;Falagas et al., 2008;Smajić et al., 2023). ...
This paper conducts an extensive systematic literature review on the measurement of efficiency in the hotel sector, which is the cornerstone of tourism. Thus, scrutinizing its performance measurement is vital for the advancement and strategic development of the sector. Exploiting the Scopus database, the paper offers a unique methodology for documenting sample transparency and selection objectivity and can constitute an example for future literature reviews. A range of articles is assessed to discern prevailing trends, key authors, and influential journals. A division of parametric and non-parametric nature, various efficiency measurement methodologies, the input and output variables, geographical covering as well as various other metrics and benchmarks have been included. The study reveals a predominant focus on technical efficiency and commonly employed input variables such as the number of hotel rooms and employees. The paper suggests future research directions, advocating for a broader exploration of efficiency dimensions, including profit and cost aspects, the integration of emerging variables like dig-italization and environmental factors and the use of larger samples. This study provides a comprehensive overview beneficial for academics, industry practitioners , and policymakers, synthesizing a clear orientation in the subject and indicating critical research routes
... The prospector's competitive approach quickly adapts the product-market mix by actively pursuing innovation through agile responses to environmental changes (Anwar et al., 2018;Yoshikuni, Dwivedi, Favaretto, et al., 2023). The defender's competitive strategy focuses on preserving market position, seeking stability, avoiding risks, emphasizing operational efficiency, and favoring established prospects over innovation (Anwar et al., 2021;Chatzoglou et al., 2017). The analyzer's competitive strategy integrates characteristics of defenders and prospectors, creating a consistent and predictable pattern of responses to the environment across time. ...
An important question for scholars and professionals is how knowledge management processes (KMP) supported by strategic management accounting (SMA) can strengthen operational processes (OPs) to enhance organizational ambidexterity (OA) in dynamic environments (ED). The empirical research utilizes knowledge management practices (KMPs) including knowledge generation, storage, and application/sharing to develop organizational performance (OP) and utilize organizational agility (OA) inside an environment of disruption (ED). The research involved surveying 203 Brazilian businesses and examining the assumptions through structural equation modeling. The findings showed that knowledge development and knowledge storage impact knowledge application and sharing. Knowledge application and sharing, as a strategic information system, impacts organizational ambidexterity by completely mediating organizational performance. Post hoc study revealed three enterprise clusters with varying levels of adoption of competitive orientation strategy, assistance from business partner accountants, and features of companies showing diverse knowledge management process roles on organizational performance and organizational ambidexterity under low and high environmental dynamism. The research results address gaps in information related to knowledge management procedures, strategic management accounting, and organizational ambidexterity literature, offering practical implications for professionals.
... Hybrid strategy emerged as an evolution of Porter's generic strategic framework (Lapersone et al., 2015) as a source of gaining advantage over rival firms, enabling them to compete in turbulent environments (Alnoor et al., 2023). According to Anwar et al. (2021), detailed research on hybrid strategy has emerged as a key challenge in competitive strategy research. ...
Purpose
This article focusses on the hybrid strategy, a simultaneous combination of cost leadership and differentiation strategy. The study aims to examine the impact of hybrid strategy on firm performance through its anticipated positive effects on process and product innovation. In addition, we study the moderating role of adaptive capacity in the direct relationships of hybrid strategy with process and product innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modelling was used to analyse 1,842 Spanish firms with fewer than 250 employees. We randomly selected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in Spain from the Spanish Central Business Directory (2021) database. The overall sample design was based on stratified sampling.
Findings
We found that hybrid strategy is positively related to firm performance and to process and product innovation. Additionally, in firms implementing hybrid strategies, process innovation fostered firm performance. Finally, adaptive capacity strengthened the relationships of hybrid strategy with process and product innovation. This sheds light on how and when hybrid strategy is most effective in fostering SME performance.
Practical implications
We highlight that SMEs need to establish strategies that use diverse resources and capabilities and not just generate competitive advantage using one strategy (cost leadership or differentiation strategy). This requires an agile and flexible systems and structures.
Originality/value
Our research provides novel results by proposing the adoption of hybrid strategies instead of pure strategies (cost leadership and differentiation strategy) as a way for SMEs to survive during crises. Unlike “stuck in the middle” strategies, our study demonstrates the importance of hybrid strategies in a comprehensive model that links them to innovation and firm performance, with adaptive capacity being a determining factor.
... Bibliometric analysis helps in finding the most representative contributors, themes and collaborations (Anwar et al., 2021). The network approach is a quantitative method for analyzing scientific publications and is widely accepted within Bibliometric studies (Randhawa et al., 2016). ...
Objective: To present a review and prognosis of academic research focused on the field of Attention-Based View (ABV). Methodology: Bibliometric analysis using co-word analysis and co-citation techniques of 165 relevant articles published between 2004 and 2021 in journals included in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, considering conceptual and intellectual structures, trends, and possible paths for the field of ABV. The retrieved articles were selected based on the key terms present in the title, abstract, and keywords. Relevance: Identifies the field development, research network, documents the most relevant journals and articles, concepts, and the intellectual framework of prominent authors. Findings: The seminal author, Ocasio, is the most expressive and the center of all networks in ABV research. The leading journal, according to the number of articles published, is the Strategic Management Journal. The conceptual structure presents three groups: the central roots of ABV, the attentional dynamics within organizations, and managerial cognition. Relevant topics are strategic change and communication channels, strategy as practice and studies in multinational companies (MNCs), organizational design, senior management team and governance. Theoretical implications: To present the state of the art, to integrate ABV knowledge and identify gaps for future research showing new trends, such as interfaces with metacognition and governance. Practical implications: Top management team decision-making process is ABV dependent so organizational architecture and its dynamics plays a crucial role in strategy for business success.
... Defenders pursue a cost leadership strategy, which tries to maximize the efficiency of production and delivery of products and services, by focusing on a relatively consistent mix of goods and services and a small market (Lin et al., 2020;Miles and Snow, 2003). As a result, businesses compete in the market through low prices, reduce their marketing and R&D budgets, and produce less innovative products and services while maintaining their current market share through efficiency and process innovation (Anwar et al., 2021;Hambrick, 1983;Miles and Snow, 2003;Sollosy et al., 2019). ...
Despite the growth of digital transformation (DT) research, exactly how business strategy relationships lead to the successful implementation of digital transformation strategy (DTS) is not yet clearly understood. Although interest in investigating DT strategy in a broader manner is evident, little attention has been given to the dimensions needed to build DTS. To address this knowledge gap, our study offers a theoretical framework that explores how firms having different business strategies develop and successfully implement their own DTS. We position our proposed framework through the lens of strategic choice and dynamic capability theories and investigate how the four dimensions of DTS (the use of technologies, changes in value creation, structural changes and financial aspect) lead to open innovation, firm performance, and competitive advantage. The study validates our theoretical model using 215 responses from a survey with Bangladeshi organizations and tests the research hypotheses using structural equation modelling. Our results reveal that business strategy is a very important determinant of implementing DTS. Specifically, prospectors are associated with better use of technologies, changes in value creation, structural changes, and financial aspects, than defenders. Also, prospectors
are associated with better implementation of DT than defenders. Lastly, DT implementation positively influences open innovation, firm performance, and competitive advantage. This study contributes to both theory and practice by carving out the dimensions of DTS that lead to enhanced performance outcomes.
... The adaptive cycle deals with three problems, entrepreneurial, engineering and administrative. The entrepreneurial problem considers how to define the product-market domain (Anwar et al., 2021;Walker, 2013) along with the INGOs human resource capabilities (Akingbola, 2007). The engineering problem focuses on the systems required to produce and provide products and services (Akingbola, 2007;Walker, 2013) and considers the part played by INGO volunteers (Akingbola, 2007). ...
The survival of non-government organisations (NGOs) requires that they develop strategies designed for non-profits (Laurett & Ferreira, 2018) given the unique environment in which they operate (Akingbola, 2007; Courtney, 2002) while encapsulating sectoral diversity (Eagleton-Pierce, 2020). Extant research has focused on what NGOs do as opposed to how they perform activities (Lewis, 2014) with the latter offering researchers additional insights on the theoretical frameworks used in practice (Lindenberg, 2001). How organizations strategically respond to their environment can be examined using Miles & Snows (1978) adaptive cycle as an organizing framework. This research examines, over a two-and-a-half-year period ‘how’ an international non-governmental INGO developed a knowledge management strategy to align its internal operations with its external environment. This research identifies ‘how’ the adaptive cycle can support and understanding of how knowledge management strategy is developed in practice in INGOs.
... The present study used Miles and Snow's strategy typology as the basis for understanding strategic orientations. When considering the present-day application of this typology, although different strategic typologies have been proposed in the strategic management literature (see Nandakumar, et al., 2011 for a review), Miles and Snow's strategy typology outperformed as the most prominent, widely researched, and widely used typology across disciplines over the years (see Aljuhmani et al., 2021;Anwar et al., 2021;Blackmore and Nesbitt, 2013;Desyllas et al., 2018;Herusetya and Suryadinata, 2022;Parnell et al., 2015;Rabetino et al., 2021). ...
... Defenders pursue a cost leadership strategy, which tries to maximize the efficiency of production and delivery of products and services, by focusing on a relatively consistent mix of goods and services and a small market (Lin et al., 2020;Miles and Snow, 2003). As a result, businesses compete in the market through low prices, reduce their marketing and R&D budgets, and produce less innovative products and services while maintaining their current market share through efficiency and process innovation (Anwar et al., 2021;Hambrick, 1983;Miles and Snow, 2003;Sollosy et al., 2019). ...
... In addition, such publications (books and book chapters) are frequently excluded from SLRs, which typically include only journal articles that have been peer-reviewed. In light of this, we have adhered to the same procedure Ahmad & Bibi, 2023;Anwar et al., 2021Anwar et al., , 2022Asatullaeva et al., 2021;Naveed et al., 2023;Shaikh et al., 2021;Smajić et al., 2022). ...
Exchange rate policy is regarded as a critical macroeconomic policy. Especially the misalignment of exchange rates is significantly impact on imported goods, particularly oil imports, which ultimately effect external and internal imbalances. This study conducts a systematic literature review on exchange rate misalignment, as well as an intriguing content analysis of the top 100 most cited articles. Further it identifies the most influential authors, papers and the journals in the field using citation analysis. The relevant articles are identified using the Scopus database. Three hundred and seventy‐two scholarly papers have been found relevant. The results of the content analysis show that the purchasing power parity is the most frequently used theoretical foundation, followed by the Behavioural Equilibrium Exchange Rate. Additionally, the analysis reveals that the authors primarily utilised time series data. The identification of essential and core journals is made through Bradford's Law. Schuh ( American Journal of Agricultural Economics , 56, 1974, 1) is a pioneering study that discussed the misalignment of exchange rates in the US agriculture sector. Valérie Mignon is the most prolific author in terms of both productivity and impact. The paper authored by O'Connell ( Journal of International Economics , 44, 1998, 1) titled ‘overvaluation of purchasing power parity’, is recognised as the most influential paper in terms of average citations per year.
... Analysers adopt a hybrid position, engaging in various levels of exploration and exploitation and sustaining a pattern of consistent and balanced reaction to environmental change. Reactors, considered the least viable, are often inconsistent and unstable and low on exploitation and exploration (Anwar et al., 2021;Maury, 2022;Uwizeyemungu et al., 2022). There has been galvanising research since the paradigm was introduced by Miles andSnow in 1978 (DeSarbo et al., 2005). ...
... The model further construes an organizational entity as a structurally integrated system constantly interacting with the different aspects of ints environment. The entire organizational system is thus premised on the ability of the firm to respond to changes in its environment to ensure alignment with ensuing changes for growth and survival (Anwar et al. 2021). This paper thus tests and extends the Miles and Snow typology along lines not fully explored by its originators and other strategy researchers. ...
This paper investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (hereafter referred to as CSR) fulfilment and the innovation behaviour of firms. Despite past studies investigating the link between CSR and various organizational outcomes, its nexus with firm innovation performance is hardly explored. This paper further examined the moderating effect of organizational strategy in the hypothesized relationship. Using a positivistic research approach, a sample of 600 service industry personnel were surveyed. The 491 retrieved usable responses were analysed using regression, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. It emerged that CSR fulfilment has a significant effect on firm innovation. Also, the positive relationship between CSR fulfilment and firm innovation was not significantly moderated by organizational strategy. The results imply that CSR fulfilment affects the innovative behaviour of firms to produce services that differentiate them from their competitors. Consequently, focus should be placed on designing workable CSR implementation plans backed by appropriate human resource capacity to make the firm successful.
... Two important typologies of business strategies, propagated by Snow (1978) andMichael Porter (1980) became popular, because of their extensive studies in learning and understanding the business behaviors of firms (Anwar et al., 2021;Dess and Davis, 1984;Parnell, 2010;Parnell and Wright, 1993;Segev, 1989). Miles and Snow's (1978) strategic typology visualizes business strategy as the patterns exhibited by the decisions through which a business enterprise interacts with its environment and contends with major challenges in three key areas, entrepreneurial, engineering, and administrative, to choose their optimal product-market mix. ...
Purpose
In large enterprises, the notion is that an organization’s business strategy is a significant determinant of its human resource (HR) practices. However, there is limited evidence in the literature of such linkages for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and extent of the relationship between the types of business strategies used and HR practices, namely, staffing, training and employee relations among SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have collected data from 168 SMEs manufacturing autoparts and purposively chosen three SME case studies to derive in-depth observations of business strategies and HR practices. Quantitative results from the survey indicate that these SMEs exhibit a logical relationship between the strategic posture of the SMEs and their adopted HR practices.
Findings
This study illustrates that SMEs operating in the risky and lesser developed labor markets of a lower-income country such as Pakistan adopt certain practices that differ considerably from firms operating in more competitive automotive markets using highly skilled labor. The findings suggest that there is a significant potential to be realized through strategically managing HR practices to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.
Practical implications
Education of supervisors and management and suitable skill level of labor in tandem with continuous cutting edge industrial training appear to be the most successful business strategy followed by Prospector and Analyzer SMEs. For greater efficiency they need to have dedicated HR management, and financial and auditing services. Meanwhile, public sector entities as well as representative business bodies need to provide targeted practical technical and financial training and assistance to strengthen Defender and Reactor SMEs and improve their range of outputs.
Originality/value
This study contributed to the SMEs’ management literature in the context of Pakistan because there are very few studies that have examined the impact of business strategy on the HR practices in SMEs manufacturing autoparts in the automotive industry of Pakistan. The case study approach captures detailed insights and identifies the areas where the SMEs in developing countries perform differently than the SMEs in developed countries.
... The information processing perspectives are very well aligned with the Miles and Snow typology of reactors, defenders, analyzers and prospectors. The typology was developed in 1978 but has seen an ever increasing use in research (Anwar et al., 2021). We will, therefore, use the Miles and Snow typology to explain how traditional design can be appropriate in the new world of sustainability and digitalization. ...
Purpose
This study aims to describe how large corporations, facing digitalization and sustainability, can use established models and theories to find appropriate organizations design for these “new” challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The information processing perspective presented by Jay Galbraith (Galbraith, 1974) can be an appropriate platform to analyze organizational requirements, also in new complex and uncertain situation. The authors use the Miles and Snow (1978) typology to explain how traditional design can be appropriate in the new world of sustainability and digitalization.
Findings
With the new types of business models, the design should have a holistic view. The design should be split into three levels: the corporation as a whole, the large business units and the operating units. Each of these units can follow traditional organizational forms with an internal market-based coordination combined with digital platform systems.
Originality/value
Both large and small corporations now face big challenges related to adapting their business models, managerial processes and organizational structures for digitalization and sustainability. Digitalization and sustainability combine the various pieces of the corporation into a tightly coupled network with a real time coordination of activities making it difficult to obtain local adjustments without disturbing the whole. At the same time, there is a strong need for both being locally agile with a focus on effectiveness and at the same time being very efficient. The literature calls for new organizational forms to handle this situation. The authors show that “old” designs properly coordinated can be an appropriate design as well.
... The typology of Miles et al. (1978) has been studied in three different phases: development phase (pre-1990), maturity phase (1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) and expansion phase (2006 to current date). Researchers in the development phase tend to focus on the adaptive behaviours of organizations in choosing their archetypical strategic orientation responding to the changing business environments (Anwar et al., 2021). For instance, Hambrick (1983) explored how defenders and prospectors differ in their functional attributes in various industrial environments. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to explore what organizational structural designs and strategies that organizations can seek to adopt so as to enable them to respond effectively to the post-COVID-19 environment conditions. It adopts the contingency theory, which asserts that organizational survival is dependent on the fit between organizational structures and contingencies. Furthermore, the paper applies Miles et al . (1978) typology of business strategy to study four strategic orientations that organizations can adopt in achieving better organizational performances.
Design/methodology/approach
A framework of six strategic orientation archetypes is proposed that can support organizations in re-thinking their organizational structural designs for building up and strengthening resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors explore the influence of transactional leadership and transformational leadership and organizational culture on the adoption of strategic orientation. In addition, the authors developed six propositions.
Findings
Organizations that have a prospector orientation tend to focus on creativity and innovation. Organizations that have a defender orientation tend to focus on reducing manufacturing and distribution costs and maintaining or improving product quality. Analyzers tend to be second-movers after prospectors making slower and fewer changes to their products.
Originality/value
To the authors’ best understanding, this study is one of the first to explore the interrelationship between organizational structures, situational factors and strategic orientation.
... Data extraction, bibliometric and network analysis and synthesis Bibliometric analysis helps in finding the most representative contributors, themes and collaborations (Anwar et al., 2021). The network approach is a quantitative method for analyzing scientific publications and is widely accepted within Bibliometric studies (Randhawa et al., 2016). ...
... Several studies using this methodology have been published in top-tier journals. These disciplines include Economics (Ahmad et al., 2020a;Ahmad et al., 2020b), Management (Calma and Davies, 2016;Herrerias and Liu, 2013;Nerur et al., 2008), Marketing (Baumgartner and Pieters, 2003;Chan et al., 2012;Anwar et al., 2021), Human Resources (Jeung et al., 2011), Information Systems (Goodrum et al., 2001;Hsiao and Yang, 2011), Operations (Pilkington and Meredith, 2009;Vokurka, 1996), Tourism (Howey et al., 1999;McKercher, 2008), and General Business (Acedo and Casillas, 2005). This paper's employed articles have been searched using the Scopus database through a comprehensive list of keywords. ...
This paper is the first and the only systematic literature review on the concept of convergence within the energy-economy-environment linkages. Namely, the paper provides a thorough systematic literature review of energy consumption convergence, CO2 emission convergence, and energy efficiency convergence. The reason the study focuses on these three concepts is that they are interdependent. Energy consumption generates emissions, but if the former occurs in a sensible way that prioritises saving and smartness, energy efficiency is achieved. Thus, if the concept of convergence in energy consumption is to be studied thoroughly, the aspects of emissions and efficiency could not be ignored. A very detailed content analysis has been conducted to provide a snapshot and trends in many aspects. This includes the nature of the analysis, type of convergence concept, data characteristics, construction of variables, analysis framework, and the findings. Citation metrics were used for the identification of the most influential papers, authors, and articles. The citation analysis has revealed that Energy Economics is the most influential journal hosting convergence studies and has gained top ranking in all the enclosed metrics. List J.A. and Apergis N. are the most prolific authors based on total citations and research productivity, respectively.
... Data extraction, bibliometric and network analysis and synthesis Bibliometric analysis helps in finding the most representative contributors, themes and collaborations (Anwar et al., 2021). The network approach is a quantitative method for analyzing scientific publications and is widely accepted within Bibliometric studies (Randhawa et al., 2016). ...
Purpose
This paper presents a comprehensive review of academic research dedicated to the field of Behavioral Strategy. Based on a series of Bibliometric and network analyses, the paper identifies the prominent trend and growth patterns pertaining to the evolution of this important strategic management subfield; it documents which particular journals, articles and authors have most influenced its development, and it maps the intellectual structure and network of authors, publications and countries. Finally, the paper considers the substantive research themes emerging from the analyses reported, in terms of their implications for future work.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors undertook a series of Bibliometric and network analyses of 217 relevant articles, published between 1975 and 2020, in journals listed in the Scopus database, using R-studio and VOSviewer. Articles incorporated in the study were selected based on relevant key terms searched from the title, abstract and list of keywords associated with each publication.
Findings
The results demonstrate that behavioral strategy has enjoyed robust and sustained growth, with widespread impact across many areas of the heterogeneous business and management field as a whole. Three distinct periods are identified: an infancy stage (prior to 1999); a steady growth stage (1999–2010); and a take-off stage (2011 onwards). The top three journals in terms of content coverage, based on the number of relevant articles published in relation to behavioral strategy, are Strategic Management Journal, Advances in Strategic Management (AiSM) and the Journal of Management, while the top three most influential journals, in terms of citations pertaining to Behavioral Strategy, based on an analysis of citations in the Scopus database, are Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Perspectives and Journal of Management Studies. Gerard P. Hodgkinson and Thomas C. Powell are the most prolific authors. The emerging themes based on intellectual structures have been identified as Behavioral Strategy, Behavioral Theory of Firm; Strategic Leadership and Dynamic Capabilities; and Strategic Cognition and Decision Making.
Practical implications
The study contributes to knowledge advancement concerning Behavioral Strategy by opening new possibilities to discover important research areas.
Originality/value
The study is the first of its kind on Behavioral Strategy providing a comprehensive systematic literature review.
... The strategic orientation of a firm, introduced in the seminal work of Miles and Snow (1978), has remained for 40 years a powerful tool for understanding both the strategy and organization of a firm (Hambrick, 2003;Anwar et al., 2021). Miles and Snow argued that different company strategies arise from the way companies decide to address three fundamental problems: entrepreneurial, engineering (or operational) and administrative problems. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address issues related to better identification of strategic orientation of the firm and the impact of strategic orientation on sustainable development of the firm.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents an overview of the existing literature on strategic orientation of the firm, reexamines the major findings and fills the discovered gaps in theoretical constructs and models by new models.
Findings
In this paper, a new model of strategic orientation is proposed based on the type of relationship of aa firm with its stakeholders who are considered as suppliers of key strategic resources. Relationship between the firm and its particular stakeholder is presented on an input-output like scheme and the variants of the position of the firm towards all its stakeholders serve as foundation for determining strategic orientation types. Next, the authors present orientation of firms of different strategic types towards sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
The paper outlines several novels problems for strategic management and organizational design theory.
Originality/value
The paper provides a novel treatment of strategic orientation and particular strategic types.
Purpose
This study aims to explore the strategies adopted by incubated small business startups in creative industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. To conduct the analysis, the conceptualization of Miles and Snow’s strategic typology was used. The findings of this study could help small business startups deal strategically with future crises.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a qualitative approach, and data were obtained through interviews with 15 fashion-related incubated startup founders in Indonesia.
Findings
The results of this study showed that business strategies implemented by most owners were centered on calculated risk-taking. The main choices comprised the “wait and see” and “seeking new opportunities” approaches. Regarding foresight capabilities of participants of this study, there are some interesting findings that may capture the essence of their capabilities in dealing with future crises.
Research limitations/implications
The findings cannot be generalized across all creative industries but offer additional perspectives possibly unnoticed by stakeholders. In this regard, the findings could help startups in creative industries take different strategies in specific contexts.
Originality/value
Small business startups in creative industries are expected to provide different responses to ensure survival because of their chosen business strategies. However, limited information is available regarding how these business entities adapt to a new normal during pandemic crises.
An effective innovation strategy is crucial for firm performance and national economic growth, yet many firms still face the challenge of misalignment between their innovation activities and strategies. While previous studies focused on the mediation role of innovation activities on strategy and performance, research is needed to examine the complex interdependencies between strategies and innovation activities to better understand their impact on firm performance.
From a configurational perspective, this study investigates how different combinations of innovation activities and strategies influence firm performance. Twenty combinative effects of four categories of innovation activities and five strategic types on two firm performance measures (growth and profit) were explored, resulting in the creation of an innovation-strategy alignment map. This study contributes to innovation strategy literature by providing the alignment map, where four configurational clusters with equifinality were identified. It also contributes to competitive strategy literature by offering empirical verification for the “pure” versus “hybrid” debate and identifying two new types of hybrids with more and different strategic dimensions by using an empirical method, thus advancing the call for more detailed hybrid strategy research in this area. In addition, the innovation-strategy alignment map provides options to managers with different resources and capacities for effective planning.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine various key aspects associated with entrepreneurs’ behaviour following a long-term crisis. Specifically, the study compares the perceptions of female and male entrepreneurs operating in Cyprus and Greece concerning success factors and firm performance in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Conceptually, the study considers the organisational adaptation literature (Miles and Snow’s typology).
Design/methodology/approach
The views of female and male micro and small firm owners-managers operating in Greece and Cyprus, a total of 406, were gathered through a questionnaire. To analyse the quantitative data, independent samples t -test and exploratory factor analysis were applied.
Findings
Participants’ responses reveal similar levels of perceived importance between genders regarding adaptive measures and strategies to confront a long-term crisis, as well as perceived firm performance. Nevertheless, exploratory factor analysis highlights differences in how male/female entrepreneurs perceive actions that, as in the case of financial management, can safeguard the immediate outlook of the firm.
Originality/value
While scholarly discourses on gender and entrepreneurship abound, important knowledge gaps still exist, for instance, in entrepreneurs’ problem-solving strategies adopted by female and male entrepreneurs following crises. In addressing this scholarly gap cross-culturally, that is, drawing on cross-national data (Cyprus and Greece); the present study makes an important contribution. Empirically, the study ascertains similar entrepreneurial behavioural characteristics between female-male entrepreneurs. Theoretically, the study validates Miles and Snow’s typology and develops a theoretical framework linking the typology and dimensions emerging from the empirical findings.
Digitisation is among the macro-trends that significantly influence the business world in the twenty-first century. Firms striving to succeed in this environment must develop new strategic approaches. The accelerating development of information technology (IT) drives digitisation. Therefore, IT and business strategies must be integrated. In this context, the information systems literature promotes the concept of digital business strategies (DBSs), reflecting a fusion between IT and business strategies. However, knowledge of the types and characteristics of such DBSs is currently scarce. Therefore, we developed a conceptually and empirically grounded typology of DBS based on the well-known business strategy classification by Miles and Snow (1978). Using a dataset comprising 192 firms worldwide, we conducted a cluster analysis, identified basic types of DBS, and evaluated their effects on firm performance. Moreover, we identified four types of DBS: non-digital reactor, analyser, digital opportunist, and digital producer. The study contributes to a better understanding of new business strategy concepts in the digitisation context.
Available as OA: doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2023.2234508
The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the influence of firm characteristics (size, age, industry type, and ownership) on a firm’s strategic orientation. The business environment, namely market uncertainty and competition intensity, is also analysed in association with the firm’s strategic orientation. Furthermore, the implication of strategic orientation for performance is tested. The study used 1024 data sets of 128 manufacturing firms listed on the Indonesia stock exchange from 2014 to 2021. Data panel regression and independent t-tests were employed for statistical analysis. Adopting Miles and Snow’s strategy typology framework, the findings indicated that the firm size, industry type, and competition intensity significantly influence the firm’s strategic orientation. Small firms preferred to adopt a proactive strategic orientation (prospector and analyser). Firms in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry tended to adopt a proactive strategic orientation (prospector and analyser). Strategic orientation was found to positively and significantly influence firm performance. Firms that adopt a proactive strategic orientation (analyser and prospector) showed better performance than defensive ones (reactor and defender).
Purpose
This study carries out a systematic literature review (SLR) on responsible management education (RME). A total of 174 publications listed on the Scopus database addressing RME, published between 2007 and 2022 (inclusive), have been analyzed.
Design/methodology/approach
The articles included in the study were searched based on relevant key terms in the title, abstract and author keywords associated with each publication. The analysis led to the identification of the most relevant sources, authors and publications that can be used to circumscribe RME. Selected studies were analyzed using the Bibliometrix R-tool.
Findings
This study shows how three interrelated levels of analysis—namely, conceptual, intellectual and social—allow researchers to further organize the data to produce rich content for the RME. The contribution of this study is twofold: first, our values-based approach helps overcome the axiological ambiguity of the principles for RME (PRME), which invoke the importance of incorporating “the values of global social responsibility” (Principle 2) but fail to define and operationalize these values. Second, the authors provide a rationale and guidance for implementing values-based RME in business schools.
Originality/value
This study offers a unique SLR on RME. It gives a clear picture of this field by talking about what has been done and what the future might hold for RME.
Miles and Snow’s conception of strategic types is the most popular and extensively stud-ied typology of strategic choices. Consequently, in recent years it has been related to organizational performance measures. Despite numerous studies conducted in different environmental and organ-izational settings, the research results of relationships between strategic types and organizational performance are ambiguous. In this paper, we seek to advance the knowledge regarding how a chosen strategic type affects organizational performance measures in the transition economy of Poland. Relationships Between Miles and Snow Strategic Types and Organizational Performance in Polish Production Companies. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299334517_Relationships_Between_Miles_and_Snow_Strategic_Types_and_Organizational_Performance_in_Polish_Production_Companies [accessed Apr 27, 2016].
Purpose
– This article aims to describe the valuable work conducted most recently on competitive strategies. Its purpose is to elaborate on suggestions for theorizing the hybrid form of competitive advantage and stimulate the interest of scholars.
Design/methodology/approach
– As this article emphasizes hybrid strategies, both electronic and manual methods have detected 15 studies focusing on competitive strategies and their relation to firm performance from 2000 until today.
Findings
– This article underlines the need to deal more thoroughly with combined-emphasis competitive strategies, which have seriously enhanced Porter’s paradigm, defined in 1980 with three single-emphasis strategic choices. The era in which combining competitive strategies was synonymous with stuck-in-the-middle alternatives has been left behind, and the era in which hybrid strategies suggest the most attractive choices, at least in some circumstances, has already begun.
Originality/value
– This article is one of the few stressing conceptual issues of hybrid strategies that emerged from Porter’s (1980) model. No matter how many years pass by, research on competitive strategies will continue, as it considers businesses of any age, size, sector or country. The global challenge of today is how scholars will revise theory to better capture reality. This article intensifies the need for a theoretical framework embracing the full variety of competitive strategies, namely, single-emphasis, mixed-emphasis, no-distinctive-emphasis and stuck-in-the-middle. Nonetheless, due to their complex and multidimensional nature, hybrid strategies receive particular attention.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically whether a hybrid, compared with other forms of competitive advantage, contributes to better business performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on 105 food manufacturing firms in Greece, a European Union (EU) member state, this study performs a factor analysis, a cluster analysis and an analysis of variance.
Findings
This study provides evidence in favour of the hybrid as the best‐performing form of competitive advantage for Greek food firms. Specifically, the findings show pure (the cost‐based nichers: 36 firms), combined (the hybridists: 49 firms) and stuck‐in‐the‐middle (the confused strategists: 20 firms) strategic alternatives that differ in terms of performance.
Research limitations/implications
Research on Porter's dominant paradigm within Europe is surprisingly limited. Given the call for further research on competitive strategy to focus on European firms, this Greek study extends Porter's original model and represents one of the few studies to examine the relationship between hybrid strategies and performance.
Practical implications
Managers should keep in mind that hybrid strategies are usually better and never worse than pure and stuck‐in‐the‐middle alternatives. Emphasis on all dimensions of the hybrid form may be a safe and rewarding option for Greek food players to compete at home against global players.
Originality/value
This study provides new evidence on hybrid strategies within Europe, a subject that lacks sufficient foundation. Despite the contradictory results obtained elsewhere on the Porter‐based perspective since 1980, the empirical evidence within a European country, Greece, suggests a pleasant surprise.
Strategic management is a relatively youthful discipline that has steadily matured over the past fifty years. The field has become consolidated over this period, while simultaneously expanding the range of topics analyzed and research methodologies used. Different theories and approaches, addressing different research topics, have been developed to explain the reasons underlying firms' competitive advantage and success. In this paper, we posit the existence of two pendulums in constant motion that, on the one hand, reflect the tension that has historically existed between the focus on internal firm factors and external environmental attributes respectively and, on the other, the tension between a more macro level of analysis, i.e., the firm and its environment, and a more micro level one, i.e., individuals and their relations within the firm. The frontier of research in strategic management is shaped by the simultaneous movement of both pendulums. 1 This is a reduced version of the paper to be published in Business Research Quarterly, vol. 17, nº 2, 2014. This paper has been supported by Project ECO2012-36775 of Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain).
Typologies are an important way of organizing the complex cause-effect relationships that are key building blocks of the strategy and organization literatures. Here, I develop a novel theoretical perspective on causal core and periphery, which is based on how elements of a configuration are connected to outcomes. Using data on hightechnology firms, I empirically investigate configurations based on the Miles and Snow typology using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). My findings show how the theoretical perspective developed here allows for a detailed analysis of causal core, periphery, and asymmetry, shifting the focus to midrange theories of causal processes.
The Miles-Snow (1978) typology is one of the most popular classifications of business-level strategies. Consequently, a great deal of attention has centered on examining the validity of the research used in its defense. In this paper previous research on the typology is reviewedfocusing on four issues: (a) identification and nature of strategic types, (b) testing the typology's predictions concerning dimensions of the "adaptive cycle," (c) the link between strategy and environment, and (d) performance differences among the strategic types. Limitations of prior research are identified and questions about validity of pastfindings are presented. Methodological and conceptual refinements are offered to help guide future research efforts.
Adopting a contingency perspective, the authors present and test a fit-as-moderation model that posits that overall firm performance is influenced by how well the marketing organization's structural characteristics (i.e., formalization, centralization, and specialization) and strategic behavioral emphases (i.e., customer, competitor, innovation, and cost control) complement alternative business strategies (i.e., prospector, analyzer, low-cost defender, and differentiated defender). Responses from 228 senior marketing managers provide support for the model and demonstrate that each strategy type requires different combinations of marketing organization structures and strategic behaviors for success.. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Marketing Science Institute and the helpful comments of Don Lehmann and the three anonymous JM reviewers.
This study surveys the data envelopment analysis (DEA) literature by applying a citation-based approach. The main goals are to find a set of papers playing the central role in DEA development and to discover the latest active DEA subareas. A directional network is constructed based on citation relationships among academic papers. After assigning an importance index to each link in the citation network, main DEA development paths emerge. We examine various types of main paths, including local main path, global main path, and multiple main paths. The analysis result suggests, as expected, that Charnes et al. (1978) [Charnes A, Cooper WW, Rhodes E. Measuring the efficiency of decision making units. European Journal of Operational Research 1978; 2(6): 429–444] is the most influential DEA paper. The five most active DEA subareas in recent years are identified; among them the “two-stage contextual factor evaluation framework” is relatively more active. Aside from the main path analysis, we summarize basic statistics on DEA journals and researchers. A growth curve analysis hints that the DEA literature’s size will eventually grow to at least double the size of the existing literature.
Twenty-five years of empirical research has failed to resolve a basic strategy question. Does strategic purity pay? Most theorists believe strategic purity—the extent to which a business pursues one type of generic strategy over another—contributes to better performance. By defining the strategy space consistent with the theory, and employing improved design and methods, our study of 2,351 businesses finds a significant relationship between strategic purity and performance. Purity does appear to pay. Some variations in strategic purity and performance relationship were observed across four major industry sectors: manufacturing, construction, retail, and business services. But in all instances pure strategies never did less well, and often did better than hybrid strategies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Drawing on configuration theory, we develop and test a model which posits that overall firm performance will be influenced
by how well the marketing organization’s cultural orientation (i.e., market, adhocracy, hierarchy, or clan) complements alternative
business strategies (i.e., Prospector, Analyzer, Low-Cost Defender, Differentiated Defender) after controlling for other,
key firm-level variables. Responses from a sample of senior marketing managers provide partial support for the model and demonstrate
that high-performing businesses of one strategy type have a different cultural orientation than high-performing businesses
of the other strategy types. And, contrary to previous research, the results of this study show that each of the cultural
orientations may play a role in creating superior performance. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for scholars
and for managers.
KeywordsBusiness strategy–Organizational culture–Performance–Configuration theory–Strategy implementation–Miles and snow–Marketing organization
Alignment between business strategy and IS strategy is widely believed to improve business performance. This paper examines the impact of alignment on perceived business performance using Miles and Snow's popular classification of Defender, Analyzer, and Prospector business strategies. A priori theoretical profiles for these business strategies are developed using Venkatraman's (1989a) measure of business strategy. Theoretical profiles for IS strategies are developed in terms of four types of systems--operational support systems, market information systems, strategic decision-support systems, and interorganizational systems. Empirical data from two multirespondent surveys of 164 and 62 companies, respectively, are analyzed. Results indicate that alignment affects perceived business performance but only insome organizations. Alignment seems to influence overall business success in Prospectors and Analyzers but not in Defenders. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
This study performs the first citation‐based systematic literature review of the tourism‐growth nexus. The citation analysis provides a bird's eye view of this literature, which, in turn, identifies the sources of knowledge in terms of most influential journals, authors, and articles. A detailed content analysis of 100 most influential papers has been generated on the nature of the study, variables used, country of analysis, type of analysis, the methodology, and the direction of causality. In total, 284 papers were found relevant in the Scopus database using a comprehensive list of keywords. The citation analysis reveals that Tourism Management is the leading journal with a total of 2527 citation counts, whereas Tourism Economics is the leading journal with a total of 41 publications on this topic. Juan Gabriel Brida is the most prolific author, whereas Lee and Chang (2008) is recognized as the most influential paper. The content analysis reveals that 58% have applied time series, and 38% have used panel data analysis. Tourism causing growth is the leading result of both time‐series and panel studies. International tourism receipts/earnings/expenditure and the number of international tourist arrivals are the most widely used variables to measure tourism.
This study is a systematic survey of literature on the energy-growth nexus, which has been carried out with a view to identifying the leading sources of knowledge in the forms of the most influential journals, authors, and papers. This study not only recognizes and classifies the well-known methodologies used in the energy-growth nexus analysis but also reveals intriguing content-based findings, with quantitative measures for the top 50 papers ranked according to the highest average citations per year. This survey is unique in that the process of selecting articles is entirely objective, allowing the research community's opinions to take the lead in the process rather than any subjective judgments of the authors. In this way, we examine 1041 peer-reviewed articles that specifically focused on the energy-growth nexus. We found that, as of the end of 2017, with 200 articles, Energy Policy is the leading journal publishing on this area while Energy Economics, with a total of 25,352 citation counts, holds the highest impact on this field of research. In addition, the most frequently cited article by the scholastic community in terms of average citations per year has been a literature survey conducted by Ozturk (2010). Our study's main conclusion, based on a thorough content analysis, is that the nexus results of previous studies are generally inconclusive, with conflicting policy implications. This is not helpful and to a large extent is due to a lack of an appropriate theory. This, we contend, is essentially a methodological weakness and could be addressed by incorporating an appropriate testable economic/environmental theory.
This study presents a citation-based systematic literature review on banking sector performance, particularly in terms of profitability, productivity, and efficiency. Specifically, the study aims to identify the leading sources of knowledge in terms of the most influential journals, authors, and papers. The paper presents a content analysis of the 100 most cited papers. In total, 1996 peer-review papers were found relevant in the Scopus database by using a comprehensive list of keywords. The results show that the Journal of Banking & Finance appears to be the leading journal in terms of publication count and citations. Based on total citations, Allen Berger is the most prolific author. The most cited paper is "Problem loans and cost efficiency in commercial banks" by Allan Berger and Robert DeYoung. The content analysis of the top 100 papers identifies five essential themes: determinants of efficiency, methodology, ownership, financial crises, and scale economies. In terms of estimation approaches, 74% of papers employed frontier analysis, which includes 34% parametric and 40% nonparametric methods, and remaining 26% have used financial ratio analysis. Additionally, stochastic frontier and data envelopment analysis are widely used in parametric and nonparametric methods, respectively. An intermediate approach is extensively adopted for the specification of inputs and outputs.
Purpose
Firms face the paradox of adapting change and remaining stable to control uncertainty simultaneously to maintain their competitive position because both aspects are essential for the firm’s effectiveness. This has raised a debate in the contemporary literature that whether firms should remain consistent or adapt flexibility in their strategic choice to produce better performance? The supporters of both the arguments provide substantial evidence in their favour. This study aims to investigate the strategy-performance relationship in this context along with contingent effect of firm size and industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical analysis using 7 years financial data of 307 joint stock firms from 12 industries is done by applying Miles and Snow strategic typology. Scoring method is used to classify the strategic orientation of the firms. Univariate and multivariate regression models are applied to investigate the influence of strategy, firm size and industry on firm performance both individually and collectively.
Findings
The results show that most of the firms in Pakistan are consistent in their strategic stance (43%) followed by flexible (40%) and reactors (17%). The mean differences in the performance of consistent, flexible, and reactor strategies show that both consistent and flexible strategies performed equally well and outperformed the reactors. However, there is significant variation in the performance of the strategic types due to the variation in firm size and industries whereas the contingent effect of firm size, industry, and strategy is statistically insignificant.
Originality/value
The methodology used for the identification of transition of strategic stance of the firms over time to know the consistent, flexible, and reacting behavior of the firms from archived data is the important contribution to the literature. The methodology can be replicated in longitudinal studies for identification of strategic groups in typological research.
Nonmarket strategy (NMS) refers to any part of a firm’s strategy that seeks to generate superior performance through means not directly associated with market activity. This paper investigates links among environmental uncertainty, strategic capabilities, competitive (market) strategy, NMS, and organizational performance in China, Ghana, Turkey, and the United States. Findings suggest that firms in relatively weak competitive positions are more likely to emphasize NMS. In China, Ghana, and Turkey, composite models suggest that competitive uncertainty drives NMS, but that only competitive strategies-not NMS-drive performance. In the United States, NMS appears to be driven by both competitive and technological uncertainties, while also driving performance. Unlike their counterparts in China, Ghana, and Turkey, American firms appear to emphasize NMS as a response to environmental uncertainty and engender stronger performance as a result.
Purpose
The extant literature has challenged the original idea that pure strategy leads to superior performance. This shift has raised the question whether pure strategy is still superior to hybrid strategy? The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strategy-performance relationship in this context and the performance of pure, hybrid, and reactor strategies is compared.
Design/methodology/approach
Scoring method is used for identification of strategic types. ANOVA, univariate, and multivariate regression models are applied for empirical analysis using seven-year financial data of 307 Pakistani joint stock firms from 12 industries.
Findings
The results show that firms in Pakistan practice hybrid and reactor strategies rather than pure strategies. Overall, defending and analyzing strategies perform better than the prospecting strategies. However, the performance of the strategic types varies among industries and firm size. Strategy and firm size are the better predictors of firm performance.
Originality/value
The proposed methodology can be replicated to identify strategic groups and strategic orientations proposed by typological classifications when longitudinal studies are carried out. The process for identification of pure, hybrid, flexible, consistent, and reactor strategies is a key contribution to the literature.
Purpose
Strategic typologies are applied to investigate strategy–performance relationship. The typology of Miles and Snow (1978) is one of them, but the methodology applied for identification of strategic types for archival financial data is questionable on three grounds: no standard procedure for categorization of strategic types; identification of reactor strategy is always ignored; and the behavior of firms’ strategic orientation over time is under-researched. Besides, the assumptions that viable strategies are expected to perform equally well, outperform reactors and distributed evenly are not overwhelmingly supported. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A refined scoring methodology is developed and used for identification of all strategic types, including reactors, by investigating the consistency of the firms over time. Empirical analysis using seven years of data of 121 joint stock firms of the textile sector in Pakistan is performed to test the assumptions regarding presence, distribution and performance of strategic types.
Findings
There is significant difference in the distribution of the strategic types. Pure defenders and pure prospectors are non-existing, whereas a reasonable number of reactors are present. Overall difference in performance among strategies is generally insignificant and viable strategies outperformed reactors. The effect of size on performance is also insignificant. However, there is variation in performance of strategies with variation in size. Strategy is the better predictor of performance than size.
Originality/value
The transition of strategic stance of the firms over time and the identification of reactor strategy from archived financial data are the important outcomes of the proposed methodology. The proposed methodology can be used for any longitudinal study for identification of all possible strategic types and can also be used for any other typological research.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strategy-performance relationship in a multi- industry setting for joint stock firms operating in Pakistan using Miles and Snow typology. The impact of firm size and industry on performance alongwith strategy is also investigated. The empirical research evidence on strategy-performance relationship for Miles and Snow typology is updated as well. Design/methodology/approach – Scoring methodology is applied for identification of strategic types, including the reactor strategy. The consistency of the firms over time is also checked. Seven year archived financial data of 320 Pakistani joint stock firms from 12 industries are used for analysis. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance is used for analysis. Findings – Hybrid strategies are practiced by firms rather than pure strategies. The distribution of strategic types is uneven. There are mixed results for performance difference among strategic types for different industries and firm size. Defending and analyzing strategies are better than the prospecting strategies. Reactors performed better in some industries as well. Originality/value – Proposed scoring methodology can be applied to identify all strategic types including reactors in the longitudinal studies. This can be replicated for other typologies or strategic group classifications. The process for identification of reactor strategy through a consistency check is a unique contribution to the literature, especially when archived financial data are used.
Keywords Performance, Strategy, Typology, Scoring methodology, Hybridization
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate trends in the use of research methodologies and
publications in manufacturing strategy (MS) literature across geographical regions and suggests
possible future research opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach – This literature review is based on a sample of 512 subject-relevant
journal articles and uses content analysis as the primary method for data analysis. The paper
investigates developments in the use of research methodologies – in terms of research design, data
collection methods, country of data collection, sample size, respondent type, statistical techniques
used and time horizon of studies; and publication trends in terms of authorship type, authorship
collaboration, most prolific authors, top journals, most prolific universities, and citation analysis.
Findings – Research in MS has substantially changed from conceptual quantitative to empirical
quantitative designs. NA and Europe show a declining research interest. However, other regions of the
world are consistently showing higher interest. Significant opportunities and synergies exist for
collaborative research among regions.
Research limitations/implications – Though the literature review is limited in its selection of
articles and journals it sketches a picture that may surrogate the whole research community in MS.
Practical implications – Trends in publications and use of research methodologies provide
directions for designing research projects relevant to various geographical regions. This will help
develop a holistic understanding of MS that is meaningful for managers of today’s organizations.
Originality/value – This paper provides broader and deeper review of the MS literature. Complex
patterns in data are revealed using cross-tabulations and advanced cross-tabulations that have not
been performed in previous content-analysis–based literature reviews in MS. These patterns will help
position future research studies.
This article reports an empirical investigation of the underlying relationships between business strategy type, the design of the marketing function, product-market growth strategies, relative marketing effort, and organization performance in 410 firms across a cross-section of six service industries. Business strategy type was operationalized by using the Miles and Snow (1978) typology which characterizes businesses as defenders, prospectors, analyzers, or reactors based on their product-market scope. The fmdings provide empirical support to the Miles and Snow (1978) typology in everyone of the six service industries. The managerial implications are presented and discussed.
The article focuses on “Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process,” by Raymond Miles and Charles Snow, and its effect on strategic management and organization theory. Miles and Snow's views are at the philosophical midpoint of business-level strategy—between the situationalists and the universalists. They proposed four basic types of strategy: defenders, prospectors, analyzers, and reactors. The concept of strategic equifinality, a configurational view of strategy, business risk, and the typology of strategy classification systems are mentioned.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate linkages among competitive strategy, strategic capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and organizational performance in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in China and the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
– In China, a survey was administered to managers of SMEs in Shanghai and Guangzhou. In the USA, a survey was administered to managers of SMEs in three major cities. Competitive strategy, capabilities, uncertainty, and performance were measured by previously validated scales.
Findings
– Findings support the integrity Miles and Snow generic strategic typology. Performance satisfaction was significantly lower in firms employing a reactor strategy as opposed to those employing prospector, defender, or analyzer strategies. Additional support was found for the concept of strategic clarity, as businesses reporting moderate strategic clarity had lower levels of satisfaction with performance than those reporting either a single strategy or a combination emphasis on three equal strategies.
Practical implications
– Chinese SMEs tend to prefer cost-based approaches to their local markets. A differentiation market approach is challenging in most local Chinese economies due to the low wages of most jobs in an economy that is still largely centrally planned. In the USA, more disposable income leads to more market opportunities. While this situation is gradually changing in China, it is not at a point where SMEs feel comfortable pursuing totally differentiated strategies.
Originality/value
– Several distinctions in competitive strategy, capabilities, and environmental uncertainty between China and the USA are recognized by analysis. Analyzers and defenders in Chinese SMEs tend to follow industry prospectors with lower prices and/or superior service. They might change strategies after gaining a foothold in the market. Performance for SMEs with low strategic clarity often depends on established guanxi with governmental agencies or stated-owned enterprises, a situation very different from that in the USA.
Using organizational strategy theory (Miles and Snow 1978, 2003), we analyze whether auditors differentially price their clients" business strategies. We also investigate whether certain business strategies are inherently riskier by examining their association with financial reporting irregularities. Based on Ittner, Larker and Rajan (1997) and Miles and Snow (1978, 2003), we form a composite business strategy measure comprised of six firm-level components from publicly available data. We find that innovative Prospector strategies are associated with a greater likelihood of financial reporting irregularities and that audit fees are higher for such clients. Our findings suggest that business strategy is a separate construct with incremental information content beyond the individual measures of client complexity and risk used in traditional audit fee models. Further, our findings have implications for fraud research by providing an ex ante factor that is a determinant of financial reporting irregularities. Preliminary draft—please do not quote.
This article integrates the research evidence that applies Miles and Snow's strategic management framework to the performance of public agencies. Miles and Snow developed several strategy types, arguing that prospectors (searching for new approaches) and defenders (sticking with the existing pattern of services) are aligned with processes, structures, and the environment in ways that lead them to outperform reactors (awaiting for instructions from the environment), which have no consistent strategy or alignment. Six key lessons for the practice of strategic management in public organizations are provided based on a critical review. Findings point toward the importance of employing a mix of strategies in public organizations, contrary to Miles and Snow—a strong evidence base for the association between prospecting and defending and performance and for relationships between strategy types and processes and structures. However, no empirical evidence is provided for alignment across strategy, structure, process, and the environment. The findings, largely derived from the United Kingdom and United States, suggest that the most successful strategy recipe depends on the ingredients, and thus managers must pay attention to the connections between the outlined contingencies to generate the best results using the adopted strategy.
A new, multi-item scale for operationalizing Miles and Snow's (1978) strategic typology— defenders, prospectors, analyzers, and reactors—is proposed and field-tested in this paper. Relatively pure strategic types, identified as those organizations classified similarly using both the newly developed, multi-item scale and the traditionally employed paragraph approach, are used to analyze the relationship between strategic types, distinctive marketing competencies, and organizational performance. Results of analysis suggest that while the marketing competencies of prospector organizations are superior to those of analyzer, defender, and reactor organizations, all three stable archetypes perform equally well in terms of profitability and outperform reactors. The newly developed strategic types scale performs well and appears to possess significant managerial and research potential. It is theoretically anchored, easily administered, and possesses diagnostic value to both strategists and their organizations.
The Miles and Snow strategic type framework is re-examined with respect to interrelationships with several theoretically relevant batteries of variables, including SBU strategic capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and performance. A newly developed constrained, multi-objective, classification methodology is modified to empirically derive an alternative quantitative typology using survey data obtained from 709 firms in three countries (China, Japan, United States). We compare the Miles and Snow typology to the classification empirically derived utilizing this combinatorial optimization clustering procedure. With respect to both variable battery associations and objective statistical criteria, we show that the empirically derived solution clearly dominates the traditional P-A-D-R typology of Miles and Snow. Implications and directions for future research are provided. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
We investigate the influence of articles, authors, journals and institutions in the field of environmental and ecological economics. We depart from studies that investigated the literature until 2001 and include a time period that has witnessed an enormous increase of importance in the field. We adjust for the age effect given the huge impact of the year of an article's publication on its influence and we show that this adjustment does make a substantial difference — especially for disaggregated units of analysis with diverse age characteristics such as articles or authors. We analyse 6597 studies on environmental and ecological economics published between 2000 and 2009. We provide rankings of the influential articles, authors, journals and institutions and find that Ecological Economics, Energy Economics and the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management have the most influential articles, they publish very influential authors and their articles are cited most. The University of Maryland, Resources for the Future, the University of East Anglia and the World Bank appear to be the most influential institutions in the field of environmental and ecological economics.
In this paper we set out to verify the existence of Miles and Snow strategy types in Australian small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) through objective classification. Australian SMEs, in particular, are interesting as they are reported to have some unique characteristics, with as many as 70% following a low growth or life-style pathway. While numerous empirical studies have been conducted to validate the existence and characteristics of the Miles and Snow strategy types in different domains for both larger and smaller enterprises, these studies typically rely on a subjective, ‘self-typing’ approach. In this study we employ a more objective approach by identifying measures from existing survey data that capture the strategic dimensions proposed by Miles and Snow. We use these objective measures in a K-means cluster analysis to identify four different strategic groups. Three of the groups correspond to the three ‘viable’ Miles and Snow strategy types of Defender, Prospector and Analyser; however, we also identify a ‘Static’ strategy type that constitutes 42% of SMEs in the sample.
The primary purpose of the current study is to identify how human resource development (HRD) research has contributed to the knowledge base across social science disciplines during the past two decades. We identified the top 20 Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) journal articles that have been most frequently cited in research articles published in journals other than the four AHRD journals. With the use of content analysis of the most-cited articles, three key research themes were identified: (a) training transfer and evaluation, (b) learning in organizations, and (c) knowledge sharing and knowledge creation. The research contributions of HRD within the field of HRD and across disciplines are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to examine the viability of hybrid competitive strategies, which combine differentiation and cost elements, and their impact on organizational performance in comparison to pure strategies and ‘stuck-in-the-middle’ combinations. Previous studies have focused above all on US data. The analysis carried out in this paper has centred on a multisectorial sample of 164 Spanish firms. The findings show that a large number of the organizations use different types of hybrid strategies and also that such strategies tend to be associated with higher levels of firm performance, particularly those strategies which place emphasis on a greater number of strategic dimensions, and specifically on innovation differentiation.
This paper integrates prior research on strategic leadership by building on the concept of alignment to explain the performance impact of top managers. Using the Miles and Snow (1978) typology as a theoretical framework, several hypotheses are tested on a sample drawn from three distinct industries. The results show that organizations that are able to achieve an alignment between managerial characteristics and strategic direction perform better than firms where such an alignment is absent. Further, it was found that the strategy-manager match explains a greater proportion of variance in performance than industry membership, organizational age and firm size. Taken together, these findings provide persuasive evidence about the impact that an organization's leaders exert in driving performance outcomes and demonstrates the validity of the administrative dimension of the Miles and Snow typology.
Mintzberg's and Miles and Snow's configurational theories have both received widespread attention. Most researchers, however, have interpreted these theories in terms of categories of organizations rather than organizational configurations based on ideal types. We explicated the logical structure of configurational theories and developed a set of configurational fit models that are congruent with alternative assumptions of equifinality, which is the premise that multiple organizational forms are equally effective. Then the two theories were formalized with these models and tested empirically. Contrary to our expectations, the results do not support Mintzberg's theory that organizations will be more effective to the extent that they resemble his five ideal types. In contrast with these null results, configurational fit based on Miles and Snow's theory predicted 24 percent of the variance in overall organizational effectiveness.
The Miles and Snow strategic typology is tested and extended. Based on a sample of businesses in the PIMS data base, the study explores the effectiveness of the strategic types in different environments and the ways in which defenders and prospectors differ in their functional attributes.