Economic Foundations Of Strategic Management

This book explores the extent to which economic theory is able to provide the theoretical foundations of strategic management. To this end it draws on the philosophy of science; microeconomic theory; and different approaches to strategic management. The work shows that many of the propositions of strategic management are deducible from the economic theories considered. It argues that these propositions should be made open to empirical testing and that a unified theory of strategic management should be developed. Thus the book addresses a current major concern of theorists - that strategy remains ’atheoretical’ and that this reduces the predictive power of the subject and hampers further theory development. The essential contribution made is that economic theory should be systematically explored in order to establish the foundations of business strategy.

The theoretical foundations of management strategy are identified and outlined in this text. Five theories are considered in the light of questions about how organisations operate efficiently, cost minimization, wealth creation, individual self-interest, and continued growth.

This book develops a property rights approach to firm strategy and demonstrates how it helps address key challenges in strategic management research. It shows that the property rights approach holds important implications both for entrepreneurship and organizational learning theory. Property rights have direct implications for strategic management, as control over assets has an immediate link to the creation and appropriation of economic value. For a firm to execute a competitive strategy, it must hold rights to appropriate resources. This book will appeal to scholars working in the fields of strategic management, organizational theory and resource allocation. It is an invaluable summary of two decades of groundbreaking research.

This work fills the need for a strategic management text that gives full attention to sustainability and environmental protection. It includes chapter-by-chapter case studies of two organizations that exemplify many of the principles of environmentally sound management practices.

This book offers innovative ideas and frameworks for sustainable strategizing to advance business by scaling-up its positive impact, which is so urgently needed at this time in the 21st century. It shows practitioners how to effectively deal with socio-ecological systems’ disruptions to their operating environments and play an active role in transforming markets toward a sustainable future. In short, the book demonstrates how to make business sense of sustainability, highlighting new approaches and examples that translate sustainability into strategy and action. The ultimate goal is to provide a path toward a thriving future for both business and society. This book was written for strategy practitioners and decision makers who want to understand why sustainable strategizing is important in today’s business world and are seeking actionable business knowledge they can apply in their companies. It was also written for students of management and can be used as a supplemental text to support traditional graduate and undergraduate management courses.

Develops a value-based theory of the firm specifically aimed at strategic decision-making.

This unique book is positioned at the crossroads of strategic management and international business. Based on an in-depth literature review, the author empirically assesses the widely shared, implicit assumption that strategic management processes can be globally applied in a standardized, i.e., culture-free, manner. So far, a variety of tools have also been recommended but without incorporating cultural differences. As many organizations observe that this ethnocentric view is more an illusion than reality, strategic management research has started to focus on the cultural sensitivity of its theories, tools, and processes to provide practitioners in a multicultural setting with adequate know-how and tools. To foster long-term decision-making despite uncertainty, scenario planning is frequently applied by practitioners. Up until today, scenario planning has however gained little attention from the academic community. Through this book, the author presents a newly developed framework for strategic management that combines the cultural value scale to test the cultural sensitivity of the long-term planning tool called “scenario planning.” The different process steps of scenario planning have been individually examined for their sensitivity toward the cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. The investigation is based on a unique, global set of management consultants working for a leading professional service firm. The results of this research show the cultural sensitivity of scenario planning, with different degrees of the process steps and the tested cultural dimensions.

The highly acclaimed Financial and Strategic Management for Nonprofit Organizations provides an encyclopedic account of all the key financial, legal, and managerial issues facing nonprofit executives. This is today's definitive single-source text and reference for managing any nonprofit organization. Designed for both professional and graduate student readers, this work thoroughly addresses all key aspects of building managerial skill and promoting imagination and innovation in organizations across the nonprofit spectrum. Herrington J. Bryce presents every technique and concept in the context of today's public policies, leading practices, laws, norms, and expectations. Herrington J. Bryce was a senior economist at the Urban Institute, a Brookings Economic Policy Fellow, a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard and a visiting professor in regional economics and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He taught micro economic theory and public finance at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and was director of the program in legal and budget studies at the University College at the University of Maryland. He currently teaches courses at the College of William & Mary in nonprofits but mostly in corporate financial strategy and cost management—heavily reflected in this text. He has published extensively and has served on many state, local and federal government advisory committees. He has a PhD in economics from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and a CLU and ChFC from the American College.