Strategic development and information use

Einar Häckner

Scandinavian Journal of Management, 1988, vol. 4, issue 1-2, 45-61

Abstract: In-depth longitudinal studies in medium-sized companies engaged in creating/reformulating their business concepts are reported in this article. Two kinds of information and two types of strategic action are identified. Soft information (images, visions, ideas, etc.) proved most useful in offensive action (expansion) and hard (mainly accounting) information in defensive action (e.g. reduction of capacity/withdrawal from markets). Offensive and defensive strategic action differed in their use of analytical (intellectual) and social processes. Defensive action could be carried out in line with a "classic rational decision model". Offensive measures associated with greater uncertainty were adopted as a result of a time-consuming, strive-for-consensus and test-in-small-steps type of process. In the case of defensive action, uncertainty could be reduced primarily by processing and analysing hard information. In offensive action, uncertainty was mainly reduced by social processes which created consensus, commitment and enthusiasm.

Keywords: Strategy; business; concept; information; use; decision; process; medium-sized; companies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1988
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0956522188900152
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:scaman:v:4:y:1988:i:1-2:p:45-61

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/872/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... me/872/bibliographic

Access Statistics for this article

Scandinavian Journal of Management is currently edited by Janne Tienari

More articles in Scandinavian Journal of Management from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().