How do companies adapt their strategies when they are faced with a global economic crisis? Do managers in different countries differ in the way they react to major changes in their companies' environment? Is national culture influencing adaptation strategies in times of crisis?
"Strategic Adaptation" explores the processes that are at work when companies adapt to environmental change - from strategic issue diagnosis and decision-making processes (including political behaviour and conflicts) to the specific strategic actions in response to economic downturn. Based on both a qualitative and a quantitative empirical study among managers in Austria and Slovenia, this book explores how firms in the two countries strategically reacted to the 2008-09 financial and economic crisis and - taking cultural differences into account - how their decision processes and strategic actions in response to the crisis differed.
Sprache
Zielgruppe
Professional/practitioner
Illustrationen
47
25 s/w Abbildungen, 47 s/w Tabellen
ISBN-13
978-3-7091-0454-5 (9783709104545)
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Lecturer for International Management and Program Director of the International Business Management Master's program at Carinthia University of Applied Sciences in Villach, Austria. In his managerial career, he was the managing director and publisher of a leading Austrian and Croatian book publishing group and the CEO of a media company based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he founded the country's highest-circulation daily newspaper and leading newspaper portal.
1. Introduction.- 1.1 Creating and maintaining value through adaptation.- 1.2 Cultural influences on strategic adaptation.- 2. Overview of the research design.- 3. Overview of key concepts.- 3.1 Strategy and strategic decision-making.- 3.2 Major environmental changes.- 3.3 Adaptation as a concept in strategic management.- 3.4 National culture as an influencing factor on managerial decision-making.- 3.5 Summary of the key concepts.- 4. The strategic adaptation process: a literature review.- 4.1 Different approaches to adaptation.- 4.2 Cognitive perspectives of the strategic adaptation process.- 4.3 A model of the strategic adaptation process.- 4.4 Summary of the strategic adaptation process.- 5. Strategic action in response to economic crises.- 5.1 Rationalizing versus protection/pre-emption strategies.- 5.2 Focus on the core business versus diversification strategies.- 5.3 Internally-directed versus externally-directed strategies.- 5.4 Summary of adaptation strategies in response to economic crisis.- 5.5 Hypotheses on the link between strategic issue analysis and strategic action in response to economic crises.- 6. Cultural differences between Austria and Slovenia.- 6.1 Performance orientation.- 6.2 Future Orientation.- 6.3 Assertiveness.- 6.4 In-Group Collectivism.- 6.5 Uncertainty Avoidance.- 6.6 Gender Egalitarianism.- 6.7 Cultural dimensions without significant differences between Austria and Slovenia.- 6.8 Summary of cultural differences between Austria and Slovenia.- 7. Cultural influences on the adaptation process.- 7.1 Hypotheses on cultural influences on strategic issue diagnosis.- 7.2 Hypotheses on cultural influences on strategic action in response to the economic crisis.- 7.3 Hypotheses on cultural influences on political and decision behaviour in strategic decision-making processes.- 8. Qualitative study: management interviews about strategic adaptation to the financial and economic crisis.- 8.1 Sample and data collection of the qualitative study.- 8.2 Methodology of analysis of the qualitative study.- 8.3 Results of the qualitative study.- 8.4 Summary of the findings of the qualitative study.- 9. Methodological overview of the quantitative empirical study.- 9.1 Sample and data collection.- 9.2 Instrument design.- 9.3 Bias minimization steps.- 9.4 Statistical analysis.- 10. Results of the quantitative empirical study in Austria and Slovenia.- 10.1 Overview of respondents' characteristics.- 10.2 Descriptive statistics.- 10.3 Testing of hypotheses.- 10.4 Summary of the findings from the quantitative study.- 11. Discussions of findings.- 11.1 Discussion of findings on the strategic adaptation process.- 11.2 Discussion of findings on cultural, industry, and size differences in strategic adaptation to economic crisis.- 11.3 Limitations of the study.- 12. Conclusions and outlook.
