PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show how the Balanced Scorecard approach, a performance management system, could be implemented at a college of business.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' own college of business is used as an example, to present how a successful Balanced Scorecard would look.Practical implicationsA comprehensive guide for implementation of the Balanced Scorecard approach is presented, including presentation of specific objectives and measures appropriate for a college of business.Originality/valueThe paper points out that the Balanced Scorecard approach is well suited to a higher education situation and allows the alignment of a wide variety of measures with the unique mission and strategy of a college of business.

We argue that two core assumptions of economic analysis - managers and employees make optimal decisions and markets operate in equilibrium - have undesirable implications in strategic management research. To show how these assumptions lead to dubious implications, we analyze two exemplars of the rigorous application of these assumptions in strategic management research: Barney's (1986a) `Types of competition and the theory of strategy: toward an integrative framework' and Mosakowski's (1998) `Managerial prescriptions under the resource-based view of strategy: the example of motivational techniques'. We also introduce the basics of a behavioral theory of the firm, which we claim is prefer-able to traditional economic analysis and its severely limiting assumptions. Finally, we argue that most research in strategic management takes an implicitly behavioral view and would benefit from making that view explicit.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of three important group process variables, namely, agreement-seeking behavior, group trust, and cognitive diversity, on decision outcomes. In addition, it seeks to examine the role of process conflict as a moderator in the relationship between agreement-seeking behavior and team effectiveness; agreement-seeking behavior and decision commitment; cognitive diversity and team effectiveness; and cognitive diversity and decision commitment. Design/methodology/approach Using a structured survey instrument, this paper gathered data from 160 students enrolled in a strategic management capstone course that features strategic decision making in a simulated business strategy game. The data from 41 teams were collected from the student population using a carefully administered instrument, and the data were aggregated only after appropriate inter-rater agreement tests were run. Findings Results show that the group process variables are positively related to decision outcomes. The data support the view that process conflict acts as a moderator in the relationship between agreement-seeking behavior and team effectiveness and decision commitment. Further, the results support that cognitive diversity has a positive impact on decision commitment and team effectiveness. Process conflict, which acts as a deterrent, is outweighed by the presence of agreement-seeking behavior. Research limitations/implications Since the present research is based on self-report measures, the limitations of social desirability bias and common method bias are inherent. However, sufficient care is taken to minimize these limitations. The research has implications for both the conflict management and strategic decision-making process literatures. Practical implications This study contributes to both practicing managers and the strategic management literature. The study suggests that administrators should select those teams who are prone to agreement-seeking behavior; and team members who trust one another. Administrators need not unduly avoid process conflict because diversity in opinions and thinking and agreement-seeking behavior outweigh the negative effects of process conflict. Social implications The findings from the study will be useful for creating congenial social environment in the organizations. Originality/value This study provides new insights about the previously unknown effects of process conflict in strategic decision-making process.

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