The goal of this article is to place the role that social media plays in collective action within a more general theoretical structure, using the events of the Arab Spring as a case study. The article presents two broad theoretical principles. The first is that one cannot understand the role of social media in collective action without first taking into account the political environment in which they operate. The second principle states that a significant increase in the use of the new media is much more likely to follow a significant amount of protest activity than to precede it. The study examines these two principles using political, media, and protest data from twenty Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority. The findings provide strong support for the validity of the claims.

Two important business‐level strategic typologies were systematically evaluated, analyzed and compared in this study: Porter'S Overall Cost Leadership, Differentiation, Focus, and ‘Stuck in the Middle’ generic competitive strategies, and Miles and Snow'S Defender, Prospector, Analyzer, and Reactor types of organizational adaptation. On the basis of strategic theory, and following a pilot study, 31 strategic variables were evaluated by judges on a seven‐point maximum‐minimum scale, for each strategy, within its typology. Analysis of variances and concordance among judges regarding the ranking of the strategies on each variable were examined, and a strategic profile was built for each strategy. Proximities between strategies of the two typologies were analyzed using monotonic multidimensional scaling. The analysis indicated similarities and differences between the two typologies. A synthesis of the two typologies is suggested along two dimensions: internal consistency of the strategy, and level of proactiveness.

This paper identifies the organizational context variables affecting the success and failure of MIS. The variables are categorized as uncontrollable, partially controllable and controlled, and a conceptual scheme is suggested. In addition, current information on these variables and the interactions between them is surveyed; propositions are stated concerning relationships between the variables and the success or failure of MIS.

The high-tech industry is usually treated as an homogeneous entity, without differentiating between organizations according to the relative importance of technology in their business strategy. This paper investigates the varying impact of technology on the success of strategic birsiness units within the Miles and Snow typology. Although common wisdom might lead to the conclusion that prospectors are more dependent on technological progress than the other strategic types, the results show rather that the influence is greater and more fruitful for the defenders both in the short and the long term.

In a recent study, Segev (1987) examined the relationships among strategy, strategy‐making, and performance, focusing on the connection between two important typologies: Miles and Snow's (1978) concept of strategic types and Mintzberg's (1973) concept of strategy‐making modes. The findings of that study clearly indicated links between the two, and partially supported propositions asserting the effects of the strategy/stategy‐making fit on organizational performance. In the current study a business game served as the vehicle for examining this tripartite relationship. The two typologies were applied to the firms' in the game, and then an inquiry was made into the relationships between them. An hypothesis regarding the effect of fit on performance was tested, and the findings compared with previously reported empirical results.