Measuring strategy coherence through patterns of strategic choices

Nath, Deepika; Sudharshan, Devanathan

doi:10.1002/smj.4250150104

Cited by 119 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Empirical research in management and accounting notes the implications of strategic orientation for managerial practices (e.g., Chenhall and Langfield-Smith, 1998;Ittner et al, 2003;Mintzberg, 1990;Porter, 1980) Previous literature also offers healthcare-specific strategic frameworks (e.g., Goldstein et al, 2002;Nath and Sudharshan, 1994;Wells and Banaszak-Holl, 2000). Zelman and Parham (1990) characterise four strategies hospitals use to define their business focus (i.e., generalist, market specialist, service specialist, or super specialist).…”

Section: Hospital Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous literature also offers healthcare-specific strategic frameworks (e.g., Goldstein et al, 2002;Nath and Sudharshan, 1994;Wells and Banaszak-Holl, 2000). Zelman and Parham (1990) characterise four strategies hospitals use to define their business focus (i.e., generalist, market specialist, service specialist, or super specialist).…”

Section: Hospital Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This strategic priority focuses on ensuring the hospital's internal operational activities, such as patient care, research and education, and meeting safety and quality requirements, which reflect an important long-term priority for hospitals (Brown et al, 2005;Goldstein et al, 2002;Nath and Sudharshan, 1994;Young et al, 1992). This priority involves the ongoing effort to improve valuable, high quality services that meet or exceed patient expectations (Carman et al, 2010).…”

Section: Hospital Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining the joint effects of strategic priorities, use of management control systems, and personal background on hospital performance

Harlez

Malagueño

2016

Management Accounting Research

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This study aims to respond to recent calls for a better understanding of the factors that support the effectiveness of formal control practices in hospitals. Based on survey data from 117 top-level managers in Belgian hospitals KeywordsPerformance measurement systems; strategic priorities; personal background; hospital performance; interactive use IntroductionHospitals face growing regulatory and competitive pressures to develop management control systems (Cardinaels and Soderstrom, 2013). However, formal management control systems (MCS) are seen to be problematic in hospitals (Aidemark and Funck, 2009).Questions about the use of monetary incentives for goal congruence, the power of physicians and nurses over operational processes, various priorities imposed by a large diversity of influential stakeholders, and austere budgets that constrain expansion and restructuring combine to create unparalleled complexities for the effective use of MCS (Abernethy et al., 2007). Previous research in management accounting thus calls for a better understanding of MCS in hospitals (e.g., Bai et al., 2010;King and Clarkson, 2015), especially factors that influence the effectiveness of formal performance measurement systems (PMS) (Ballantine et al., 1998;Cardinaels and Soderstrom, 2013). 2Over the past two decades, the literature on MCS in hospitals has emphasised the importance of aligning the use of MCS with hospital strategies (e.g., Aidemark and Funck, 2009;Ballantine et al., 1998;Chilingerian and Sherman, 1987;Wardhani et al., 2009), an alignment that should lead to positive organisational outcomes, such as hospital performance 2 Management control systems are defined as "formal, information-based routines and procedures managers use to maintain or alter patterns in organisational activities" (Simons, 1995, p. 5). Formal performance measurement systems are an essential aspect of formal management control systems (Chenhall, 2005;Henri, 2006). 3( King et al., 2010). Inherent in these arguments is the implicit assumption that the individual behaviour of clinicians dominating the core operations of a hospital can be controlled towards the successful achievement of hospital strategies. However, several management accounting studies (e.g., Abernethy and Stoelwinder, 1991, 1995;Jones, 2002) report that regular conflicts between the professional objectives of administrators and clinicians curtail the effectiveness of MCS. Coombs (1987, p.391) notes that bureaucratic control mechanisms attempted by administrators have "the potential to substantially affect the motivations and practices of a relatively cohesive and powerful occupational group who frequently defend their professional autonomy quite effectively". Therefore, our knowledge of how PMS are effectively used to support hospital strategies remains incomplete and fragmented.In the hospital management literature, significant attention has concentrated on the role of "doctor managers" (i.e., managers with a clinical background) in the management team and the implication...

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Section: Hospital Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hospital Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hospital Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining the joint effects of strategic priorities, use of management control systems, and personal background on hospital performance

Harlez

Malagueño

2016

Management Accounting Research

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“…More specifically, we seek to engage with the idea that a firm's knowledge management must be strictly linked to its strategy in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and thus that increased performance is the consequence of perfectly-tuned knowledge management and strategy. Following Nath and Sudharshan (1994) we will term this consistency between knowledge management and strategy ''coherence''. The coherence between knowledge management and strategy will be investigated following a ''system'' or ''configuration'' approach, since instead of looking at a few variables or at linear associations among such variables we will try to find frequently recurring clusters of attributes or gestalts (Miller 1981).…”

Section: Knowledge Management Strategy and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of knowledge management and strategy configuration coherence on SME performance

Bagnoli

Vedovato

2012

J Manag Gov

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According to recent literature, effective knowledge management should be coherent and based on the firm's strategy. Prior empirical research, in contrast, tries to evaluate the impact of knowledge management initiatives directly on performance but finds inconsistent results and not allows the understanding of knowledge management contribution to competitive advantage generation. In this study we aim to investigate the impact of knowledge management and strategy configuration coherence on SMEs innovation and organizational performance through a quantitative analysis carried out on a sample of 60 manufacturing SMEs in northeast Italy. Our findings reveal that a significant coherence exists between knowledge management and strategy configurations. Most of the SMEs with a prospector and defender strategy adopt, in turn, an aggressive and conservative knowledge management. Moreover, we find that such coherence has a significant impact on the overall performance. This is particularly interesting since it suggests that the inconsistency in the results of prior studies on the impact of knowledge management on performance (Kalling in J Knowl Manag 7(3):67-81; 2003) may be due to the lack of consideration of knowledge management and strategy configuration coherence.

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“…The second view is a contingent view hypothesizing that successful performance will be a function of whether or not the firm chooses the inventory structure most appropriate to its particular competitive situation. Like much recent literature in operations strategy, this hypothesis assumes that high performance comes from the alignment or fit of complementary assets (Milgrom and Roberts [1990], Bozarth and Edwards [1997], Nath and Sudharshan [1994] and, Randall and Ulrich [2001]). …”

Section: Performance Implications Of Inventory Choicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Empirical Examination of the Decision to Invest in Fulfillment Capabilities: A Study of Internet Retailers

2005

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Internet technology has allowed for a higher degree of decoupling between the information-intensive sales process and the physical process of inventory management than its brick-and-mortar counterpart. As a result, some Internet retailers choose to outsource inventory and back-end operations to focus on the sales/ marketing aspects of e-commerce. Nonetheless, many retailers keep fulfillment capabilities in-house. In this paper, we identify and empirically test factors that persuade firms to integrate inventory and fulfillment capabilities with virtual storefronts. Based on the extant literature and previous research in e-commerce, we formulate nine theoretical predictions. We then use data from a sample of over 50 public Internet retailers to test whether empirical data are consistent with these hypotheses. Finally, given the strategic importance and financial magnitude of the inventory investment decision, we analyze the effect of this decision on the economic success of Internet retailers during the period of study. We find that there are many circumstances in which it is prudent to own fulfillment capabilities and inventory. Empirical data are consistent with hypotheses that this tendency is higher for older firms selling small, high-margin products, offering lower levels of product variety, and facing lower demand uncertainty. We also discover that firms making inventory ownership decisions that are consistent with an empirical benchmark derived from environmental and strategic factors are less likely to go bankrupt than those making inconsistent inventory choices. Abstract: Internet technology has allowed for a higher degree of de-coupling between the information-intensive sales process and the physical process of inventory management than its brick-and-mortar counterpart. As a result, some Internet retailers choose to outsource inventory and back-end operations in order to focus on the sales/marketing aspects of e-commerce. Nonetheless, a large number of retailers keep fulfillment capabilities in-house. In this paper we identify and test empirically factors that persuade firms to integrate inventory and fulfillment capabilities with virtual storefronts. Based on the extant literature and previous research in ecommerce, we formulate eight theoretical predictions. We then use data from a sample of over 50 public Internet retailers to test whether empirical data are consistent with these hypotheses. Finally, given the strategic importance and financial magnitude of the inventory investment decision, we analyze the effect of this decision on the ultimate financial success of Internet retailers.We find that there are many circumstances in which it is prudent to own fulfillment capabilities and inventory. Empirical data are consistent with hypotheses that this tendency is higher for older firms selling small, high-margin products, offering lower levels of product variety and facing lower demand uncertainty. We also discover that firms making inventory ownership decisions that are consistent with theory a...

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Measuring strategy coherence through patterns of strategic choices

Cited by 119 publications

References 39 publications

Examining the joint effects of strategic priorities, use of management control systems, and personal background on hospital performance

Examining the joint effects of strategic priorities, use of management control systems, and personal background on hospital performance

The impact of knowledge management and strategy configuration coherence on SME performance

An Empirical Examination of the Decision to Invest in Fulfillment Capabilities: A Study of Internet Retailers

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