Strategic group theory:review, examination and application in the UK pharmaceutical industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the current status of strategic group theory in the light of developments over the last three decades. and then to discuss the continuing value of the concept, both to strategic management research and practising managers. Design/methodology/approach – Critical review of the idea of strategic groups together with a practical strategic mapping illustration. Findings – Strategic group theory still provides a useful approach for management research, which allows a detailed appraisal and comparison of company strategies within an industry. Research limitations/ implications – Strategic group research would undoubtedly benefit from more directly comparable, industry-specific studies, with a more careful focus on variable selection and the statistical methods used for validation. Future studies should aim to build sets of industry specific variables that describe strategic choice within that industry. The statistical methods used to identify strategic groupings need to be robust to ensure that strategic groups are not solely an artefact of method. Practical implications – The paper looks specifically at an application of strategic group theory in the UK pharmaceutical industry. The practical benefits of strategic groups as a classification system and of strategic mapping as a strategy development and analysis tool are discussed. Originality/value – The review of strategic group theory alongside alternative taxonomies and application of the concept to the UK pharmaceutical industry.

The evolution of "classical mythology" within marketing measure development

Purpose - This paper provides a deeper examination of the fundamentals of commonly-used techniques - such as coefficient alpha and factor analysis - in order to more strongly link the techniques used by marketing and social researchers to their underlying psychometric and statistical rationale. Design/methodology approach - A wide-ranging review and synthesis of psychometric and other measurement literature both within and outside the marketing field is used to illuminate and reconsider a number of misconceptions which seem to have evolved in marketing research. Findings - The research finds that marketing scholars have generally concentrated on reporting what are essentially arbitrary figures such as coefficient alpha, without fully understanding what these figures imply. It is argued that, if the link between theory and technique is not clearly understood, use of psychometric measure development tools actually runs the risk of detracting from the validity of the measures rather than enhancing it. Research limitations/implications - The focus on one stage of a particular form of measure development could be seen as rather specialised. The paper also runs the risk of increasing the amount of dogma surrounding measurement, which runs contrary to the spirit of this paper. Practical implications - This paper shows that researchers may need to spend more time interpreting measurement results. Rather than simply referring to precedence, one needs to understand the link between measurement theory and actual technique. Originality/value - This paper presents psychometric measurement and item analysis theory in easily understandable format, and offers an important set of conceptual tools for researchers in many fields. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Go/no-go criteria during grocery brand development

Past research into new product screening criteria have largely centered on industrial new products. This study investigates the criteria that managers use for screening and evaluating new grocery products or brands. Theory suggests that the branding, promotional, and trade needs of grocery brands mean that screening criteria for grocery product development will differ from those applied to industrial goods. Our methodology departs from earlier research in gathering information on the accept/reject criteria during new product development rather than examining the reasons for success and failure after launch. The results endorse many findings from the extant literature on new product development. However, we highlight a set of factors that new product managers regard as important to the go/no-go decision in new grocery product or brand development that differs significantly from previous studies. From a research perspective, our study findings make an important contribution to the field by developing measurement scales for addressing NPD in the grocery sector.

Higher education reform in Kyrgyzstan: the politics of neoliberal agendas in theory and practice

There would seem to be no greater field for observing the effects of neo-liberal reforms in higher education than the former Soviet university, where attempts to legitimize neo-liberal philosophy over Soviet ideology plays out in everyday practices of educational reform. However, ethnographic research about higher education in post-Soviet Central Asia suggests that its “liberalization” is both an ideological myth and a complicated reality. This chapter focuses on how and why neo-liberal agendas have “travelled” to the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, what happens when educators encounter and resist them, and why these spaces of resistance are important starting points for the development of alternative visions of educational possibility in this recently “Third-worlded” society.

Scenario planning:teaching how to anticipate perceived environmental uncertainty within strategy development

Scenario Planning is a strategy tool with growing popularity in both academia and practical situations. Current practices in the teaching of scenario planning are largely based on existing literature which utilises scenario planning to develop strategies for the future, primarily considering the assessment of perceived macro-external environmental uncertainties. However there is a body of literature hitherto ignored by scenario planning researchers, which suggests that Perceived Environmental Uncertainty (PEU) influences micro-external or industrial environmental as well as the internal environment of the organisation. This paper provides a review of the most dominant theories on scenario planning process, demonstrates the need to consider PEU theory within scenario planning and presents how this can be done. The scope of this paper is to enhance the scenario planning process as a tool taught for Strategy Development. A case vignette is developed based on published scenarios to demonstrate the potential utilisation of the proposed process.

Using grounded theory for theory building in operations management research:a study on inter-firm relationship governance

Purpose – Qualitative theory building approaches, such as grounded theory method (GTM), are still not very widespread and rigorously applied in operations management (OM) research. Yet it is agreed that more systematic observation of current industrial phenomena is necessary to help managers deal with their problems. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example to help guide other researchers on using GTM for theory building in OM research. Design/methodology/approach – A GTM study in the German automotive industry consisting of 31 interviews is followed by a validation stage comprising a survey (110 responses) and a focus group. Findings – The result is an example of conducting GTM research in OM, illustrated by the development of the novel collaborative enterprise governance framework for inter-firm relationship governance in the German automotive industry. Research limitations/implications – GTM is appropriate for qualitative theory building research, but the resultant theories need further testing. Research is necessary to identify the transferability of the collaborative enterprise governance concept to other industries than automotive, to other organisational areas than R&D and to product and service settings that are less complex and innovative. Practical implications – The paper helps researchers make more informed use of GTM when engaging in qualitative theory building research in OM. Originality/value – There is a lack of explicit and well-informed use of GTM in OM research because of poor understanding. This paper addresses this deficiency. The collaborative enterprise governance framework is a significant contribution in an area of growing importance within OM.

Strategic development process and complex adaptive systems

The two areas of theory upon which this research was based were „strategy development process?(SDP) and „complex adaptive systems? (CAS), as part of complexity theory, focused on human social organisations. The literature reviewed showed that there is a paucity of empirical work and theory in the overlap of the two areas, providing an opportunity for contributions to knowledge in each area of theory, and for practitioners. An inductive approach was adopted for this research, in an effort to discover new insights to the focus area of study. It was undertaken from within an interpretivist paradigm, and based on a novel conceptual framework. The organisationally intimate nature of the research topic, and the researcher?s circumstances required a research design that was both in-depth and long term. The result was a single, exploratory, case study, which included use of data from 44 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, from 36 people, involving all the top management team members and significant other staff members; observations, rumour and grapevine (ORG) data; and archive data, over a 5½ year period (2005 – 2010). Findings confirm the validity of the conceptual framework, and that complex adaptive systems theory has potential to extend strategy development process theory. It has shown how and why the strategy process developed in the case study organisation by providing deeper insights to the behaviour of the people, their backgrounds, and interactions. Broad predictions of the „latent strategy development? process and some elements of the strategy content are also possible. Based on this research, it is possible to extend the utility of the SDP model by including peoples? behavioural characteristics within the organisation, via complex adaptive systems theory. Further research is recommended to test limits of the application of the conceptual framework and improve its efficacy with more organisations across a variety of sectors.

Trepanation:history, discovery, theory

This volume will look at the history of trepanation, the identification of skulls, the tools used to make the cranial openings, and theories as to why trepanation might have been performed many thousands of years ago.

The development of a market orientation in a turbulent, transitional environment:the case of Ukraine

This research is concerned with the case of Ukraine where there has been a fundamental change in the economic environment engendered by the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy and the resulting conditions of economic crisis. The way that Ukrainian marketers and consumers are reacting to this environmental change is the principal concern of the research together with the basic linkages between critical environmental elements and strategic marketing decisions. This research analyses the way in which marketing evolves in a turbulent, transitional environment. The study is based on eight case analyses within the retail sector of the Ukrainian market. The process of transition to a free market economy leads a researcher to question the validity of existing theories that have been based on empirical data that has been collected in the stable marketing environment of the West. For this reason an in-depth, theory building methodology is preferred. A number of broad research objectives were set. Firstly, to establish whether the sales - production - marketing stages model of marketing evolution, derived from empirical data collected in stable Western environments, is relevant in the context of the turbulent, transitional environment of Ukraine. Secondly, to establish if, in this turbulent, transitional environment, idiosyncratic approaches to marketing are emerging and thirdly to assess the development of attitudes to marketing, organisation for marketing and the development of marketing strategy in Ukraine. The main conclusions of this thesis are firstly, that the stages model of marketing orientation is not relevant in the context of Ukraine, secondly that there are idiosyncratic approaches to marketing emerging in the turbulent, transitional environment of Ukraine and finally that the above developments have a profound impact on the development of attitudes to marketing, organisation for marketing and the development of marketing strategy in Ukraine.

Negotiating regional futures:the successes and failures of the West Midlands Regional Development Agency Network

The introduction of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in the English regions in 1999 presented a new set of collaborative challenges to existing local institutions. The key objectives of the new policy impetus emphasise increased joined-up thinking and holistic regional governance. Partners were enjoined to promote cross-sector collaboration and present a coherent regional voice. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an RDA on the partnership infrastructure of the West Midlands. The RDA network incorporates a wide spectrum of interest and organisations with diverse collaborative histories, competencies and capacities. The study has followed partners through the process over an eighteen-month period and has sought to explore the complexities and tensions of partnership working 'on the ground'. A strong qualitative methodology has been employed in generating 'thick descriptions' of the policy domain. The research has probed beyond the 'rhetoric' of partnerships and explores the sensitivities of the collaboration process. A number of theoretical frameworks have been employed, including policy network theory; partnership and collaboration theory; organisational learning; and trust and social capital. The structural components of the West Midlands RDA network are explored, including the structural configuration of the network and stocks of human and social capital assets. These combine to form the asset base of the network. Three sets of network behaviours are then explored, namely, strategy, the management of perceptions, and learning. The thesis explores how the combination of assets and behaviours affect, and in turn are affected by, each other. The findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge and understanding surrounding policy networks and collaborative governance.

An assessment of the industry cluster approach as a tool for local economic development:the case of the new media industry in Birmingham

Industry cluster policies are a current trend in local economic development programmes and represent a major shift from traditional approaches. This trend has been coupled by an increasing interest in new media industry as a significant focus for regional development strategies. In England clusters and new media industry have therefore come to be seen as important tools in promoting local and regional economic development. This study aimed to ascertain the success of these policies. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the Birmingham new media industry was chosen for the study. In addition to an extensive review of the literature, semi-structured interviews were conducted with new media firms and Business Support Agencies (BSAs) offering programmes to promote the development of the new media industry cluster. The key findings of the thesis are that the concerns of new media industry when choosing their location do not conform to the industry cluster theory. Moreover, close proximity in geographical location of the industries does not mean there is collaboration and any costs saved as a result of close proximity to similar firms are at present seen as irrelevant because of the type of products they offer. Building trust between firms is the key in developing the new media industry cluster and the BSAs can act as a broker and provide neutral ground to develop it. The key policy recommendations are that new media industry is continually changing and research must continuously track and analyse cluster dynamics in order to be aware of emerging trends and future developments that can positively and negatively affect the cluster. Policy makers need to keep in mind that there is no uniform tool kit to foster the different sectors in cluster development. It is also important for them to be winning support and trust of new media firms since this is key in the success of the cluster. When cluster programs are introduced they must explain their benefits to industries more effectively in order to encourage them to participate in programmes. The general conclusions of the thesis are that clusters are a potentially important tool in local economic development policy and that the new media industry has a considerable growth potential. The kinds of relationships which cluster theory suggests develop between do not, as yet, appear to exist within the new media cluster. There are however, steps that the BSAs can take to encourage their development. Thus, the BSAs need to ensure that they establish an environment that enables growth of the industry.

Development of a sediment yield model for South East Ghana in the regions around Lake Volta

Soil erosion is one of the most pressing issues facing developing countries. The need for soil erosion assessment is paramount as a successful and productive agricultural base is necessary for economic growth and stability. In Ghana, a country with an expanding population and high potential for economic growth, agriculture is an important resource; however, most of the crop production is restricted to low technology shifting cultivation agriculture. The high intensity seasonal rainfall coincides with the early growing period of many of the crops meaning that plots are very susceptible to erosion, especially on steep sided valleys in the region south of Lake Volta. This research investigated the processes of soil erosion by rainfall with the aim of producing a sediment yield model for a small semi-agricultural catchment in rural Ghana. Various types of modelling techniques were considered to discover those most applicable to the sub-tropical environment of Southern Ghana. Once an appropriate model had been developed and calibrated, the aim was to look at how to enable the scaling up of the model using sub-catchments to calculate sedimentation rates of Lake Volta. An experimental catchment was located in Ghana, south west of Lake Volta, where data on rainstorms and the associated streamflow, sediment loads and soil data (moisture content, classification and particle size distribution) was collected to calibrate the model. Additional data was obtained from the Soil Research Institute in Ghana to explore calibration of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE, Wischmeier and Smith, 1978) for Ghanaian soils and environment. It was shown that the USLE could be successfully converted to provide meaningful soil loss estimates in the Ghanaian environment. However, due to experimental difficulties, the proposed theory and methodology of the sediment yield model could only be tested in principle. Future work may include validation of the model and subsequent scaling up to estimate sedimentation rates in Lake Volta.

The development of collaborative skills in young children

This thesis examines young children's early collaborative development when engaged in joint tasks with both a peer and a parent. It begins by examining how the term "collaborative" has been applied and researched in previous literature. As collaboration is found to usually require dialogue, and intersubjectivity is seen as an important component in the construction of both collaboration and dialogue, the ability to construct intersubjectivity is the subject of the rest of the chapter. The chapter concludes by introducing the research questions that underpin the experiments that follow. A number of experiments are then described. Experiments 1 and 2 investigate age differences in interaction styles and the communication strategies used by similar aged dyads. Experiments 3 and 4 investigate differences due to the age of the child and/or the status of the information giver (either parent or child) in the styles of interaction and the communication strategies used by parent and child dyads. Experiment 5 investigates the benefits of collaborating with a parent, and finally, Experiment 6 examines the collaborative ability of pre-schools. The thesis identifies a series of skills required for successful collaboration. These include recognition of a joint goal and the need to suppress individual desires, the ability to structure joint interaction, moving from role-based to a negotiating style, and communicative skills, for example, asking for clarification. Other reasons for children's failure in collaborative tasks involve task-related skills, such as the development of spatial terms, and failure to recognise the need for accuracy. The findings support Vygotsky's theory that when working with an adult, children perform at a higher level than when working with a peer. Evidence was also found of parents scaffolding the interaction for their children. However, further research is necessary to establish that such scaffolding skills affect the child's development of collaborative interactive skills.

Aircraft rotable inventory optimisation: development of a new solution

Analysis of the use of ICT in the aerospace industry has prompted the detailed investigation of an inventory-planning problem. There is a special class of inventory, consisting of expensive repairable spares for use in support of aircraft operations. These items, called rotables, are not well served by conventional theory and systems for inventory management. The context of the problem, the aircraft maintenance industry sector, is described in order to convey some of its special characteristics in the context of operations management. A literature review is carried out to seek existing theory that can be applied to rotable inventory and to identify a potential gap into which newly developed theory could contribute. Current techniques for rotable planning are identified in industry and the literature: these methods are modelled and tested using inventory and operational data obtained in the field. In the expectation that current practice leaves much scope for improvement, several new models are proposed. These are developed and tested on the field data for comparison with current practice. The new models are revised following testing to give improved versions. The best model developed and tested here comprises a linear programming optimisation, which finds an optimal level of inventory for multiple test cases, reflecting changing operating conditions. The new model offers an inventory plan that is up to 40% less expensive than that determined by current practice, while maintaining required performance.

The role of line managers in employee career management:an attachment theory perspective

Line managers increasingly play a key role in organizational career development systems, yet few studies have examined the nature of this role or its implications for employee career attitudes and behaviors. In two studies, we used attachment theory to explore this issue. In Study 1, in-depth interviews (N = 20) showed that employees viewed career management as a relational process in which line managers are expected to act as ‘caregiver’ to support individualized career development. Study 2 was a large-scale international survey (N = 891). Participants scoring higher on attachment avoidance in their line manager relationships reported more negative perceptions of career growth opportunities, lower participation in organizational career development activities and higher turnover intentions. Trust in the organization partially mediated the relationship. Theoretical and practical implications for HRM are discussed.