Professional Documents
Culture Documents
and Strategy: Linking Management Practices to Achieve
Superior Performance
Lawrence Loughnane
Loughnane International, Escondido, California, USA
larry@lawrenceloughnane.com
Abstract: Strategic thinking is not a core managerial competency in most organisations and few established organisations
innovate successfully. Strategy and innovation are critical management practices. Excellence in strategy formulation and
execution is essential for superior performance and if innovation is pursued then excellence in it is also critical. Research
contends superior performance results from the use of four primary management practices: strategy, execution, culture
and structure. Additionally, the use of two of four secondary management practices: talent, innovation, leadership and
mergers & partnerships are also required. This is referred to as the “4 + 2 Formula for Sustained Business Success”. Strategy
and innovation are driven by an organisation’s vision. An organisation’s context determines if innovation is necessary and
what form of innovation is best within that context. Pursuit of innovation as a management practices is a strategic decision.
This paper distinguishes among three levels of strategy: Corporate, Competitive and Functional. Innovation is distinctly
different at each level and most pronounced at the functional level. Strategic skills needed at each level are significantly
different, as are the skills required along the continuum of innovation. The continuum of innovation begins at stability and
predictability and progresses to a point of chance and chaos. At different points along the continuum different strategic,
management and innovation skills are required. This paper discusses the difference between management practices and
management tools and techniques. For example, some label performance tracking as a management practice (this paper
considers performance tracking a management tool). Various tools and techniques can be used within the primary and
secondary management practices to track inputs and outputs. Most management tools and techniques have no causal
relationship to superior performance and should not be confused with management practice. Organisations using the
management practice of innovation require new processes and values and will require people with different skill sets. The
decision to use innovation as a management practice requires new capabilities and thus is linked directly to strategy. Scant
literature examines the link between the management practice of strategy and the management practice of innovation.
The literature does suggest there is a lack of strategic and innovation skills within most organisations and this lack of skills
have contributed to the failure for many established organisations to innovate successfully.
Keywords: strategy, innovation, management practice, management tools and techniques, continuum of innovation
1. Introduction
More than 90 percent of large organisations are committed to innovation (Hamel, 2003). There is a greater
need to innovate than ever and value creation through profitable growth can only come from innovation
(Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2003). Strategic thinking is not a core managerial competency in most
organisations and few established organisations innovate successfully (Christensen, 1997). If strategic thinking
is not a core competency, an organisation’s strategy and resulting strategic decisions will be flawed and the
strategic decision to pursue innovation will be less than optimal.
However, Loughnane (2007) and Joyce, Norria, Roberson (2003) suggest that innovation is a management
practice and to pursue innovation as a management practice is a strategic decision.
A discussion of the relationship between strategy and innovation cannot be examined solely in relation to each
other. They must be examined first with relation to what management is and the management practices in an
organisation’s particular context.
The continuing responsibility of the Manager is to strive for the best possible economic results from resources
currently employed or available. Managers spend most of their time on the problems of short‐run economic
performance and most tools and techniques available to the manger deal to a great extent with current
business (Drucker 1963). Good managers chose to practice management for the long‐run as well as the short.
With respect to innovation the manager must decide if it really determines economic performance in the
particular business for which he or she works.
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Figure 1: Hierarchy: Management, management practice, tools and techniques (Loughnane 2014)
Management practice can be viewed as the sides of a triangle. Each side supports the other two. The sides of
the triangle are content, context and process. Content is limited by an organisation’s capability and capacity.
The competitive environment (industry forces) defines context. Process is characterized by the patterns of
organisational behaviour an organisation exhibits as it gets things done.
Management practice is contextual because what works in one situation (context) can easily fail in another.
When trying to determine what kind of management practice will work in a particular context a good place to
start is to think about context existing on a continuum (See figure 2).
Innovation
Stability
Chaos
Predictability
Complexity Chance
Figure 2: The innovation context (Loughnane 2007)
Management in business and organisations means to coordinate the efforts of people to accomplish goals and
objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively (Ducker 1963). Management comprises
planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organisation or initiative to accomplish a
goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources,
technological resources, and natural resources.
Organisations can be viewed as systems and management is human action to facilitate the production of
useful outcomes from a system. Management is a practice that has to blend a good deal craft (experience)
with a certain amount of art (insight) and some science (analysis) (Mintzberg 2004).
Management is the catalyst that brings life and growth to an organisation. Poor management inhibits growth.
Small improvements in management capability can lead to major changes in productivity and returns on
capital employed (Bryan, Lowel and Ron Hulme, 2003). However bad management is rampant and most
leaders of poorly managed organisations are unaware of the deficiencies (Bloom, Sadun and Reenen, 2012).
Bloom, Sadun and Reenen found that 79% of organisations in their study claimed to have above average
management. Yet they found 85% of US companies (and 95% of non US companies) in their study had poor
levels of good management.
There is no one ‘best way’ to manage: it all depends on the situation, i.e., the context. Knowledge about
context is not as portable as many think. Business context is not the same as engineering or medical context
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(Mintzberg, 2004). Management is a craft just as cabinet making is a craft. One can learn the science of cabinet
making or management in the classroom but to develop the capability one has to apply it in context. As
cabinet makers do, managers as they practice develop specialist skills, for example, operations management,
logistics management, and marketing management. Specialists use tools and techniques within their practices
to perform specific tasks.
Organisational capability is an indicator of what an organisation does. What an organisation does is a result of
the collective knowledge, skills and resources available. Capacity and capability limit organisational
performance. Organisational performance is a direct function of management ability and is seen in patterns of
organisational behaviour. Positive changes in patterns of organisational behaviour can lead to improved
organisational performance.
2. Management practices
What management capability is needed and where should it be applied? The research of Joyce, Norria,
Roberson (2003) maintains superior performance results from excellence in four primary management
practices: strategy, execution, culture and structure and excellence in two of four secondary management
practices: talent, innovation, leadership and mergers & partnerships. This is referred to as the “4 + 2 Formula
for Sustained Business Success”.
3. Understanding the concept of strategy
Strategy results from a vision of the future and a translation of the vision into specific goals. Strategy is the
‘how’ to successfully achieve the goals. Simply put a strategy is the development and institutionalizing of a
new organisational capability.
Formulation and implementing a strategy requires strategic skills. Strategic skills are different than operational
skills. For example, a specific set of skills are required to install and test a new project management software
package on a computer. The skills to use the software package for a large construction project are completely
different. The former provides technology; the latter uses the technology to create capability.
One definition of strategy is:
The determination of the basic long term goals of an enterprise, and
The adaptation of a course of action and the allocation of resources necessary for achieving these goals
and objectives (Chandler, 1962).
A second definition of strategy includes:
A concept of how to advance one’s own interest in an environment, usually a competitive environment
A set of specific goals, such as a rate of growth or return on assets, against which progress in the desired
direction may be measured and
A timed sequence of conditional moves for deploying skills and resources with a view to attaining one’s
goals (McArthur and Scott, 1969).
Strategy is an elusive and somewhat abstract concept. Its formulation typically produces no immediate
concrete productive action in the firm (An off, 1987).
Porter (1996) argues that competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing a
different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of values. The essence of strategy in operational terms is in
the value activities ‐ choosing to perform value activities differently or to perform different value activities
than rivals.
Planned strategies are intended or deliberate (Mintzberg, and Walters, 1989). Emergent strategies are those
which evolve from patterns of organisational behaviour. The combination of planned and emergent strategies
results in realised strategies. Effective strategies mix the characteristics of deliberate and emergent strategies
in ways that reflect the conditions at hand, notably the ability to predict as well as the need to react to
unexpected events.
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Strategy also has two additional components; the component of position namely the determination of
industries, products and markets and the component of perspective (Porter, 1980, 1985). Strategic
management and organisational behaviour literature stress strategic decisions are based on an accurate
assessment of the environment. The perspective of the environment by the individuals within the organisation
will influence strategic decisions. As the degree of change or volatility and complexity or number and diversity
of factors interacting with an organisation increase, perspective plays a larger role in strategy (Bourgeois,
1985).
4. The levels of strategy
There are three levels of strategy; corporate, competitive, and functional (Digman, 1990, Porter, 1985).
Corporate strategy is concerned with diversification, new ventures, acquisitions and divestments. Corporate
strategy addresses two different questions:
In what businesses should the corporation invest its resources and why?
What organisational structure, management processes and philosophy will foster superior performance
from the businesses (Campbell, Goold, and Alexander, 1995)
Competitive strategy deals with the nature of competition facing a firm’s products in market or industry terms.
Functional strategy emphasizes resource productivity (Moore, 1992).
4.1 Corporate strategy
Competition in multi‐business corporations occurs at the business unit level. Corporations place emphasis on
the success of diversified business units. Porter (1985) identifies four concepts of corporate strategy;
Portfolio management,
Restructuring,
Transferring of skills, and
Sharing activities.
5. Corporate influence
Corporations have limited ability to directly control its subsidiaries. It can only use various influences
(McArthur and Scott, 1969). Influence plays an important role in the implementation of corporate strategy.
Influence is the process through which the corporation uses its power to cause it subsidiaries to make
decisions that would not be made in the absence of the influence. Kim and Mauborgne (1997) noted the use of
influences of allocation of resources, the establishment of organisational structures, the measurement and
reward of performance and dictating the rules of the game are rooted in traditional management science and
are conventional and important management tools. However, McArthur and Scott found the relationship
between the headquarters unit and its subsidiaries is the most important determinate of the headquarters
influence.
6. The headquarters‐subsidiary relationship
There is little in the extant literature that addresses the headquarters – subsidiary relationship itself. The most
current research focuses on the multinational Corporation (MNC) and specific management tasks performed
by the MNC headquarters unit and its subsidiary, (e.g), the management of marketing channels (Rajdeep
Grewal, Alok Kumar, Girish Mallapragada, Amit Saini (2013). The management of relations between a headquarters
organisation and its subsidiaries (the companies in which they invest) continues to be one of the key
challenges for managers of multi‐business enterprises (Roth and Nigh, 1992), Campbell et al (1995), Porter
(1985). Roth and Nigh observed that previous work has not addressed the effectiveness of the relationship
itself as the basis for normative managerial practices. The effectiveness of the relationship can be evaluated
based on the following criteria (Loughnane 1998)
Openness and Subjectivity of Performance Assessment in the Headquarters‐Subsidiary Relationship Gupta
(1987)
Co‐ordination, Personal Integrating Mechanisms and the Headquarters‐Subsidiary Relationship Roth and
Nigh (1992)
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Strategic Context and the Headquarters‐Subsidiary Relationship (Porter, 1985; Grant, 1995)
7. Competitive strategy
Competitive strategy is concerned with how a firm competes in a particular industry and market (Grant, 1995).
Companies compete in markets against other companies with their products and services. Thus, companies
must develop strategies for competing in each product market area, in light of evolving market and
environmental conditions. The strategies are called competitive strategies or strategic business unit strategies
(Gluth, 1985). Strategic Business Unit (SBU) strategy is the search for a favourable competitive position in an
industry and market (Porter, 1980).
8. Industry structure
Competitive strategy grows out of a firm’s understanding of the rules of competition within a particular
industry. The ultimate aim of competitive strategy is to cope with and to change those rules in the firm’s
favour. In any industry, whether it is domestic or international, that produces a product or service; the rules of
competition are embedded in five competitive forces (Porter, 1980):
The entry of new competitors
The threat of substitutes
The bargaining power of buyers
The bargaining power of suppliers, and
The rivalry among existing competitors
Porter’s theory behind the model is that the strongest competitive force or forces determine the profitability
of an industry and so are of greatest importance in strategy formulation. Every industry has an underlying
structure or set of fundamental economic and technical characteristics, that gives rise to these competitive
forces. Firms, through their strategies, can influence the five forces.
9. Internal capabilities
Industry factors have been thought to be the primary determinants of firm performance (Porter, 1985). In the
pursuit of innovation an organisation’s attempt to change the industry in which it competes is dependent on
its internal capability and capacity. Industry factors, on average, matter little to firm performance among
industry leaders. Industry leaders, rather than focusing on external forces focus on developing internal
capabilities (Hawawini, Subramanian, Verdin, 2002).
10. Generic strategies
There are three potentially successful generic strategic approaches to outperforming other firms in an industry
(Porter, 1980):
Overall cost leadership
Differentiation
Focus (cost or differentiation)
The first strategy, cost leadership, requires aggressive construction of efficient‐scale facilities, vigorous pursuit
of cost reductions from experience, tight cost and overhead control, avoidance of marginal customer accounts,
and cost minimization.
The second generic strategy is one of differentiating the product or service offering of a firm, creating
something that is perceived industry wide as being unique.
The third generic strategy is focused on a particular buyer group, segment of the product line, or geographic
market. As with differentiation, focus may take many forms. Although the low cost and differentiation
strategies are aimed at achieving their objectives industry wide, the focus strategy is built around serving a
particular target very well (Porter, 1980).
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11. Functional strategy and the value chain
Porter (1985) proposed an elaborate classification of activities he distinguished as primary and support
activities. The primary activities are; input logistics, operations, output logistics, marketing and sales and
service.
The support activities are; firm infrastructure, human resource management, technology development and
procurement. Porter (1996) identified the essence of strategy as either performing value activities that are
different than competitors or performing value activities that are similar to competitors but, performing the
value activities in different ways. Innovation most often occurs within the value activities of an organisation.
12. The management practice of innovation
To develop an organisational capability in innovation requires a strategic decision. Innovation is one way an
organisation will create competitive advantage (value for which a customer will pay). Innovation to be
implemented requires a significant investment for which there must be a significant return. Investment in
creating innovation capability is about making a trade‐off regarding how a company will compete. A company
must evaluate trade‐offs to determine the greatest return on investment.
Determining what innovative capabilities a particular company needs is the result of analysis of the company
and its environment. Every business is different ‐ a business exists in a unique context. As context changes –
internal and external – companies must adapt. They must adapt by changing the content of innovation. For
example, content may shift from product innovation to process innovation. However, the process of
innovation (identifying opportunities and applying these ideas to the creation of customer value) is a constant.
An organisation must choose to develop the capabilities that best reflect those required by the context in
which it operates. Innovation, not defined in context, can negatively influence other practices such as strategy.
Innovation is typically understood as the introduction of something new and useful, for example introducing
new methods, techniques, or practices or new or altered products and services. To take a creation of an idea
to innovation and customer value requires a high level of management skill.
To be considered innovative an organisation needs to change its industry in some way (Joyce, Nohria and
Roberson, 2003). Innovators are focused on finding altogether new product ideas or technological
breakthroughs that have the potential to transform industries.
It is problematic that few companies are capable of excelling at innovation – it is a very difficult management
practice (Hamel, 2003). Without other complimentary management practice skills innovation rarely, if ever,
results in the creation of value.
Companies that exhibit superior performance excel at all of the primary management practices. But, it is not
necessary for a superior performer to be innovative. Innovation is not a primary management practice.
Innovation is a secondary management practice. (Secondary in this sense means that there is a decision about
in which two of the four secondary practices a company will decide to excel). It might be expected that all
companies should invest in the creation of an innovative culture. The truth is few companies really make this
investment. Those companies that do make the investment often fail to achieve intended objectives because it
is a very difficult management practice. And, it is not always the best investment an organisation can make.
13. The innovation dilemma
Deciding that innovation is an essential management practice is not a decision to be taken without a great deal
of reflection. Few senior leaders have a clear, well‐developed model of what innovation looks like as an
organisational capability. And since they don't know what it looks like, they don't know how to build it (Hamel,
2003).
Hamel (2003) found two core challenges must be overcome if innovation is to be developed into a deep
capability in any organisation. The first challenge is that most companies have a very narrow idea of
innovation, usually focusing just on products and services. Second, most companies devote much more energy
to optimizing what is there (current products, services capabilities) than to imagining what could be.
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Managers should think holistically in terms of all possible dimensions through which their organisations can
innovate and define innovation as the creation of substantial new value for customers that has the following
characteristics (Sawhney, Wolcott and Arronizsuggest (2006):
Is about new value, not new things
Can take place on any dimension of a business
Requires the careful consideration of all aspects of a business
There is not a shortage of creative people in most modern business organisations. The problem is the shortage
of management skills necessary to follow‐through. By its very nature the creative process often is not
structured nor are the creative people. Many creative people do not know how an organisation gets things
done. Many creative people do not know how the organisation makes money. Theodore Levit (2002) informs
us that creativity is not enough:
“All too often there is a peculiar underlying assumption that creativity automatically leads to
actual innovation.”
Creativity and the innovation that follows often require organisational change. Most organisational‐change
programs do not achieve their intended results. Why? Consider a simple example. The creative person has lots
of ideas but no implementation skills. The next in command person has a high degree of capability to manage
the status quo but has a low acceptance of new ideas, a low capability to consider change and a low level of
skill to manage change. Perhaps creativity will occur, but not innovation. Few companies with a history of
stability can change to innovative companies simply because of the good ideas of creative people and the good
intentions of top management.
In organisations, creativity and innovation do not make for a happy marriage. Creativity requires
‘permissiveness’. Organisations require order and conformity to get things done. Creativity and innovation can
wreak havoc within an organisation.
14. The solution
Suppose an organisation decides that it needs to be innovative. How can the circle created by the problems
between the organisation and the need to be innovative be squared, i.e., what is the solution?
One starting point is to define innovation differently. Amar Bhide (2006) discusses two types of innovation:
upstream as the development of new inventions and technologies; and downstream as a system of turning
inventions and processes into economic value. Upstream and downstream innovations require different
knowledge skills and resources and thus different strategies.
Figure 4 illustrates innovation as a system that lies on a continuum. Innovation is a complex and usually
gradual process that involves many players (companies) making incremental advances over time – the
continuities. Scientists and engineers work at ideas and creativity at the upstream point. At the downstream
point, big ideas are adapted to create economic value at a local level. Along the continuum there are
proliferations of species (different firms responding to different customer needs). The species exist in different
local competitive environments with different business systems (dimensions).
First, an organisation must determine where it exists along the Innovation System continuum and how it
creates value within the system. Second, the organisation must assess its competitive environment to
determine what level of innovation is needed.
15. Management practice and the right tools and techniques
Most tools and techniques themselves have no direct impact on superior business performance.
What does matter is having a strong grasp of the management practices. Whatever tools and techniques, for
example, The Balanced Scorecard, are used it is important to execute flawlessly. (Joyce, Nohria and Roberson,
2003)
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Continuities – Incremental advances
Proliferation of Species and Dimensions
Upstream (Creativity)
Scientists and Engineers Local Adaptation
Downstream (Economic Value)
Figure 3: The innovation system (Loughnane 2007)
16. Aligning the primary and secondary management practices
A continual program to deepen the capability to perform both the primary and secondary management
processes is essential. Accomplished athletes make competing look easy, but their skill is not just the result of
being born with certain attributes. Their skill comes from practice and discipline over time. Athletic superior
performance is the result of a balance of the physical, mental and emotional system. Organisations are
systems and the parts of the systems interact. In organisations the alignment of the primary and secondary
management practices requires a systems approach. None of the practices are stand‐alone. The practices must
be aligned and accomplished at the same time.
17. Strategy and innovation – the relationship
The most important relationship between strategy and innovation is customer value creation and therefore a
source of competitive advantage. Customers are the ones who decide the worth of an innovation by voting
with their wallets. It makes no difference how innovative a company is, or thinks it is, what matters is, will
customers pay (Sawney, Wolcott and Arroniz, 2006).
18. Conclusions
Excellent management is not as abundant in organisations as many senior managers think it is. Poor
management is the reason it is so difficult for established companies to innovate. It is management’s
responsibility to staff an organisation with capable people and then develop the organisation’s capability in the
essential management practices.
This lack of management skill leads to degradation in the primary management practice areas such as strategy,
execution, structural and culture development. The lack of primary management practice skills leads to poor
strategic decisions and strategy execution. It is understandable that if there is a lack strategic thinking within
an organisation a poor innovation strategy will result. If there is a lack of organisational management capability
strategic goals will not be achieved and it follows that innovation goals will not be met.
Even though there is a constant theme in the business press and respected business publications for
companies to be innovative, it is not necessary for an organisation to be innovative to be highly successful. In
fact it is problematic that few companies are capable of excelling at innovation – it is a very difficult
management practice. Management practice has content, context and process. It is contextual simply because
what works in one situation (context) can easily fail in another.
There is not a shortage of creative people in most modern business organisations. The problem is the shortage
of management skills necessary to follow‐through. Companies must invest in the development of management
skills to take ideas through to value creation. It is important that a company, first decide where it exists within
the Innovation System and how it creates value within the system.
There are abundant tools and techniques available to management to improve performance in all areas of a
business. The ability to use these tools and techniques are based on the assumption that the management
capability of the organisation (not individuals) exists to use these tools. There is evidence that many companies
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fail to innovate, in spite of the fact that these same companies know that innovation is critical, because they
do not have the organisational capabilities.
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