No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
The Dominant Logic: A New Linkage Between Diversity and Performance
Abstract
Current research offers alternative explanations to the ‘linkage’ between the pattern of diversification and performance. At least four streams of research can be identified. None of these can be considered to be a reliable, predictive theory of successful diversification. They are, at best, partial explanations. The purpose of this paper is to propose an additional ‘linkage’, conceptual at this stage, that might help our understanding of the crucial connection between diversity and performance. The conceptual argument is intended as a ‘supplement’ to the current lines of research, rather than as an alternative explanation.
... Managing UPD in many host markets normally requires a higher level of managerial competencies (Li et al., 2012) which sometimes are not easy to achieve, especially in SMEs. In this context, it is also more likely that other organizational inefficiencies or diseconomies will emerge in SMEs as a result of the existence of contesting "dominant logics" across different businesses (Prahalad & Bettis, 1986;Markides, 1994). The existence of higher coordination and information costs and managerial and organizational problems could have detrimental effects on the performance of SMEs opting for combining a UPD strategy and HGD. ...
... Precisely, when SME managers require more resources and information and resources to manage coordination, they can encounter major impediments that limit their ability to gather and process information for successfully 14 coordinating all their operations. Specifically, these managers will have to deal with significant coordination costs and other potential organizational diseconomies, as well as inefficiencies derived from conflicting "dominant logics" across different businesses and markets (Prahalad & Bettis, 1986;Markides, 1992). If a situation like this is already hard to handle in times of growth (as noted above), it is exacerbated in times of downturn due to the important resource limitations that characterize SMEs and the high degree of environmental uncertainty (Bowen & Sleuwaegen, 2017;Garrido-Prada et al., 2018). ...
... Therefore, our findings highlight that there are two combinations of growth-seeking strategies that SME managers should opt for if they want to obtain better performance in both periods of economic stability and crisis: RPD and low-moderate levels of GD. This suggests the importance of maintaining a "dominant logic" when SME managers make critical resource allocation decisions across different businesses and markets (Prahalad & Bettis, 1986;Markides, 1992). ...
This study explores the potential effects of different combinations of growth-seeking strategies on performance in SMEs during long times of economic boom and crisis. Our hypotheses are tested on a representative sample of Spanish SMEs between 1994 and 2014. During these years Spain suffered one of the periods of greatest economic stability/growth in recent years (1994-2008), followed immediately by a period of severe crisis (2009-2014). Using dynamic panel data models, our findings reveal that four combinations exhibit a positive and statistically significant effect on performance in times of economic boom: a related product strategy combined with low, moderate, or high levels of internationalization, and an unrelated one combined with a moderate level of internationalization. Meanwhile, we find only two combinations with a positive impact on SME performance in times of crisis: a related product strategy combined with low and moderate levels of internationalization, respectively
... This business transformation means that industries need to reconfigure their traditional value creation logics. In this study, value creation logic is defined as the actor's or industry's established and common ways of co-creating social, environmental and economic value by performing valuecreating activities that integrate tangible and intangible resources (Prahalad and Bettis 1986;Håkansson and Snehota 1995;Möller and Rajala 2007;Vargo and Lusch 2011;Dyllick and Muff 2016). However, it is important to acknowledge that there might be differences with operational value creation logic, that is, the actual value-creating activities, and the communicated value creation logic, that is, the strategic narratives of companies and industries. ...
... Addressing all the above-mentioned sustainability-related phenomena requires adopting an interdisciplinary approach where theoretical foundations and concepts from different research traditions are combined. Thus, in this study theories and concepts from network management (Håkansson and Snehota 1995;Möller and Svahn 2006;Möller and Rajala 2007;Möller et al. 2020), strategic management (Prahalad and Bettis 1986;Hart 1995;Vargo and Lusch 2011;Evans et al. 2017;McDougall et al. 2019) and transition studies (Markard et al. 2012;Köhler et al. 2019) are intertwined in an interdisciplinary conceptual framework. ...
Global economic, social and environmental change drivers have tremendous effects on the dynamic and nested business environment calling for a sustainability transition to a circular bioeconomy. The transition will pressurise established industries to alter their value creation logic to consider sustainability holistically. The study follows a case study research strategy and investigates how an established Finnish pulp and paper industry reconfigures its communicated value creation logic. The findings of a qualitative document analysis suggest that the pulp and paper industry has started to explore new sustainable path-breaking innovations and create a common development agenda, which has resulted in incremental adaptations in the value creation logic. However, the industry’s narrative of already being sustainable has hampered the reconfiguration and stabilisation of the adapted value creation logic. From a theoretical perspective, adopting an interdisciplinary and systemic perspective is necessary to understand the changing business environment. From a managerial perspective, cross-sectoral collaboration and including perspectives of different actors can help in creating a holistically sustainable value creation logic.
... The first approach sees a coopetition mindset as a prerequisite antecedent for coopetition (e.g., Bengtsson & Kock, 2000). Mindsets refer to the ways in which managers conceptualize their business and the assumptions they hold about their business model (Obloj, Obloj, & Pratt, 2010;Prahalad & Bettis, 1986), and these mindsets influence the behavior and decisions they make (Crick, 2019a(Crick, , 2019bKor & Mesko, 2013). A coopetition mindset or coopetition-oriented mindset is an individual's capacity to see the importance of cooperating with competitors (Crick, 2019a(Crick, , 2019bCrick & Crick, 2021a, 2021b. ...
Coopetition, characterized by the simultaneous pursuit of cooperation and competition, presents a paradoxical challenge for organizations and the individuals involved. This study explores managers' capacity to manage the inherent paradox of coopetition, focusing on the managerial framings and the various contextual factors shaping them. While the importance of coopetition-oriented mindsets, paradoxical frames, and cognitive and emotional capabilities is recognized for successful management of these challenges, more research is needed to understand how individual managers frame coopetition. The framing perspective is important, because it shows how managers make sense of and try to influence their own behavior as well as that of others. Utilizing a qualitative approach, we analyzed 26 interviews with top managers from 24 organizations within the same healthcare ecosystem. As a result, we develop a framework outlining three distinct paths to framing coopetition: conscious denial, acceptance, and unconscious denial, along with five specific framings. Our findings highlight the impact of these framings on managers' ability to manage coopetition effectively and the conditions shaping the different framings. Through these insights, this research advances our understanding of coopetition management and underscores the crucial role of context, enriching both theoretical discourse and practical application.
... More recently, design for sustainability has shifted towards a systemic perspective that seeks to address complex problems by integrating multiple actors, technologies, and policies (Ceschin and Gaziulusoy, 2016). However, we know from the extant literature on business model reconfiguration that cognitive barriers such as the dominant logic (Prahalad and Bettis, 1986) and path dependence (Sydow et al., 2009) make business model innovation particularly difficult even to ideate (Frankenberger et al., 2013;Laudien and Daxböck, 2017;Täuscher and Abdelkafi, 2017). This is particularly significant with sustainable business model innovations because of many reasons as their multi-stakeholder perspective, lower profitability in the short term, and the difficulty to achieve financial, social, and environmental metrics (Bocken and Geradts, 2020;Cederholm Björklund, 2018;Geissdoerfer et al., 2018;Guldmann and Huulgaard, 2020;Matos and Silvestre, 2013). ...
This study explores the cognitive impact of sustainable business model patterns on initiating design for sustainability, comparing them to traditional patterns. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design with four teams of Master's students in Innovation Management, we assessed how the type of business model pattern cards influences cognitive processes and idea generation during ideation. Our findings demonstrate that sustainable business model patterns significantly enhance cognitive stimulation, promoting a broader perspective on sustainability issues. They excel in integrating all three dimensions—economic, ecological, and social—of sustainable business model innovation within the context of idea generation. This research bridges interpretations of business models as (1) cognitive schemas and (2) formal representations, highlighting the pivotal role of specific visual tools in facilitating sustainable business model innovation. This includes challenging cognitive barriers and fostering a comprehensive approach to sustainable design.
... (2019), both resources and the quality of resources should be considered while investigating DAC and its impact on business performance. Prior IS literature has also emphasized the importance of quality as a dominant logic in explaining system performance (Prahalad and Bettis, 1986). For instance, the quality of management practices has been suggested to be one of the key drivers of good system performance (Ravichandran and Rai, 2000). ...
Purpose
The information systems (IS) literature has indicated the importance of data analytics capabilities (DAC) in improving business performance in organizations. The literature has also highlighted the roles of organizations’ data-related resources in developing their DAC and enhancing their business performance. However, little research has taken resource quality into account when studying DAC for business performance enhancement. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of resource quality on DAC development for business performance enhancement.
Design/methodology/approach
We studied DAC development using the resource-based view and the IS success model based on empirical data collected via 19 semi-structured interviews.
Findings
Our findings show that data-related resource (including data, data systems, and data services) quality is vital to the development of DAC and the enhancement of organizations’ business performance. The study uncovers the factors that make up each quality dimension, which is required for developing DAC for business performance enhancement.
Originality/value
Using the resource quality view, this study contributes to the literature by exploring the role of data-related resource quality in DAC development and business performance enhancement.
... Miles, Heppard, et al. (2000). Casson 1982;Shane and Venkataramanman 2000;Kirzner 1997;Alvarez and Barney 2002;Ireland, Hitt et al. 2003;Prahalad and Bettis 1986;Bettis and Prahalad 1995. Business planning with follow-up reflection Intrapreneurship ("Corporate Entrepreneurship") Gibb, 1993;Guth and Ginsberg 1990;Sathe 1985 Consulting project with sponsors, deliveries, and follow-up reports. ...
Based on a literature study, the report examines the theoretical and conceptual framework for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Then, it presents the content and structure of an elective course in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Roskilde University, including how the course's theoretical and conceptual framework is operationalized. At the end of the report, the supply of education, and the possibilities for further development of teaching and research in entrepreneurial leadership are reviewed.
... Thus, source competence is revealed through interaction with recipients, for example, in answering questions, presenting during a meeting or in training sessions, providing mentorship, and through their participation in the community of practice (Levin et al., 2004). Therefore, when a source's area of expertise is deemed useful, it is thought to be a crucial component of credibility and can affect the recipient's learning skills by extending their knowledge domain (Abrams et al., 2003;Prahalad and Bettis, 1986). On that basis, it can be argued that the recipient's willingness to learn will increase as a result of the positive perception of the expert's knowledge (Kakabadse et al., 2001), as the delineation of the source's knowledge domain will enhance the credibility of their expertise. ...
Studies have shown that transactive memory plays a significant role in how learning occurs within organizations. While many studies have looked at what influences the growth of transactive memory, not much research has been done on how the thought processes of people working in groups are formed. This area of study examines the importance of how knowledge is organized in people's minds at work for the growth of transactive memory and how this process is affected by individual characteristics. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by looking at how trust and skill, known as credibility dimensions, affect the growth of transactive memory. For this purpose, information was gathered from 239 people working at a paint and coating company in Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that both trust and skill significantly influence the development of transactive memory.
... An unclear market gap revealed a limited customer base and diminished profit opportunities in specific instances. Prahalad and Bettis (1986) emphasized the importance of understanding market potential and competitive positioning at the onset of diversification. This contradicts the unspecified market gaps in the Alpha and Delta programs, which showed initial promise but later revealed a small customer base and ambiguous market demand which did not sustain profitability (Björkdahl, 2020). ...
... As Prahalad and Bettis (1986) originally put it, a dominant logic is "the way in which managers conceptualize the business and make critical resource allocation decisions" (p. 490) across a variety of specific strategic actions or choices. ...
To operationalize the extent to which firms place a strategic emphasis on human capital and human resource management (HRM), we draw on the strategy field's dominant logic theory and on the emerging literature on executive compensation for the heads of major firm functions, such as HRM. Specifically, we investigate whether the pay of human resource executives (HREs) relative to other members of top management teams (TMTs) is related to firm performance. After controlling for the endogeneity of HRE status as one of the highest paid executives on the TMT, we find in a comprehensive sample of the largest US firms that HRE relative pay is positively related to firm financial performance, specifically Tobin's Q. We also find that the relationship of HRE relative pay with Tobin's Q is stronger in relatively smaller and younger firms in our sample. The findings suggest that a strategic emphasis on human capital and HRM leads to higher firm value.
... Many scientific studies have looked at "dominant logic," such as "as an information classifier that determines what managers and researchers" should focus on in strategic contexts (Prahalad & Bettis, 1986;Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004); service-dominant logic in Vargo and lusch's (2004) work; and networks (Ford & håkansson, 2013). Redefining services as "the application of specialized competences (knowledge and skills) through practices, processes, and performances for the profit of another entity or the entity itself" (Vargo & lusch, 2004a, b) gives marketing a new perspective. ...
This research article examines the implementation of service-dominant logic in technology-based business incubators, specifically focusing on Bandung Techno Park in Indonesia. The research examines the connection between service providers and clients, the function of technology-based business incubators in assisting enterprises, and the consequences of transitioning from a focus on products to a focus on services. This study offers an extensive literature analysis on technology-based business incubators, goods-dominant logic, and service-dominant logic. Additionally, it analyzes the business process structure and services provided by Bandung Techno Park. The study highlights the significance of comprehending service-dominant logic principles while evaluating and improving services in technology-based business incubators. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of collaborations between universities and industries, the transition to more participatory innovation models, and the involvement of service-dominant logic in generating value. The article recommends doing further research in this field, namely with larger sample sizes and longitudinal investigations.
... ▪ Embracing Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) -Without diversity in knowledge, analytical frame, culture, etc. adaptation is not possible (Muzyka et al., 1995;Prahalad & Bettis, 1986). Diversity can even be considered a source of competitive advantage (Anand & Barsoux, 2017;Caglar & Duarte, 2019) as long as employees feel they belong (Slepian, 2020). ...
In response to disruptions, non-digital-native companies embark on corporate transformation journeys. Research done indicate that most companies fail to survive such journeys. So, why success varies among those companies, potentially costing the global economy trillions of dollars? My hypothesis is that those who orchestrate the three components of a corporate transformation (Business model transformation, Digital enabled transformation, and Organizational transformation) are more successful in their transformation journey compared to companies who don’t. By conducting a case study research, I validated my hypothesis and developed a prescriptive orchestration framework that will allow non-digital-native companies not only successfully navigate their corporate transformation journey but also switch their transformation to always-on.
... I think the claim "we see uncertainty, we should innovate our business model" stands as a metaphor for the idea that "the known way of doing things is soon going to be invalid, but we do not know how or when". The "business model" refers to "what we know and understand", pointing to a, perhaps implicit, understanding of the construct as a dominant logic (Prahalad & Bettis, 1986) or a theory of the business, a lá Drucker (1994). ...
A conversation with Lorenzo Massa – interviewed by Christian Nielsen
... This article defines context as "situational opportunities and constraints that affect the occurrence and meaning of organisational behaviour as well as functional relationships between variables" (Johns, 2006, p. 386). Within this defined scope of context, we view de-internationalisation (and re-internationalisation) as dependent on the firm' s context-tailored organisational gestalt that consists of mutually supportive organisational system elements combined with appropriate resources and behavioural patterns (Covin & Slevin, 1997) and dominant logic: a way in which decision makers conceptualise their business and make critical resource allocation decisions (Prahalad & Bettis, 1986). Once established and pursued, a firm' s context-tailored organisational gestalt and dominant logic can act as a trap (Chesbrough, 2003) or blinder (Prahalad, 2004), preventing the firm from changing and unlearning its internationalisation organisational gestalt and dominant logic and eventually to de-internationalise. ...
This article explores firms’ de-internationalisation and re-internationalisation through the lens of business model innovation. The purpose is to uncover the potential of business model innovation to enrich firms’ understanding of the reasons behind de-internationalisation and inspire their endeavour to re-internationalise. This article contributes to the research of this intersection. It supports practitioners in enhancing their decision-making by applying business model innovation lenses to their international business activities. Finally, it suggests and encourages further research of this scarsely researched intersection.
... According to , R&D resource allocation is one of the most important and powerful influencers on firm exploratory innovation activities (Greenhalgh and Rogers, 2006). R&D resource allocation influences the business to compete (Harrison et al., 1991) and efficiently manage (Prahalad and Bettis, 1986), indicating that innovative processes may not be successful without appropriate resource allocation to R&D activities (Barker and Mueller, 2002). ...
Hambrick and Mason (1984) identified that organizational outcomes—strategies and effectiveness—could be regarded as reflections of the values and cognitive bases of top executives in the organization. However, theory in entrepreneurship literature on how CEOs' characteristics transform resources to create value has been minimal. On the basis of Hambrick and Mason's "upper-echelons" perspective, the present study examines the influence of the Zhong-Yong thinking style of Chinese entrepreneurs on firm-level exploratory innovation. Our theorization sheds light on the intermediate processes linking Zhong-Yong thinking style with exploratory innovation. Results of a structured time-lagged (two-waves) survey investigation of 144 manufacturing SMEs in China indicate that the Zhong-Yong thinking style of Chinese CEOs increases their innovation behavior. Furthermore, the innovation behavior of entrepreneurs leads to the allocation of R&D resources, which increases exploratory innovation in Chinese SMEs.
... To shed light on the learning processes related to the new ways of interacting in the enforced digital workplace, we combine Goffman's theoretical framework (Goffman, 1959) with the theoretical concepts of "unlearning" and "relearning" (cf. Hedberg, 1981;Fiol and O'Connor, 2017;Prahalad and Bettis, 1986;Sharma and Lenka, 2019), to describe different aspects of how individuals reevaluate and adapt their previous beliefs and knowledge in the context of work, as used in the context of work. In the present study, we join the stream of research that considers that unlearning occurs at the individual level and that the organizational reactions, e.g. ...
Purpose
This study aims to develop the understanding of learning processes related to the new ways of interacting in the enforced digital workplace over time.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple, longitudinal case study of knowledge-based workers in three firms located in Sweden has been conducted from March 2020 to March 2023. In total, 89 interviews with 32 employees in three knowledge-based firms have been collected.
Findings
The study shows how the intricate interaction between rules and norms for interaction and work must be renegotiated as well as un- and relearned when the physical work environment no longer frames the work context. Furthermore, technology can be viewed as both an enable and a barrier, that is, technology has enhanced collaboration between organizational members yet also created social difficulties, for example, related to communication and interaction. The study emphasizes that individuals learned through trial and error. That is, they tried behaviors such as translating social interactions" to a digital arena, appraised the outcomes and modified the practices if the outcomes were poor.
Research limitations/implications
The present study does have several limitations. First, it is based on interviews with respondents within three organizations in Sweden. To broaden and deepen the understanding of both organizational and learning, future studies can contribute by studying other contexts as well as using a mixed method approach in other countries.
Practical implications
Results from the study can provide a practical understanding of how the rapid change from working at the office to working from home using digital technologies can be understood and managed.
Originality/value
Contributions include combining interaction order and un- and relearning among organizational employees. This insight is important given that the rapid digital transformation of our society has changed how work is performed and how the future workplace will be both structured and organized.
... Interaktywny system kontroli jako mechanizm uczenia się w podwójnej pętli z mapą strategii jako współdzielonym modelem mentalnym Source: an extended version of Figure 5. tal models through discussions and debates in the ongoing group learning cycle (compare Figures 6 and 7b), which produces common patterns in strategic thinking within an organization, namely "dominant logic" [Prahalad and Bettis 1986]. ...
Nowadays, companies operate in an extremely turbulent environment with conditions of substantial gaps in knowledge about future events (the Knightian uncertainty). Therefore, there is a need for more flexible management control systems. Referring to Simons’ levers of control (LOC) framework, now there is a need to use more extensively belief systems and interactive control systems that would enable the organizational learning process. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of a strategy map as a framework of a shared mental model for interactive control systems in the context of increasing uncertainty. This article is a review-based study and suggests some preliminary proposals for further research. The review covers the literature on management control systems, levers of control (in the including of interactive controls), balanced scorecards, strategy maps, mental models, and organizational learning. The review is mainly qualitative; however, it is supported to some extent by quantitative bibliometric analysis. This co-word analysis applies VOSviewer v.1.6.17 software. The situation of increasing Knightian uncertainty calls for the more extensive use of interactive control systems. A strategy map fits this new demand - it enables understanding strategic assumptions, structuring the problems, discussing, and gaining knowledge. Therefore, it facilitates innovations, organizational learning, and refining strategies in an ongoing process. A strategy map can be seen as a cognitive mapping tool. It is a set of hypotheses that can be empirically tested through strategy implementation, thereby enabling strategic learning (including so-called double-loop feedback learning). Such a double-loop learning mechanism allows for the iterative crafting of an organizational strategy that could be more resilient in a turbulent environment. To be the basis of an interactive control system, it is crucial for the “buy-in” of the strategy map by employees. Thus, there is a great role in the convergence of mental models of an organization’s members as a result of “strategic conversation”. The product of such an organizational learning process is a common, shared mental model. This model must be developed, disseminated in the organization and accepted by employees, and then refined through active learning.
... Interaktywny system kontroli jako mechanizm uczenia się w podwójnej pętli z mapą strategii jako współdzielonym modelem mentalnym Source: an extended version of Figure 5. tal models through discussions and debates in the ongoing group learning cycle (compare Figures 6 and 7b), which produces common patterns in strategic thinking within an organization, namely "dominant logic" [Prahalad and Bettis 1986]. ...
Nowadays, companies operate in an extremely turbulent environment with conditions of substantial gaps in knowledge about future events (the Knightian uncertainty). Therefore, there is a need for more flexible management control systems. Referring to Simons’ levers of control (LOC) framework, now there is a need to use more extensively belief systems and interactive control systems that would enable the organizational learning process. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of a strategy map as a framework of a shared mental model for interactive control systems in the context of increasing uncertainty. This article is a review-based study and suggests some preliminary proposals for further research. The review covers the literature on management control systems, levers of control (in the including of interactive controls), balanced scorecards, strategy maps, mental models, and organizational learning. The review is mainly qualitative; however, it is supported to some extent by quantitative bibliometric analysis. This co-word analysis applies VOSviewer v.1.6.17 software. The situation of increasing Knightian uncertainty calls for the more extensive use of interactive control systems. A strategy map fits this new demand - it enables understanding strategic assumptions, structuring the problems, discussing, and gaining knowledge. Therefore, it facilitates innovations, organizational learning, and refining strategies in an ongoing process. A strategy map can be seen as a cognitive mapping tool. It is a set of hypotheses that can be empirically tested through strategy implementation, thereby enabling strategic learning (including so-called double-loop feedback learning). Such a double-loop learning mechanism allows for the iterative crafting of an organizational strategy that could be more resilient in a turbulent environment. To be the basis of an interactive control system, it is crucial for the “buy-in” of the strategy map by employees. Thus, there is a great role in the convergence of mental models of an organization’s members as a result of “strategic conversation”. The product of such an organizational learning process is a common, shared mental model. This model must be developed, disseminated in the organization and accepted by employees, and then refined through active learning.
... Bettis /Prahalad (1986/Prahalad ( , 1995 (Güttel, 2013, 38). ...
Die Möglichkeiten, die sich durch den Einsatz der neuen Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien ergeben, erweitern heutige Managementansätze sowie etablierte Geschäftsmodelle vieler Branchen. Diese Erweiterungen sind im Bankensektor und ganz speziell in der Schweiz wahrzunehmen und werden unter dem Begriff «Digital Business Transformation» subsummiert. Das C-Level-Management entscheidet über Engagement in der Digital Business Transformation einer Unternehmung und ist deshalb auch für deren erfolgreichen Vollzug verantwortlich. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die Prädisposition des C-Level-Managements bezüglich Offenheit und kognitiven Fähigkeiten für die Umsetzung der Digital Business Transformation im Bankensektor Schweiz und zieht Schlussfolgerungen, welche Prädestinationen von den Experten als erfolgsversprechend gelten.
Sustainability transitions are a significant challenge that requires established industries to adopt innovative ways of doing business. Research suggests that while this is possible through business model innovation (BMI), risk avoidance by regime actors and high levels of future uncertainty act as barriers to successful transitions. Specifically , we lack knowledge about how established companies innovate their business model (BM) to reduce uncertainty related to sustainability transitions. We explore the case of a large forest-based manufacturing company in the construction industry, Stora Enso. We find that, by pursuing transformative BMI and combining multiple value creation logics, a company can reduce different types of uncertainty while shaping its business ecosystem towards more sustainable opportunities. We show that the BM can serve as an organizational tool for collectively exploring new knowledge , reducing uncertainty and driving change in a business ecosystem.
Now in its second edition, this extended and thoroughly updated handbook introduces researchers and students to the growing range of theoretical and methodological perspectives being developed in the vibrant field of strategy as practice. With new authors and additional chapters, it shows how the strategy-as-practice approach in strategic management moves away from disembodied and asocial studies of firm assets, technologies and practices to explore and explain the contribution that strategizing makes to people working at all levels of an organization. It breaks down many of the traditional paradigmatic barriers in strategy to investigate who the strategists are, what they do, how they do it, and what the consequences or outcomes of their actions are. This essential work summarizes recent developments in the field while presenting a clear agenda for future research.
Now in its second edition, this extended and thoroughly updated handbook introduces researchers and students to the growing range of theoretical and methodological perspectives being developed in the vibrant field of strategy as practice. With new authors and additional chapters, it shows how the strategy-as-practice approach in strategic management moves away from disembodied and asocial studies of firm assets, technologies and practices to explore and explain the contribution that strategizing makes to people working at all levels of an organization. It breaks down many of the traditional paradigmatic barriers in strategy to investigate who the strategists are, what they do, how they do it, and what the consequences or outcomes of their actions are. This essential work summarizes recent developments in the field while presenting a clear agenda for future research.
In the wake of rapid technological advancements, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force, reshaping companies and revolutionizing the very fabric of innovation management. As AI disrupts traditional human organizational structures, management faces an imperative to fundamentally rethink their approaches to the innovation process. This article delves into the profound implications of AI on innovation management, exploring the potential ramifications for the future. Drawing insights from the Oriental University and the firm's behavior theory, meticulously examine how AI technologies, including machine learning-based systems, impact innovation management practices. A comprehensive framework is presented, elucidating the extent to which AI can supplant human capabilities while illuminating key considerations essential for a successful transition towards a digitally-driven organization of innovation. The findings presented demonstrate that AI has emerged as a powerful catalyst, revolutionizing various aspects of the innovation process. By delving into the transformative power of AI, this study not only contributes to a deeper understanding of innovation management in the AI era but also paves the way for future research avenues in this dynamic and evolving landscape. Introduction The academic interest in the concept that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have the potential to replace human workers, reshape organizational processes, and improve efficiency has been steadily increasing over the years (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2017; von Krogh, 2018). The central idea behind this is that given certain limitations in processing information, AI can produce better results than human experts in terms of quality, efficiency, and outcomes (Agrawal et al., 2018a; Bughin et al., 2018).
Healthcare and pharmaceutical markets are composed of multiple interdependent resources and agents who adapt their behaviours in response to one another and to changing external conditions. In this perspective, the resources of the healthcare and pharmaceutical markets include physical and human resources (such as medicines, medical equipment and personnel), financial resources (such as funding for research and development and healthcare services), and informational resources (such as medical research, drugs-related data, market data and patient data). The agents in these markets include healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, regulators, doctors and pharmacists, patients and other stakeholders.
A complex adaptive systems perspective highlights the interconnectedness of resources and agents in healthcare and pharmaceutical markets and emphasizes the importance of understanding how these interactions shape market outcomes and influence the delivery of healthcare services.
Chapter 4 presents a practical example of the design and application of the RAM methodology as a qualitative modelling approach, including steps for creating enhanced resource maps, agent interaction maps and agent behavioural maps.
Can now be be downloaded here:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/4ED6E79AFC7AEB8579D35863B20565D2/9781009507660AR.pdf/strategizing-with-institutional-theory.pdf
This text consults seven variants of institutional theory to explore how these can be applied to strategic management. These variants are New Institutional Economics, Old Institutionalism, New Institutionalism, institutional entrepreneurship and change, intra organizational institutionalization, institutional logics, and institutional work. In doing so, three strategic management styles are distinguished: competitiveness based strategic management, legitimacy based strategic management, and performativity based strategic management. While the competitive based style sees institutional theory submitting to mainstream strategy research, offering additional variables and considerations to explain competitive advantage, the legitimacy based style makes institutional theory a strategy theory in its own right by providing an explanation for an organization's viability that emphasizes legitimacy over competitive advantage. The performativity based style is an even more radical departure from mainstream strategizing by purporting that a future is actively created with organizations making contributions as emerging issues are being dealt with.
The Covid-19 pandemic has put all health systems worldwide to the test and is accelerating the shift from the information and knowledge society to the digital society. It isa great challenge to understand the theoretical foundations, conception and legal frameworks of social protection that have provided the constitution of the health system, socialprotection, and the right to health. This article aims to present a reflection and debate onhow to prevent, prolong people's lives and their social well-being, aswell aspromote health. Part ofthe origins and dtheevolution of the world's health-disease system, taking intoaccount the milestones of social protection and the right to health, characterizing the theoretical frameworks and concepts thatunderpintedthe healthreforms that gave origin to the different Health System,as wellas, to discuss its principlesandguidelines, based on the design of the extension of the right to health, with the purpose of providing reading, learning, debate and reflection on concepts and reality,as well as the necessary human, social, economic, financial, technological transformations policies, and what is the impact of these changes.
The knowledge management can be addressed according to various perspectives which allows the discussion of specific types of knowledge: the strategic knowledge related to the formulation of the business strategy and the decisions associated with it. The literature is vast on the problems of the business strategy, as well as on the management in addition to the instruments related to the management of information in the business Context. The processes whose focus is the strategy lacks more studies and ways to make knowledge more Useful. This article seeks to discuss the concept of this type of knowledge, its characteristics, and the differences between the strategic knowledge management and the management of strategic knowledge, as well as the management of information for decision-making Strategic and control of the Same. The approach methodology privileged the studies related to knowledge management, the transformations of tacit knowledge in explicit and Vice versa, in a process of building knowledge that passes through the individual, by groups and organizations the approach methodology presents the state of the art as well as points to new Challenges.
Purpose
The widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled personalization has sparked a need for a deeper understanding of its transformative potential. To address this, this study aims to investigate the mental models held by consumers from diverse cultures regarding the impact and role of AI-enabled personalization in their lives (i.e. individual well-being) and in society (i.e. societal well-being).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the theories-in-use approach, collecting qualitative data via the critical incident technique. This data encompasses 487 narratives from 176 consumers in two culturally distinct countries, Belgium and Pakistan. Additionally, it includes insights from a focus group of six experts in the field.
Findings
This research reveals that consumers view AI-enabled personalization as a dual-edged sword: it may both extend and restrict the self and also contribute to an affluent society as well as an ailing society. The particular aspects of the extended/restricted self and the affluent/ailing society that emerge differ across respondents from different cultural contexts.
Originality/value
This cross-cultural research contributes to the personalization and well-being literature by providing detailed insight into the transformative potential of AI-enabled personalization while also having important managerial and policy implications.
How do we think creatively about creating markets with new business models? This chapter examines the role that business models play in the development of new markets. This chapter provides an overview of the theory of market creation, and the logics of competition, and discusses some of the appropriate frameworks in the context of business model innovation. The chapter will also address how senior management could refresh the cognitive framing of the dominant design in order to identify and enable business model innovation.
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationships between managers’ cognitive styles, dynamic managerial capabilities and firms’ perceived international performance. The study is based on cognitive-experiential self-theory, dynamic managerial capabilities and international entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 283 managers of small medium enterprises (SMEs) in Türkiye, an emerging economy. The research was conducted using quantitative methods, and Smart partial least squares (PLS) 4 software was used for data analysis. The data were examined through structural equation modelling and mediation analyses.
Findings
Findings indicate that rational cognitive styles positively influence managerial human capital, managerial social capital, managerial cognition and perceived international performance. However, the effect of intuitive cognitive styles was confirmed only on managerial cognition. Additionally, it was found that managerial cognition positively affects perceived international performance, whereas managerial social capital has a negative impact. However, the effects of managerial human capital could not be confirmed. Moreover, a full mediation relationship of managerial cognition between intuitive cognitive styles and perceived international performance was identified.
Originality/value
This research carves out a unique niche by synergizing cognitive-experiential self-theory with dynamic managerial capabilities to investigate their conjoined effect on firms’ international performance, an area previously underexplored. Unveiling insights from burgeoning economies like Türkiye enriches the existing body of knowledge, offering substantial contributions to the field of international business.
We do not intend to deal exhaustively with this subject, because it is broad and complex for the space of a text. Our pretensions, which are much more modest, refer to documentary research for the understanding and development of humanist thought and citizenship, and some of their multiple relationships. Humanism was a movement that emerged in Italy during the Renaissance. It marked a move away from the medieval emphasis on logic and theology, and led to the rediscovery of ancient texts, the advancement of scholarship, and the transformation of art, culture, and society. The article analyzes the central ideas of Humanism, such as the importance of human dignity, individuality and learning, and demonstrates how they have influenced various domains. Humanism is a key concept in the history of human thought. There are several definitions of the concept ranging from rhetorical humanism, to the Christian humanism of the Middle Ages, and from the literary humanism of the Renaissance, to the humanism of Compte. There are several approaches to the relationship between humanism and religion. Humanism in the age of globalization may be an elaborate form of humanism capable of crossing the boundaries between the world's civilizations and overthrowing their hostile ways. Intercultural humanism must evolve as a result of the global debate. Intercultural humanism can replace the current humanism, and thus confront and overcome the many tensions and conflicts that exist between the world's divergent civilizations.
This article addresses the Democracy of the Future in a context of dynamic change in the reality of people's lives in the Digital Age. Democracy is a political regime in which all citizens in the enjoyment of their political rights also participate-directly or through elected representatives-in choosing the model of governance for the country and or region, in its development and in the creation of laws, exercising the power of governance through universal suffrage. It covers the social, economic and cultural conditions that allow the exercise of power, free and equal to political self-determination. Effective and efficient political leadership in representative democracy poses new challenges to political powers. Traditional theoretical and practical political leadership needs a new systematic approach to seeking a holistic vision for the constant improvement of meeting the social and economic needs of populations. The greatest challenge that theory and practice face is the identification of eff ective instruments for democracy of the future and deliberative practices so that the decisions taken are considered rational, transparent, legitimate, in Freedom and protect the human rights of all citizens and that they feel respected, represented and committed to their implementation.
The article presents the main stages of concept development in strategic management, emphasizing the importance of structuring the strategic decision-making process through a strategic management model. From combining strategic management approaches as a model and plan, the companies’ focus on capitalizing on their own resources or mastering environmental influence, to globalization, digitalization, innovation and the pursuit of sustainable competitive advantage, all are essential to understanding paradigm shifts in strategic management. Against the inevitable background of technological and digital transformations, the trends identified in the modeling of strategic management processes, in the context of new challenges, are transposed into an innovative strategic management model, a conceptual model proposed for research and development.
The widespread diffusion of digital technologies forces incumbent firms to drive their digital transformation (DT). DT not only involves a change in strategy but requires new institutional logics for firms helping to operate in digital business environments. Firms increasingly hire outsider CEOs to cope with this development, but the necessary institutional change questions whether outsider CEOs can indeed realize DT. We draw on the institutional entrepreneurship perspective to make sense of the role of outsider CEOs in DT. We theorize that DT awareness stemming from prior experience with DT enables outsider CEOs to act as institutional entrepreneurs and realize DT. We further argue that outsider CEOs with DT awareness particularly benefit firms facing abrupt rather than accumulative DTs. To test our hypotheses, we introduce a novel, machine-learning-based DT measure. Panel data regressions provide support for our predictions. Our findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the role of outsider CEOs as change agents.
In today"s competitive environment all multinational companies are trying to achieve competitive advantage and it can be achieved by well managed diverse workforce. But managing diversity is a subject of great concern as it can bring many challenges with benefits. This paper explores various aspects of diversity including diversity dimensions, diversity consequences and proper management of diverse workforce. Paper describes various types of diversity prevailed in the world"s most diverse country ie. India. It covers various diversity management practices used by top multinational companies operating in India. Paper also explains what employees perceive about diversity and how it affects organization"s competitive advantage against its competitors.
Abstract
We do not intend to deal exhaustively with this subject, because it is broad and complex for the space of a text. Our pretensions,
which are much more modest, refer to documentary research for the understanding and development of the problems of Humanism,
Complexity, Turbulence and Global (World) Society.
The Global Society is supported by technological and communication innovation, in which major social, cultural, economic and
political transformations occur in the dynamics of countries, organizations and people, that is, in the way people and different
world decision-makers understand reality, how they relate and behave in relation to reality itself. Both meanings can be
understood as a result of the informational revolution, promoted mainly from the attempts to understand human intelligence, via
computational bases.
It will not be an exaggeration or a flagrant error to say that today's society is increasingly qualified by the adjective Digital, where
the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) have a constant daily influence, configuring themselves as mediators
of social, political, economic relations and in the way of producing/disseminating knowledge. There are forms of absorbing
knowledge about people in a ubiquitous way, in which ICTs can be considered, such as new forms of surveillance, work, leisure,
war, etc. ICTs play a crucial role in the process of Globalization, as a phenomenon characterized by the wide circulation of people,
ideas, habits, work and materials.
The growing insertion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the daily lives of different governments, people,
organizations, and public and private institutions has promoted a relationship of deep dependence between them. In this context,
everyday actions have become essentially informative, bringing about major social, economic and political changes.
Keywords: Globalization, Turbulence, Complexity, Transparency, Ethics, Freedom, Human Dignity, Economic Growth, Social
Welfare
This chapter examines the rhetorical structures and strategies embedded in the document that forms the foundational moment of S-D logic, the 2004 Journal of Marketing article by Vargo and Lusch. It describes the ways in which the authors construct a rhetorical history that drives their portrayal of the logic and the manner in which they expound it. As such, this chapter deconstructs the mythic framework around the inception and evolution of S-D logic that works to persuasively position the work as an inevitable, organic continuation of the evolution of general marketing thought. Of central importance in this analysis is a consideration of the part played by agon (generative struggle) and kairos (opportune timing) both in the rhetorical argumentation articulated by Vargo and Lusch and in the framing constructed through editorial decisions around the article’s presentation. The chapter also investigates the rhetorical energy generated through the particular choices of lexicon in the foundational paper and it finishes by advancing a rhetorically-derived formulation of the core value proposition at its heart.
Environmental concerns are becoming ever more urgent in the agendas of governments, executives, marketing scholars, and other stakeholders around the world. While the academic field has made several calls to understand the forces that drive firms to deploy environmental strategies as well as the performance implications of these strategies, such studies remain limited. This study introduces managerial perception as a key factor that affects environmental strategy adoption in B2B settings. In addition, this study investigates the role of resources and capabilities in adopting such strategies. Using survey methodology, a model was created and evaluated. Data collected from 234 firms in the Arabian Gulf region were analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) method. The results demonstrate that firms with an entrepreneurial and political frame of reference (FoR) are more likely to use environmental strategies to reflect environmental challenges. Furthermore, organizational resources and capabilities show a strong correlation with the implementation of environmental strategies. The exploratory nature of this work necessitates the discussion and highlighting of a number of its limitations. This is one of the first studies, to the authors' knowledge, to look at how managerial preconceptions and environmental strategy interact and what impact it has on performance.
https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1i5nj4WstXy3V
Many of the largest Indian firms are characterized by promoter ownership, a hybrid form of ownership and governance in which the companies’ founders or their heirs hold controlling stakes, while inviting external minority shareholders to contribute capital, and outside managers to participate in the day-to-day administration of the companies concerned. We analyze a sample of 4056 publicly quoted firms with promoter ownership in India during 2007–2013. We find that in group-affiliated firms, the level of promoter ownership has no effect on performance of firms, as measured by Tobin’s q and return on assets (ROA). However, in stand-alone firms, the level of promoter ownership has a U-shaped relationship with Tobin’s q and no relationship with ROA. Moreover, group-affiliated firms show lower performance than stand-alone firms. This seems to be due to the development of the capital market in post-reform India which has greatly reduced the financing constraints for both group-affiliated and stand-alone firms.
An enduring trait of modern corporations is their propensity to diversify into multiple lines of business. Penrosian theories conceptualize diversification as a strategy to exploit a firm’s fungible, yet “untradeable,” resources and point to the redeployment of technological know-how as an important driver thereof. However, less understood are the characteristics of technological assets that underlie firms’ diversification decisions and the impact that diversification has on firms’ subsequent development of technologies. In this paper, we expand the existing theories in two ways. First, we argue that central to understanding firms’ diversification decisions is a distinction between their technological assets that are applicable to many markets and ones that are useful in only a limited number of contexts. To this end, we develop a novel way to characterize technologies along a continuum from highly general-purpose to highly market-specific. Second, we explore empirically the idea that diversification is an adaptive learning process involving both the exploitation of existing capabilities and the creation of novel ones. Using data on three decades of patenting and diversification histories of 28,376 firms, we find that (i) a firm’s possession of general-purpose technological assets is positively associated with its decision to diversify and (II) firms that enter a new industry through diversification develop technologies that are specialized to the target industry. Our findings have implications for understanding firm growth, diversification, and evolution.
This paper characterizes managerial problem sensing, a necessary precondition for managerial activity directed toward organizational adaptation, as composed of noticing, interpreting, and incorporating stimuli. It then reviews the constituent social cognition processes that make certain kinds of problem-sensing behavior, including errors, relatively likely to occur. Implications for the organizational issues of crisis, chance events, break points, and extreme change are explored.
This article prescribes how an organization can be designed to meet social and technological changes and to reap advantage from them. Long-term viability maximizes in a self-designing organization, in which those who perform activities take primary responsibility for learning and for inventing new methods, and in which nonparticipant designers restrict themselves to a catalytic role. Such an organization is formed by putting together processes, the generators of behaviors. Although the complex interactions among processes make designers' forecasts unreliable, serious future problems can be avoided by keeping processes dynamically balanced. The desired balance can be caricatured with six aphorisms: Cooperation requires minimal consensus. Satisfaction rests upon minimal contentment. Wealth arises from minimal affluence. Goals merit minimal faith. Improvement depends on minimal consistency. Wisdom demands minimal rationality.
Illustrates an analysis-of-variance technique for describing the use of information by persons making complex judgments. Ss were 2 stockbrokers who rated the growth potential of stocks on the basis of 11 factors taken from Standard and Poor's reports. The technique proved capable of providing a precise quantitative description of configural and nonconfigural information utilization. Each broker exhibited a substantial amount of configural processing. The technique appears to have promise for providing experts with insight into their own processes and for teaching and evaluating "student" judges. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Many decisions are based on beliefs concerning the likelihood of uncertain events such as the outcome of an election, the guilt of a defendant, or the future value of the dollar. Occasionally, beliefs concerning uncertain events are expressed in numerical form as odds or subjective probabilities. In general, the heuristics are quite useful, but sometimes they lead to severe and systematic errors. The subjective assessment of probability resembles the subjective assessment of physical quantities such as distance or size. These judgments are all based on data of limited validity, which are processed according to heuristic rules. However, the reliance on this rule leads to systematic errors in the estimation of distance. This chapter describes three heuristics that are employed in making judgments under uncertainty. The first is representativeness, which is usually employed when people are asked to judge the probability that an object or event belongs to a class or event. The second is the availability of instances or scenarios, which is often employed when people are asked to assess the frequency of a class or the plausibility of a particular development, and the third is adjustment from an anchor, which is usually employed in numerical prediction when a relevant value is available.
The diversity of large industrial — and mostly multinational — corporations can be at once their greatest source of competitive advantage and the wellspring of their most fundamental difficulties. Diversity provides an opportunity for these companies to use cash flow generated by their mature basic businesses to gain new leadership positions. Internally, however, this same diversity also creates a managerial gap between the corporate level, which has the power to commit resources but often only a superficial knowledge of each business, and the business level, where managers have the substantive knowledge required to make resource allocation decisions but lack the ‘big corporate picture’.
This paper argues that evolutionary processes occur in the environments of organizations. Ideal types of environment, originally conceptualized by Emery and Trist, are elaborated and extended. A review of recent literature gives evidence of the decreasing autonomy and the increasing interdependence of organizations. Four approaches to interorganizational analysis are reviewed and found inadequate to deal with present-day conditions. This paper then outlines a perspective which allows any organization, its transactions, and the environment itself to be viewed in a common conceptual framework. Two hypotheses are discussed: (1) that organizational change is increasingly externally induced; and (2) that organizational adaptability is a function of ability to learn and to perform according to changes in the environment.
This study applies social judgment theory and interactive computer graphics to labor-management negotiations. It is based on a reenactment of actual negotiations. Self-understanding and understanding of one's counterpart were found generally to be poor. Union negotiators showed a high degree of agreement with one another whereas management did not. Two pairs of negotiators given feedback from the computer graphics device achieved consensus. Participants reported gaining new insights and indicated that the use of interactive graphics is feasible and desirable.
Scitation is the online home of leading journals and conference proceedings from AIP Publishing and AIP Member Societies
How do business organizations make decisions? What process do they follow in deciding how much to produce? And at what price? A behavioral theory of the firm is here explored. Using a specific type of duopoly, a model is written explicity as a computer program to deal with the complex theory implicit in the process by which businesses make decisions. This model highlights our need for more empirical observations of organizational decision-making.
The flame photometer has been successfully applied to the quantitative determination of 0.1% to 1.0% of organic chloride. Copper is added to the sample and the copper chloride emission band at 436 mμ is measured. The method is much faster than the chemical method, and precision is as good when the qualitative composition of the sample is known.
Describes Karl E. Weick's role in developing organizational communication research and illustrates how others have adopted and utilized some of his pivotal concepts. Summarizes ways in which ongoing research has enhanced understanding of organizing as communicating, organizing as sense-making, and organizational culture. (SG)
This paper examines the strategic and structural development of the 100 largest Japanese manufacturing enterprises between 1950 and 1970. Unlike other studies of Japanese business the author focuses not only on some of the key differences between Western and Japanese firms such as the emergence of widely diversified industrial groups, but also on similarities. Using the model developed originally by Channon the author traces the development of diversification in Japan and the emergence of the multidivisional forms of organization which as in the West prove to be the major strategic and structural forms in Japan by 1970.
This paper emphasizes the contribution of ‘borrowed experience’ to strategy reformulation. The industry group is described as a particularly important arena in which niche-related problems and solutions are identified and tested. Industry-wide mistakes in environmental interpretation and strategic response provide interesting evidence of the importance of this contribution to organizational decision making.
An industry oriented view of strategy reformulation requires two kinds of research which are rarely conducted today. We need to know more about the pool of strategic concepts which a group of organizations holds in common at any given time. Spender's study of fork-lift truck rental companies is reviewed as an example of this kind of work. A second kind of needed research involves change in strategic concepts over time. A study of the perceived import threat to the appliance industry from 1950 to 1975 is summarized as an example of this second kind of research.
This article reviews recent progress in modeling human cognitive processes. Particular attention is paid to the use of computer programming languages as a formalism for modeling, and to computer simulation of the behavior of the systems modeled. Theories of human cognitive processes can be attempted at several levels: at the level of neural processes, at the level of elementary information processes (e.g., retrieval from memory, scanning down lists in memory, comparing simple symbols, etc.), or at the level of higher mental processes (e.g., problem solving, concept attainment). This article will not deal at all with neural models; it focuses mainly upon higher mental processes, but not without some attention to modeling the elementary processes and especially to the relationships between elementary and complex processes.
The purpose of this study was to test empirically the relationships between the environmental scanning activities of upper-level executives and their organizations' strategies, on the premise that executives would scan to reinforce their organization's particular basis for competing. Among the three industries studied, there were differences in the strategy–scanning link. These differences may have been attributable to different dominant environmental requirements existing in each industry.
Based on a sample of 80 firms, this paper examines the risk/return performance of related and unrelated diversified firms at the level of accounting data. The results suggest that although on the average related diversified firms outperform unrelated diversified firms, related diversification offers no guarantee of a favorable risk/return performance. (Many low performers are related diversifiers.) In fact, different diversification strategies can result in similar risk/return performance. However, a favorable risk/return performance is extremely hard to achieve with unrelated diversification. The study identifies diversified firms that have managed to simultaneously reduced risks and increase returns. The results indicate that these firms differ from other firms on some managerially useful dimensions. The differences suggest clues to guide other diversified firms to improve their risk/return performance.
In recent years there have been several hundred studies within the rather narrowly-defined topic of information utilization in judgment and decision making. Much of this work has been accomplished within two basic schools of research, which we have labeled the “regression” and the “Bayesian” approaches. Each has its characteristic tasks and characteristic information that must be processed to accomplish these tasks. For the most part, researchers have tended to work strictly within a single approach and there has been minimal communication between the resultant subgroups of workers. Our objective here is to present a review and comparative analysis of these two approaches. Within each, we examine (a) the models that have been developed for describing and prescribing the use of information in decision making; (b) the major experimental paradigms, including the types of judgment, prediction, and decision tasks and the kinds of information that have been available to the decision maker in these tasks; (c) the key independent variables that have been manipulated in experimental studies; and (d) the major empirical results and conclusions. In comparing these approaches, we seek the answers to two basic questions. First, do the specific models and methods characteristic of different paradigms direct the researcher's attention to certain problems and cause him to neglect others that may be equally important? Second, can a researcher studying a particular substantive problem increase his understanding by employing diverse models and diverse experimental methods?
The generation of extended plots for melodramatic fiction is an interesting task for Artificial Intelligence research, one that requires the application of generalization techniques to carry out fully. UNIVERSE is a story-telling program that uses plan-like units, ‘plot fragments’, to generate plot outlines. By using a rich library of plot fragments and a well-developed set of characters, UNIVERSE can create a wide range of plot outlines. In this paper we illustrate how UNIVERSE's plot fragment library is used to create plot outlines and how it might be automatically extended using explanation-based generalization methods. Our methods are based on analysis of a television melodrama, including comparisons of similar stories.