The next frontier for Agile: strategic management

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Denning
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Unmet Needs ◽  
Market Making ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Benefits ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Agile Approach ◽  
Strategic Agility ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose While some large organizations are preoccupied with mastering operational Agility as a way to upgrade existing products and services, they and the wider management community need to realize that the main financial benefits from Agile management will flow from the next frontier: achieving Strategic Agility, a market-making approach to innovation. Design/methodology/approach The author proposes that firms adopt Agile management as a way to promote market-creating innovations through a process of imagining and delivering something that unexpectedly delights whole new groups of customers, once they realize the possibilities. Findings The potential of the Agile approach to innovation is that it can revitalize mature companies by discovering new customer experiences and create products and services that fulfill unmet needs. Practical implications This article shows how Agile management and strategic management concepts like “Jobs to be done” theory and “Blue Ocean” strategy can merge to promote market-creating innovation. Originality/value Given that industry borders are dissolving and competition is more dynamic than ever, the need for Strategic Agility – speedy, customer focused innovation that aims to make markets–is becoming increasingly obvious. This confluence of Agile and strategic management is a new and exciting approach to innovation.

Strategic Agility: using Agile teams to explore opportunities for market-creating innovation

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Stephen Denning
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Marketing Concept ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Strategic Agility ◽  
Agile Teams ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Describes how Agile teams can use strategic management tools and processes to discover market-creating innovations. Design/methodology/approach The related article “The next frontier for Agile: strategic management” in the previous issue of Strategy & Leadership explored the theory and possibilities of enterprise-wide Strategic Agility, a combination of Agile mindset and processes with strategic management theory to produce continuous market-creating innovation. This second installment offers insights from noted practitioners about implementing it. Findings The strategic concepts of Kim & Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean Strategy, Clayton Christensen’s Job to Be Done theory and Curt Carlson’s SRI Playbook – Need, Approach, Benefits per costs and Competition (NABC) can be adopted by Agile teams seeking innovations that create new customer value. Practical implications Identifying a well-defined Job to Be Done produces the start of an innovation blueprint which is unlike the traditional marketing concept of “needs” because of the much higher degree of specificity required to identify precisely what problem your potential solution would address. Originality/value Using strategic management concepts, Agile teams can redefine how needs are being met and in the process, discover value for customers from offering something or doing something that the company or the industry currently doesn’t provide.

scholarly journals Strategies for transcending the chaos of societal disruptions

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
John C. Camillus ◽  
Jeffrey E. Baker ◽  
Anushka I. Daunt ◽  
Jungyoon Jang
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Societal Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Real Options Approach ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to offer a strategic management response to societal disruptions of the magnitude triggered by the agricultural, industrial and information revolutions. These pose challenges that are much greater and different in kind than the industry-wide disruptions that businesses have learned to manage. Pandemics, climate change, biotech and artificial intelligence guarantee that such societal disruptions will be an inescapable and recurring reality. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds on the strategic management responses to wicked problems, which possess in microcosm the chaotic ambiguity that characterizes societal disruptions. Findings The authors propose a management process that affirms a sense of identity, identifies robust actions, adopts a real-options approach and uses a platform organization. Research limitations/implications The primary limitation is that the recommendations and findings are extrapolations of organizational practices in analogous situations. No examples of formal management processes specifically designed to address societal disruptions were identified. Practical implications The practical implications are significant. The specific recommendations in the paper directly address strategic management practice in organizations. Social implications The social implications are integral to the motivation of the paper as it describes the intrinsic characteristics of societal change and transformation, enabling organizations to interact with society on a dynamic basis. Originality/value While there has been growing interest and research into business and industry disruptions, the challenge of societal disruptions, which is the focus of this paper, has not been directly addressed.

What’s this science ever done for us?

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 18-20
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Science Culture ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The benefits and shortcomings of classical science in strategic management are explored and presented. Furthermore, the convoluted implicit relationship between strategic management and science is shown to be changing but persisting, as to face some of the challenges of the classical science culture of strategic management. A complexity culture, also inspired partially on science, seems to be developing in strategic management. Complexity seems to be emerging as an alternative, which might allow strategic management to solve some of its current dilemmas and, thus, change its implicit relationship with science. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The dark side of experience-seeking mall shoppers

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1206-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Scott Rosenbaum ◽  
Mauricio Losada Otalora ◽  
Germán Contreras Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Positive Word ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Benefits ◽  
Positive Word Of Mouth ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that mall shoppers who participate in a mall’s experiential offerings, including entertainment and activities, do not necessarily exhibit more favorable attitudes or behaviors toward the mall than mall shoppers who do not participate in these offerings. Design/methodology/approach This study employs survey methodology from a sample collected in an expansive regional mall that offers customers experiential activities. Findings The findings show that mall shoppers who partake in mall-based activities are less satisfied, are less likely to spread positive word of mouth, and have lesser desire to return to the mall than shoppers who do not partake in these activities. The findings also reveal that mall expenditures are the same between shoppers who partake in mall activities and those who do not. Research limitations/implications Researchers have argued that malls can compete with digital retailers by offering shoppers experiential activities. Although segments of shoppers partake in these activities, this study finds that experiential investments do not result in significant favorable shopper outcomes. Practical implications Mall developers that implement experiential offerings as a means to combat competition from digital retailers may not attain managerially relevant results from doing so. Originality/value Although retailing academics and consultants espouse the idea that retailers can obtain financial benefits by creating memorable experiences for shoppers, this research offers empirical evidence that counters these speculations. In the case of enclosed malls, investments in experiential features and activities may not lead to improved shopper attitudes, behaviors, or sales.

scholarly journals Is innovation the future of quality management?

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 232-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Lilja ◽  
David Hansen ◽  
Johan Fredrikson ◽  
Daniel Richardsson
Keyword(s):  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Operational Excellence ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Upcoming as well as mature industries are facing pressure as regards successfully managing operational excellence, and, at the same time, driving and managing innovation. Quality management concepts and practices’ ability to tackle this challenge have been questioned. It has even been suggested that there is a need to provide and promote an updated/changed, and even re-branded, version of Total Quality Management, merging quality management (QM) and innovation management (IM). Can such a shift then actually be spotted? The purpose of this paper is to explore and see if there are any signs suggesting that QM and IM actually are about to merge. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on literature reviews, document studies and interviews. Findings The paper highlights three signs indicating that QM and IM indeed are approaching each other, and that it is a movement driven from both sectors, e.g., in the work with new ISO-standards and the Toyota Kata framework. Originality/value The indicated development has fundamental and extensive practical implications. It will for example have to be followed by a similar merging of the two fields in the educational system, and in the competences of future managers.

The sustainable company: looking at goals for people, planet and profits

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 28-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy B. Palmer ◽  
David J. Flanagan
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Large Firms ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Common Goals ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to explore the landscape of sustainability goals set by large firms. Design/methodology/approach Sustainability reports were content analyzed using the triple bottom line framework. Findings This study identified 389 goals among 22 firms. The most common goals focused on the natural environment. On average, the firms list 18 sustainability goals. These included an average of eight “planet” goals, seven “people” goals and three “overarching” goals. Practical implications This research should be useful to sustainability professionals who are setting goals for their firms and seek to understand the current landscape of goals set by large firms. Originality/value Although previous research has analyzed the content of sustainability reports, this is the first paper to explore sustainability goals. Given the importance of goal setting in strategic management, this paper fills an important gap in the intersection between sustainability and strategy.

New rationale for the need for CKOs long-term: a systems perspective on observations

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-352
Author(s):  
Philip William Sisson ◽  
Julie J.C.H. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Practice Management ◽  
Management Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to clarify the need for Chief Knowledge Officers (CKOs) and explain how some recent views on competencies for educational guidelines, a Knowledge Management (KM) competency model and expansion of practice management concepts make the need for CKOs clearer. Design/methodology/approach This viewpoint was developed in response to recent publications disparaging the idea of a CKO. The method used was to extract ideas from published and in-work papers to establish the basis for and explain the postulated Unified Competency Theory of KM and its implications regarding the need for CKOs. Findings CKOs are needed to ensure that all organizationally relevant functions’ knowledge and KM assessments and/or audits are individually complete and collectively sufficient. A risk/opportunity management role also provides justification. Research limitations/implications This paper mainly limits its discussion to the papers that comprise research leading to the Unified Competency Theory of KM, its implications and an updated practice management model. Other points of view that might substantiate or refute the conclusions have not been addressed. Practical implications The KM field needs to better identify KM’s risk and opportunity management role and functional imperative. Organizations may need to reevaluate their directions with regards to KM and a CKO. Originality/value It extends the concept of practice management to permit differentiating disciplines. It provides new rationale for CKOs.

The financial returns from buying versus renting

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulkader Mostafa ◽  
Colin Anthony Jones
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Mortgage Market ◽  
Financial Returns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Benefits ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Short Time ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Substantial Rise

Purpose The UK experienced a substantial rise in owner occupation over the twentieth century, and many tenants still aspire to homeownership. These strong aspirations to own are attributed to a set of financial and non-financial benefits. This paper aims to calculate, for the first time, the financial returns from buying versus renting in Britain for first-time buyers in 11 regions. Design/methodology/approach It applies a DCF approach based on historical housing and mortgage market data from 1975 to 2012. Findings The paper finds strong evidence that, in purely financial terms, buying has been always superior to renting in all regions of the UK over the period. Practical implications It gives a clear message of the financial benefits of homeownership over renting in Britain, even over very short time periods. Originality/value The paper is the first to apply a comprehensive DCF model to the choice between renting and owning.

Catch me if you can!

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-26
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Everyone involved in strategic management – in theory or in practice – knows about competitive advantage. Every company should have one, or at least be identifying and developing one. Unfortunately, like a lot of things that “everybody knows”, competitive advantage means different things to different people. Getting to a single, unambiguous definition of competitive advantage is harder than you might expect – and “I’ll know it when I see it” doesn’t really help anyone to run a successful company in the contemporary business environment. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

scholarly journals How a nimble company switches business model

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 11-13
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Strategic Agility ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The findings suggest a partial fit of the existing strategic agility framework for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Two of the proposed meta-capabilities (leadership unity and resource fluidity) seem inherent to SMEs because they apply easily to this context, although they need to be downscaled. One meta-capability (strategic sensitivity) is less natural and therefore more critical for an SME. An additional meta-capability (resourcefulness) arises as very important for SMEs to be able to overcome some of their size-caused limitations. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

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