Strategy-Making and Organizational Evolution: A Managerial Agency Perspective

This Element provides frameworks for analyzing organizational evolution processes, emphasizing the internal selection environment and the CEO's role in maintaining and updating the environment and making fundamental decisions about business model splits.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 75 pages
Publication date: 23 March 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

This Element presents a comprehensive range of frameworks for strategy-making that serve to analyze organizational evolution processes within and beyond the firm. These frameworks form an integrated evolutionary ecological lens to examine the dynamics of strategy-making in organizational evolution. They highlight the crucial role of the internal selection environment in analyzing processes and practices at various managerial levels, including the top, middle, and operational levels, within the organization. Moreover, the Element elucidates the pivotal role of the CEO in maintaining and updating the internal selection environment and contributing to organizational evolution. It also emphasizes the CEO's fundamental decisions about organizational splits of the firm's business models as an ecosystem evolves.

The frameworks presented in this Element offer a systematic approach to understanding the complex dynamics of organizational evolution. They encompass various perspectives, such as evolutionary economics, organizational theory, and systems theory, to provide a holistic understanding of the process. By employing these frameworks, organizations can gain insights into how they can adapt and evolve in response to changing market conditions, technological advancements, and other external factors.

One of the key insights provided by these frameworks is the importance of the internal selection environment in shaping organizational evolution. The internal selection environment refers to the set of factors and processes that determine the survival and success of organizations within a particular environment. It includes factors such as the organization's resources, capabilities, and competitive advantages, as well as the internal dynamics and organizational culture.

The frameworks also emphasize the role of the CEO in maintaining and updating the internal selection environment and contributing to organizational evolution. The CEO plays a critical role in setting the direction and direction of the organization, making strategic decisions, and implementing policies and practices that align with the organization's goals and objectives. By understanding the role of the CEO in the internal selection environment, organizations can better identify the key factors that contribute to their success and failure.

Furthermore, the frameworks highlight the importance of making fundamental decisions about organizational splits of the firm's business models as an ecosystem evolves. As the environment changes, organizations may need to adapt their business models to remain competitive and sustainable. The frameworks provide guidance on how organizations can identify and evaluate potential business model splits, and how they can implement these splits effectively.

In conclusion, this Element presents a valuable set of frameworks for strategy-making that serve to analyze organizational evolution processes within and beyond the firm. By employing these frameworks, organizations can gain insights into how they can adapt and evolve in response to changing market conditions, technological advancements, and other external factors. The frameworks also emphasize the role of the CEO in maintaining and updating the internal selection environment and contributing to organizational evolution, as well as making fundamental decisions about organizational splits of the firm's business models as an ecosystem evolves.

ISBN-13: 9781108983983