The external environment’s effect on management and strategy在管理和战略管理的外部环境的影响.pdfVIP

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at /0025-1747.htm MD The external environment’s 45,1 effect on management and strategy 10 A complexity theory approach Roger B. Mason Durban University of Technology, Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa, and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK Abstract Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate the influence of the external environment on the choice of strategic management activities, from a chaos and complexity perspective, since a business environment is a complex adaptive system. Design/methodology/approach – The study in this paper was of an exploratory nature, using the qualitative techniques of case study, depth interviews and document analysis to collect data from two companies each in the IT and packaging industries, namely, more successful/less successful companies. Findings – The paper finds that first, it was proposed that more successful companies in turbulent environments would use radical, fast and disruptive strategies. Furthermore, strategy making should be a democratic, bottom-up process and should be organic, self-organising, adaptive and emergent. The results confirmed these propositions. Second, it was proposed that more successful