Companies which can drastically change their entrenched ways of doing things and retrieve top positions in their industries are the exception instead of the rule. Even less widespread firms are capable of predicting a brand new group of demands and marshal the internal and external resources necessary to match with them. Few businesses make the transformation out of their old version to a brand-new one voluntarily. Usually, they begin to search for a brand new way forward only when they are shoved. This raises two important questions for corporate managers: (1) Is decline inevitable? (2) Do firms really need a financial downturn to galvanize change, or can they adopt new ways of doing things when not under pressure? Management theorists have found that decline, while maybe not inescapable, is quite likely after a time period. For this reason, the authors contend, it's essential for organizations to come up with new dynamic capabilities by choice rather than relying entirely on their historic capacities.
Inside their attempt to comprehend what makes for successful organizational transformations, the writers examined 215 of the United Kingdom's biggest public companies. It compares them with three other companies from similar industries which were also successful but had not been required to make a remarkable shift. The writers found that the firms that transformed themselves had three fundamental advantages over their peers. First, they could develop coalitions that are alternate with direction. Second, they were able to make a tradition of constructively challenging business as usual. And third, they could exploit "happy accidents" to make strategic changes. Collectively these advantages helped them establish a virtuous cycle of strategic transformation.
PUBLICATION DATE: April 01, 2012 PRODUCT #: SMR414-HCB-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about STRATEGY & EXECUTION