Management Decision: Volume 40 Issue 5

In search of a general enterprise model

Frank W. Dewhurst, Kevin D. Barber, Matthew C. Pritchard

Many organisations, particularly SMEs, are reluctant to invest time and money in models to support decision making. Such reluctance could be overcome if a model could be used for…

Gap between production and marketing functions: a case study

A. Gunasekaran, E. Tirtiroglu, V. Wolstencroft

For any company, measuring its performance with respect to customers’ expectations is crucial in selecting suitable strategies and technologies that it will employ in producing…

Rationalizing corporate downsizing with long‐term profitability – an empirical focus

Ralph Palliam, Zeinab Karake Shalhoub

This research empirically tests the rationale of corporate downsizing of employees as a cost reduction strategy on the long‐run profitability of a corporation. The sample for this…

The mission statement is a strategic tool: when used properly

John V. Mullane

Managers are divided in their allegiance to their firms’ mission statements. Some managers swear by their mission statement while others swear at theirs. Evidence from two firms…

Strategic thinking versus strategic planning: towards understanding the complementarities

Fiona Graetz

In an environment characterised by flux and uncertainty, a capacity for innovative, divergent strategic thinking rather than conservative, convergent strategic planning is seen as…

Developing and supporting creative problem‐solving teams: part 1 – a conceptual model

Elspeth McFadzean

Effective team development, facilitation and creative problem solving are three components that can help improve group problem solving and decision making. Group meetings can be…

Narratives of transformation: a strategic decision maker’s guide

Steven Henderson, Angela Zvesper

This paper explores the implications of paradigm diversity for understanding the strategic decisions involved in transforming organisations. It examines the conflicting…

Cladistics as historiography: part I – introduction to cladistics

Michel J. Leseure

This paper is an introduction to cladistics, a qualitative evolutionary classification technique, as a method for historiography. An example of classification is provided, and…

The evolution of information systems: their impact on organizations and structures

Ananda Mukherji

Information systems and organization structures have been highly interconnected with each other. Over the years, information systems architectures as well as organization…

Efficient consumer response – its origin and evolution in the history of marketing

Göran Svensson

The article provides a non‐mainstream discussion the origin and evolution of efficient consumer response (ECR) in marketing literature. It challenges generally believed positions…