Strategy and the Strategist: How It Matters Who Develops the Strategy

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Van den Steen, Eric
• 署名单位: Harvard University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2017.2857
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 4533-4551
• 关键词: firm strategy; COMMITMENT; leadership; STRATEGY PROCESS; strategy execution; Group decisions

摘要

This paper addresses primarily two questions. First, when (and why) should a company's strategy be developed by its CEO versus by some outside analyst or other insider? Second, how does strategy interact with vision (in the sense of a strong belief about the right course of action)? The paper studies these questions using a functional definition of strategy as the smallest set of choices to optimally guide other choices. Among other things, the paper shows that strategy formulation by the CEO leads to both better strategy and better execution, and that a strategist's vision may improve execution. In the process, the paper also identifies criteria that make a decision strategic and derives explanations why strategies often reflect the background of the strategist.