This study confirms and extends previous research by providing a detailed longitudinal examination of the strategic group and performance relationship in the hospital industry from 1983 to 1993. Based on a deductive approach using Porter's (1980) typology, we find that matching strategy to environment affects hospital performance, that the appropriate match between strategy and environment changed over the 1983 to 1993 time period, and that hospitals combining a low cost and differentiation strategy (i.e., a best‐cost approach) performed well during most of the time period examined. We also find significant movement between strategic groups, thus calling into question the degree to which mobility barriers affect between group performance differences. Finally, our research suggests the existence of multiple groups following the same strategic approach, a result that calls into question the view that groups within an industry are monolithic.
This study was an attempt to identify, through structural equation modeling, the factors that may be involved in the performance of classroom teams. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to study Katzenbach and Smith’s model of “high performing teams”. While it is often difficult for classroom leaders – professors, instructors, etc. – to intervene on an ongoing basis in the process and interpersonal dimensions of classroom or project teams, it may be possible for them to make structural or programmatic interventions that positively affect all teams in their classes. This study attempted to identify those structural factors using Katzenbach and Smith’s model as a basis. Four such factors were identified. The implications of these factors on classroom leaders’ methods are discussed. The study, however, leaves several questions unanswered. These are described and the implications for further research are enumerated.
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the objectivity and reliability of Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500® ranking system.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from 1997 to 2004 rankings, regression analysis was used to determine the extent to which key variables explained the rank of franchise firms.FindingsSeveral quantifiable measures, categorized by the publishers as “most important” or “important” to a firm's rankings, were found to have little or no explanatory power in the regression model. Longitudinal analysis revealed inconsistencies in the ranking among the top 100 ranked franchises, which question the ranking system's reliability.Research limitations/implicationsOnly a subset of the variables used to calculate the rankings are disclosed by the publisher, yet these variables explain a substantial portion of any given franchise's rank. Only the top 100 ranked firms were included in the study.Practical implicationsWhile considered to be important to a firm's rank, the amount of pending litigation and the percentage of terminations within the system, found to be indicators of conflict between franchisor and franchisees, appear to have little effect on a franchise's rank. Also, size of the franchise system appears to have a strong but inconsistent relationship with rank, both within any given year and over the time period covered by this study. Lastly, the relationship between growth rate and rank, another factor considered by the publisher to be most important, also appears inconsistent, both in terms of number of outlets added and percentage of growth attained over the previous year.Originality/valueDue to the wide popularity of the ranking system by practitioners and researchers a more systematic examination of the ranking appears justified to understand the underlying research implications of franchising research as it relates to the Franchise 500.
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