From autonomous strategic behavior to emergent strategy

Abstract

This study develops a model of emergent strategy formation at a large telecommunications firm. It integrates prominent traditions in strategy process research-strategy as patterned action, as iterated resource allocation and as practice-to show how emergent strategy originates as a project through autonomous strategic behavior, then subsequently becomes realized as a consequence of mobilizing wider support to provide impetus, manipulating strategic context to legitimate the project by constructing it as consonant with the prevailing concept of strategy, and altering structural context to embed it within organizational units, routines, and objectives. The study theorizes the role of "practices of strategy articulation" in emergent strategy formation, and explains why some autonomous strategic behavior becomes "ephemeral" and disappears rather than enduring to become emergent strategy.

The role of project portfolio management in fostering both deliberate and emergent strategy

“…This research provides the first quantitative study from a project portfolio perspective to complement earlier studies that explore the phenomenon of emergent strategies and related strategic management practices (Burgelman, 1994;Chari et al, 2014;Mirabeau and Maguire, 2014;Thomas and Ambrosini, 2015). The results of this study contribute to the literature in three primary ways.…”

“…Although we did not set out to look for 'planned emergence' in this study, our findings contribute to the growing interest in this concept, and provide support for further research in this area. Finally, future studies that take a multi-level, longitudinal, and micro-foundational perspective would provide deeper insights into how strategies actually emerge (Barney and Felin, 2013) and could build on recent qualitative studies conducted from such a perspective (Maniak and Midler, 2014;Midler, 2013;Mirabeau and Maguire, 2014). The project portfolio is consistently aligned with the future of the company.…”

“…Furthermore, he proposes that strategy may follow autonomous strategic behavior when the middlemanagers make sense out of these initiatives and manipulate the strategic context accordingly. More explicitly, Mirabeau and Maguire (2014) explored several autonomous strategic projects that have led to emergent strategies by mobilizing support for change and altering the strategic and structural context (Mirabeau and Maguire, 2014).…”

“…Nevertheless, there is a body of empirical research that describes how emergent strategy arises from resource allocation (Burgelman, 1994;Noda and Bower, 1996), autonomous strategic behavior (Burgelman, 1983;Mirabeau and Maguire, 2014), and is fostered by interactive strategic control systems (Osborn, 1998;van Veen-Dirks and Wijn, 2002). The new paradigm of 'planned emergence' constitutes a shift from the traditional perception of strategic planning as a resource deployment process towards viewing 'strategy as aspirations and performance goals' (Grant, 2003).…”

“…The management of a project portfolio encompasses projects that are initiated through the organization's formal and cascaded strategy process as well as projects that evolve in an 'emergent' fashion and may not be well aligned to the existing strategy (Mirabeau and Maguire, 2014). Thus, project portfolio management not only frames the process of translating a corporate strategy into a project roadmap for implementation, but also provides the oversight of the project landscape that comprises the grassroots of emergent strategies.…”