Cross-Unit Competition for a Market Charter: The Enduring Influence of Structure

Marketing strategists who operate in turbulent markets face a competitive landscape marked by volatility and evolving market structures. As customer requirements change, an organization that stays in alignment with its markets will form new business units or alter the market charters of existing business units. In a longitudinal study, the authors traced the structural realignments that accompanied a Fortune-500 firm's entry into the Internet market. As the charter moved from a freshly created unit to an established business unit, the authors found support for the prediction that the former organizational structure will continue to shape the identity, beliefs, and social ties of managers. The study highlights the structural, social, and cognitive factors that must be managed as corporate decision makers search for the best strategy–structure fit for an emerging market opportunity.

[1]  K. Eisenhardt.  Coevolving : At last, a way to make synergies work , 2000 .

[2]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  Patching. Restitching business portfolios in dynamic markets. , 1999, Harvard business review.

[3]  J. Porac,et al.  Sociocognitive Dynamics in a Product Market , 1999 .

[4]  S. Jayachandran,et al.  Marketing strategy: An assessment of the state of the field and outlook , 1999 .

[5]  Harley Krohmer,et al.  Marketing's Influence within the Firm , 1999 .

[6]  Holly Threat.  Measurement is free , 1999 .

[7]  Soren M. Kaplan.  Discontinuous innovation and the growth paradox , 1999 .

[8]  M. Tushman,et al.  Resource recombinations in the firm: knowledge structures and the potential for schumpeterian innovation , 1998 .

[9]  John P. Workman,et al.  Marketing Organization: An Integrative Framework of Dimensions and Determinants , 1998 .

[10]  Christine Moorman,et al.  The Convergence of Planning and Execution: Improvisation in New Product Development , 1998 .

[11]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos , 1998 .

[12]  T. Duncan,et al.  A Communication-Based Marketing Model for Managing Relationships , 1998 .

[13]  A. Keating,et al.  Determinants of divisional performance evaluation practices , 1997 .

[14]  G. Hodgkinson,et al.  Cognitive Inertia in a Turbulent Market: The Case of UK Residential Estate Agents , 1997 .

[15]  Bernard J. Jaworski,et al.  Enhancing Communication between Marketing and Engineering: The Moderating Role of Relative Functional Identification , 1997 .

[16]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  The Art of Continuous Change : Linking Complexity Theory and Time-Paced Evolution in Relentlessly Shifting Organizations , 1997 .

[17]  Dennis A. Gioia,et al.  Identity, Image, and Issue Interpretation: Sensemaking during Strategic Change in Academia. , 1996 .

[18]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  The Evolution of Intracorporate Domains: Divisional Charter Losses in High-Technology, Multidivisional Corporations , 1996 .

[19]  J. Hauser,et al.  Integrating R&D and marketing: A review and analysis of the literature , 1996 .

[20]  Constantinos C. Markides,et al.  Corporate Diversification And Organizational Structure: A Resource-Based View , 1996 .

[21]  Clayton M. Christensen,et al.  CUSTOMER POWER, STRATEGIC INVESTMENT, AND THE FAILURE OF LEADING FIRMS , 1996 .

[22]  Timothy B. Palmer,et al.  Managerial Categorization of Competitors: Using Old Maps to Navigate New Environments , 1996 .

[23]  L. Gary,et al.  ABELL F. Dereck, Defining The Business. The Starting Point of Strategic Planning . USA, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1980. , 1996 .

[24]  A. Parrish.  Managing change. , 1996, Nursing management.

[25]  H. Rao,et al.  Understanding the Bond of Identification: An Investigation of its Correlates among Art Museum Members: , 1995 .

[26]  C. K. Prahalad,et al.  Weak Signals versus Strong Paradigms , 1995 .

[27]  C. K. Prahalad,et al.  Guest Editorial: Weak Signals versus Strong Paradigms , 1995 .

[28]  Gary L. Frankwick,et al.  Hurdle the Cross-Functional Barriers to Strategic Change , 1995 .

[29]  P. Varadarajan,et al.  Delineating the scope of corporate, business, and marketing strategy , 1994 .

[30]  Celia V. Harquail,et al.  Organizational images and member identification. , 1994 .

[31]  Peter H. Reingen,et al.  Evolving Patterns of Organizational Beliefs in the Formation of Strategy , 1994 .

[32]  J. Workman.  Marketing's Limited Role in New Product Development in One Computer Systems Firm , 1993 .

[33]  Daniel J. Brass,et al.  POTENTIAL POWER AND POWER USE: AN INVESTIGATION OF STRUCTURE AND BEHAVIOR , 1993 .

[34]  M. Jelinek.  Managing change for competitive success , 1993 .

[35]  Deborah G. . Ancona,et al.  Bridging the Boundary: External Activity and Performance in Organizational Teams. , 1992 .

[36]  Robert E. Hoskisson,et al.  Cooperative Versus Competitive Structures in Related and Unrelated Diversified Firms , 1992 .

[37]  George S. Day,et al.  Marketing's Contribution to the Strategy Dialogue , 1992 .

[38]  P. Varadarajan.  Marketing’s contribution to strategy: The view from a different looking glass , 1992 .

[39]  V. Kasturi Rangan,et al.  Channel Selection for New Industrial Products: A Framework, Method, and Application , 1992 .

[40]  A. V. D. Ven,et al.  Suggestions for studying strategy process: A research note , 1992 .

[41]  D. Leonard-Barton,et al.  Core capabilities and core rigidities: A paradox in managing new product development: Strategic Management Journal, 13, 111–125 (Summer 1992) , 1992 .

[42]  D. Dougherty.  Interpretive Barriers to Successful Product Innovation in Large Firms , 1992 .

[43]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification , 1992 .

[44]  Peter R. Dickson,et al.  Toward a General Theory of Competitive Rationality , 1992 .

[45]  J. Dutton,et al.  Keeping An Eye on the Mirror: Image and Identity In Organizational Adaptation , 1991 .

[46]  Robert A. Burgelman.  Intraorganizational Ecology of Strategy Making and Organizational Adaptation: Theory and Field Research , 1991 .

[47]  C. Marlene Fiol,et al.  Managing Culture as a Competitive Resource: An Identity-Based View of Sustainable Competitive Advantage , 1991 .

[48]  A. Jurkus.  Requiem for a lightweight: The Northrop f‐20 strategic initiative , 1990 .

[49]  W. D. Perreault,et al.  Reliability of Nominal Data Based on Qualitative Judgments , 1989 .

[50]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  Social identity theory and the organization , 1989 .

[51]  M. Diamond.  Organizational Identity , 1988 .

[52]  Anil K. Gupta,et al.  Resource Sharing Among Sbus: Strategic Antecedents and Administrative Implications , 1986 .

[53]  R. Batra,et al.  Affective Responses Mediating Acceptance of Advertising , 1986 .

[54]  G. Walker,et al.  Network Position and Cognition in a Computer Software Firm , 1985 .

[55]  M. Tushman,et al.  Organizational Evolution: A Metamorphosis Model of Convergence and Reorientation , 1985 .

[56]  M. Hannan,et al.  Structural Inertia and Organizational Change , 1984 .

[57]  R. Daft,et al.  Toward a Model of Organizations as Interpretation Systems , 1984 .

[58]  G. Day.  Strategic Market Planning: The Pursuit of Competitive Advantage , 1984 .

[59]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations , 1983 .

[60]  P. F. Anderson.  Marketing, Strategic Planning and the Theory of the Firm , 1982 .

[61]  Gary L. Frazier,et al.  A Model of Strategy Mix Choice for Planned Social Change , 1982 .

[62]  E. Biggadike,et al.  The Contributions of Marketing To Strategic Management , 1981 .

[63]  J. McCann.  Strategies for Change: Logical Incrementalism , 1980 .

[64]  Danny Miller,et al.  Archetypes of Organizational Transition. , 1980 .

[65]  D. Abell,et al.  Defining the Business: The Starting Point of Strategic Planning , 1980 .

[66]  K. Weick.  The social psychology of organizing , 1969 .