From Resource Allocation to Strategy

Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert have collected together some of the leading experts on strategy to examine how strategy is actually made by company managers across the several levels of an organization. Is strategy a coherent plan conceived at the top by a visionary leader, or is it formed by a series of smaller decisions, not always reflecting what top management has in mind? Often it is by examining how options for using resources are developed and selected, that we can see how a company's competitive position gets shaped. On the basis of this understanding, we can see better how these processes can be managed. The book's five sections examine how the resource allocation process works, how the way it works can lead a company into serious problems, how top management can intervene to fix these problem, and where the most recent thinking on these problems is headed. A fifth section contains assessments of this work by thought leaders in the fields of economics, competitive strategy, organizational behavior, and strategic management. The implications for those who study firms are considerable. Activity that is normally thought about in terms of substantive outcomes such as market share and revenue growth, or present value and internal rate of return, is seen to be inextricably related to organizational and administrative questions. The findings presented here should inform the research of economists, strategists, and behavioral scientists. Thoughtful executives and those who consult with them will also find the book provocative. The processes described are complex, but clear enough so that the way toward effective management is apparent. The models developed provide a basis for building the systems and organization necessary for today's competitive world.

Table of Contents:
Section I: Introduction to the Resource Allocation Process 1: Joseph L. Bower, Yves Doz, and Clark G. Gilbert: Linking Resource Allocation to Strategy 2: Joseph L. Bower: Modeling the Resource Allocation Process 3: Robert A. Burgelman: The Role of Strategy Making in Organizational Evolution 4: Clark G. Gilbert and Clayton M. Christensen: Anomaly-Seeking Research: Thirty Years of Theory Development Section II: When the Bottom-up Process Fails 5: Donald N. Sull: When the Bottom-up Resource Allocation Process Fails 6: Clayton M. Christensen and Joseph L. Bower: Customer Power, Strategic Investment, and the Failure of Leading Firms 7: Donald N. Sull: No Exit: The Failure of Bottom-up Strategic Processes and the Role of Top-down Disinvestment 8: Walter Kuemmerle: The Process of International Expansion: Comparing Established Firms and Entrepreneurial Start-ups Section III: Restoring the Bottom-up Process 9: Clark G. Gilbert: Restoring the Bottom-up Process of Resource Allocation 10: Tomo Noda and Joseph L. Bower: Strategy Making as an Iterated Process of Resource Allocation 11: Clark G. Gilbert: Resource vs. Routine Rigidity: Toward an Interpretive Model of Response to Discontinuous Change Section IV: The Need for Top-down Intervention 12: Thomas R. Eisenmann: Corporate Intervention in Resource Allocation 13: Thomas R. Eisenmann: The Entrepreneurial M-Form: A Case Study of Strategic Integration in a Global Media Company 14: Michael E. Raynor: Strategic Flexibility: The Value of Corporate-level Real Options as a Response to Uncertainty in the Pursuit of Strategic Integration 15: Yves Doz: Resource Allocation Process in Multidimensional Organizations: MNCs and Alliances Section V: Outside Commentaries on the RAP Perspective 16: John Roberts: Resource Allocation, Strategy, and Organization: An Economist's Thoughts 17: Daniel A Levinthal: Comments on the Resource Allocation Process 18: Margaret Peteraf: Research Complementarities: A Resource-Based View of the Resource Allocation Process Model (and Visa Versa) 19: Joel Podolny: CEO as Change Agent? Section VI: Conclusion 20: Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert: A Revised Model of the Resource Allocation Process

About the Author :
Joseph L. Bower is a Professor in the General Management unit at Harvard Business School. Professor Bower is a leading expert in the fields of corporate strategy, organization, and public policy, and has devoted his research and teaching to the problems top managements face as they deal with the rapidly changing political economy and competitive circumstances of the contemporary world economy, as well as publishing many books and articles on these issues. Clark G. Gilbert is an Assistant Professor in the Entrepreneurial Management unit at the Harvard Business School. He teaches the Entrepreneurial Manager Course in the first year of the MBA program and has served as the co-director of faculty recruiting for his unit. Professor Gilbert's research focuses on corporate innovation and the challenges of entrepreneurship in large, established firms. Prior to joining Harvard Business School, Professor Gilbert worked as a consultant at the Monitor Group. Today he consults widely to the media, healthcare, and technology industries.

Review :
`Best Management Book, 2006' Strategy + Business