From Resource Allocation to Strategy

by Joseph L. Bower (editor), Clark G. Gilbert (Editor)

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 bases 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 problems and where the most recent thinking on these problems is headed.
A fifth section contains assessments of this work by through leaders I 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 finding 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.

Genres: Business

488 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2005

Reviews

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 4 out of 5]

En ojämn men men delvis djup guide till strategi som svar på oförutsägbarhet. Jag är inte målgruppen, men kan en del, och kan konstatera att dess undersökning är ganska välunderbyggd, trots ett smalt urval av undersökta situationer och företag. Boken diskuterar olika lösningar, utifrån postulatet att strategi tenderar att formas av personer nära marknaden, och att den formas av de lösningar som finns. Boken gifter sig utmärkt med Effectuation, som jag läste förra året, med stor behållning. Jag rekommenderar den varmt, för berörda.

[Nacho Bassino · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super dense and outdated read. It may be good for historic research and fundational concepts, but no good for modern tech companies.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Bower and Gilbert reveal in the book's Preface, "Our intention in writing this book is threefold: First, we hope to communicate the unique character of the resource allocation process and its link to strategy through the development of a formal model. Second, we hope to show how this model has evolved over 30 years of research development. Finally, we hope to better connect the research on resource allocation to the field of strategy as a whole." They brilliantly achieve all three objectives.

Co-editors Bower and give us a much clearer "picture" of how large organizations manage their resources. As they note, "Without exception, these activities are distributed more widely across the organization than is usually imagined. More challenging for both descriptive and normative theories of decision making, activities whose consequences are interdependent will typically proceed independently and simultaneously, posing huge problems where coherence is a central requisite for efficiency and effectiveness."