The relationship between strategy making and organizational learning

Versiani, Ângela França; Rezende, Sérgio Fernando Loureiro; Magalhães, Ana Thereza Novaes; Vaz, Samir Lótfi

doi:10.7819/rbgn.v20i2.3888

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Article • Rev. bras. gest. neg. 20 (02) • Apr-Jun 2018 • https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v20i2.3888 copy

The relationship between strategy making and organizational learning

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Purpose:

This paper discusses the role of strategy making in organizational learning. By linking organizational learning and strategy-as-practice literatures, the objective of this research was to analyze how intertwined the cognitive process and strategic activities are in organizational learning.

Design/methodology/approach:

The metodology used is a longitudinal qualitative single case study of one of the largest Brazilian companies in the power industry. The unit of analysis is the firm’s growth strategy through mergers and acquisitions from 2003 to 2012.

Findings:

The findings show that organizational learning involved four sequenced causal flows in which specific types of strategic activities contributed directly or indirectly to learning loops.

Originality/value:

Our main contribution is to show that the implementation of strategic activities is the key to strategic renewal.

Keywords:
Organizational learning; strategizing; strategy making; growth strategy; strategy-as-practice

Code	Label	Quotes
Ss	Strategic stimuli	“The main target of this change was to reduce the state’s public debt by increasing private investments in the sector.”
Ss	Strategic stimuli	“The federal government created the National Regulatory Agency (ANEEL).”
Pr	Internal practitioners	“Growth happened due to a new chairman. He had such an unusual view. He began to use strategic planning.”
		“The Board decided that the firm should grow.”
		“The Board formalized the strategic plan.”
Pre	External practitioners	“The new partnerships stimulated us to adopt market practices, thus increasing efficiency and competitiveness. They introduced new ideas.”
Pre	External practitioners	“An external consultancy introduced the Balanced scorecard…”
Oc	Organizational change	“Our area is the result of the growth strategy. I think it is the embodiment of the strategic decision of the owner, the shareholder.”
		“Let me say that our area represents an evolution of strategy.”
		“The strategic committee was created.”
		“Another area was Financial Evaluation and Post Acquisition Management… also BDB.”
Sp	Strategic praxis	“Without this plan, our strategy would not have happened. This plan should be revised yearly in the strategic planning cycle.”
		“Our company began to pay attention to the market.”
		“This question (…) began in the workshop…”
		“The strategic planning made our company more aggressive.”
		“From BSC the strategy left the board and arrived at the core of the company.”
		“There were performance indicators for each area and management activity. There were also indicators for each map. This was very cool.”
Se	Sensemaking	“The president managed to view alternatives for the company precisely because of his vision and the strategic planning.”
		“The company’s board reinforced the vision of growth in workshops about action plans.”
		“The BSC indicators meant a lot for us.”
		“When we began using the performance indicators in our work, the strategy turned out to be clearer for us. We had goals to achieve, and this was useful. We could see how we contributed to strategy and why.”
		“We could understand the strategy and our roles in the strategy because of the implementation tools.”

Fundação Escola de Comércio Álvares Penteado Fundação Escola de Comércio Álvares Penteado, Av. da Liberdade, 532, 01.502-001 , São Paulo, SP, Brasil , (+55 11) 3272-2340 , (+55 11) 3272-2302, (+55 11) 3272-2302 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: rbgn@fecap.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Responsible editor: Prof. Dr. J. Ignacio Canales