Summary of the article “Strategizing throughout the organization:
Managing role conflict in strategic renewal” By Floyd and Lane
(2000)
Strategic renewal requires a shift in the roles that managers play & shift in relationships
between these roles
Hypothesis: Strategic role conflict is an inevitable by-product of environmental change and
that it can be minimized but not eliminated
Strategic renewal = an evolutionary process associated with promoting, accommodating,
and utilizing new knowledge and innovative behavior in order to bring about change in an
organization’s core competencies and/or change in its product market domain
Successful change dependent on bottom-up learning & internal selection
(Burgelman, 1991)
3 subprocesses of strategic renewal
1. Competence deployment
a. = process wherein manager deploy resources to venture into new product
market arenas or to reinforce an existing product market position
b. Organization must have already learned the necessary competencies,
otherwise it faces the prospect of attempting to execute a strategy without
needed resources
2. Competence modification
a. = process wherein managers recognize the need for change; question the
organization’s existing strategy and/ or competencies; and encourage
emergent adaptive behavior
b. Strategy is in flux, managers may back off the formal plan, relax control
systems and encourage mutual adjustment as a means of coordination
c. Disadvantage: it produces organizational flexibility, but not sustainable in the
long-run
3. Competence definition
a. = process wherein managers encourage experimentation with new skills and
exploration of new market opportunities
b. New direction is developed through interactions among many people, each
of whom has a piece of the knowledge needed to construct new routines
Recommended to go through these phases sequential starting with competence
deployment (in reality it’s often way messier)
Role depends on the expectations people have of this role; the more clearly it’s articulated
the more likely the individuals performing the role will conform to these expectations
, 2 roles:
- Primary role = contribution to operational tasks & objectives
o Manager’s primary roles = involve gathering and dissemination of
information, making managers a nexus for information flows within the
organization
o Explicitly defined or clear expectations
- Secondary roles = sets of behaviors that support the organization’s objectives but
that are less closely linked to day-to-day operational functions of a position
o Often not explicitly defined or expected
o Managers can have different secondary roles, but share 1: the role they play
in organization’s strategic processes
10 strategic roles of managers
Management level Roles Behaviors
Top management Ratifying - Articulate strategic intent
(decision-making roles) - Monitor
- Endorse & support
Recognizing - Recognize strategic potential
- Set strategic direction
- Empower & enable
Directing - Plan
- Deploy resources
- Command
Middle management Championing - Nurture & advocate
(communicating info - Champion
between operating & - Present alternatives to top
top levels of management
management)
Synthesizing - Categorize issues
- Sell issues to top management
- Blend strategic and hands-on
information
- Synthesize
Facilitating - Nourish adaptability and shelter
activity
- Share information
- Guide adaptation
- Facilitate learning
Implementing - Implement
- Revise & adjust
- Motivate & inspire: coach
Operating Experimenting - Learn & improve
management - Link technical ability & need
(reacting to info from - Initiate autonomous initiatives
factor/ product - Experiment & take risks
markets & from higher
Managing role conflict in strategic renewal” By Floyd and Lane
(2000)
Strategic renewal requires a shift in the roles that managers play & shift in relationships
between these roles
Hypothesis: Strategic role conflict is an inevitable by-product of environmental change and
that it can be minimized but not eliminated
Strategic renewal = an evolutionary process associated with promoting, accommodating,
and utilizing new knowledge and innovative behavior in order to bring about change in an
organization’s core competencies and/or change in its product market domain
Successful change dependent on bottom-up learning & internal selection
(Burgelman, 1991)
3 subprocesses of strategic renewal
1. Competence deployment
a. = process wherein manager deploy resources to venture into new product
market arenas or to reinforce an existing product market position
b. Organization must have already learned the necessary competencies,
otherwise it faces the prospect of attempting to execute a strategy without
needed resources
2. Competence modification
a. = process wherein managers recognize the need for change; question the
organization’s existing strategy and/ or competencies; and encourage
emergent adaptive behavior
b. Strategy is in flux, managers may back off the formal plan, relax control
systems and encourage mutual adjustment as a means of coordination
c. Disadvantage: it produces organizational flexibility, but not sustainable in the
long-run
3. Competence definition
a. = process wherein managers encourage experimentation with new skills and
exploration of new market opportunities
b. New direction is developed through interactions among many people, each
of whom has a piece of the knowledge needed to construct new routines
Recommended to go through these phases sequential starting with competence
deployment (in reality it’s often way messier)
Role depends on the expectations people have of this role; the more clearly it’s articulated
the more likely the individuals performing the role will conform to these expectations
, 2 roles:
- Primary role = contribution to operational tasks & objectives
o Manager’s primary roles = involve gathering and dissemination of
information, making managers a nexus for information flows within the
organization
o Explicitly defined or clear expectations
- Secondary roles = sets of behaviors that support the organization’s objectives but
that are less closely linked to day-to-day operational functions of a position
o Often not explicitly defined or expected
o Managers can have different secondary roles, but share 1: the role they play
in organization’s strategic processes
10 strategic roles of managers
Management level Roles Behaviors
Top management Ratifying - Articulate strategic intent
(decision-making roles) - Monitor
- Endorse & support
Recognizing - Recognize strategic potential
- Set strategic direction
- Empower & enable
Directing - Plan
- Deploy resources
- Command
Middle management Championing - Nurture & advocate
(communicating info - Champion
between operating & - Present alternatives to top
top levels of management
management)
Synthesizing - Categorize issues
- Sell issues to top management
- Blend strategic and hands-on
information
- Synthesize
Facilitating - Nourish adaptability and shelter
activity
- Share information
- Guide adaptation
- Facilitate learning
Implementing - Implement
- Revise & adjust
- Motivate & inspire: coach
Operating Experimenting - Learn & improve
management - Link technical ability & need
(reacting to info from - Initiate autonomous initiatives
factor/ product - Experiment & take risks
markets & from higher
