Research Proposal: Impact of Strategy Perspectives on Firm Strategies

This research proposal investigates the impact of different strategy perspectives on the real-world strategies adopted by firms. It explores the influence of industry-based, resource-based, and institutional-based views on strategic decision-making processes. The proposal examines how these perspectives affect internal efficiencies, marketing strategies, and leadership effectiveness. Furthermore, it delves into the relationship between leadership characteristics, cognitive abilities, and their impact on strategic choices. The research aims to answer questions about how companies make strategic decisions, the extent to which real-world strategies align with the three perspectives, and the influence of leader-specific characteristics on decision-making abilities. The methodology involves a quantitative approach using questionnaires, surveys, and computational techniques to analyze data and correlate findings from existing research. The study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of strategic decision-making, offering insights for companies and policymakers to enhance leadership recruitment and improve organizational performance in a global business environment.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1
Impact of perspectives of strategy on real-world strategies adopted by firms
Name of Author
Tutor
City/State
Institutional Affiliation
Date of Submission

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2
Introduction
Strategic management is the process of formulating and implementing plans and
initiatives to achieve the objectives of an organization in the most cost effective manner
based on the consideration of the internal and external factors. Strategic behaviour refers
to the decisions made by the management of an organization and how they influence both
the internal and external business environment. Strategic decision making is the process of
decision making by management of organizations based on the consideration of all factors
at play within the business environment and aligning those decisions to the objective of the
organization.
The competition in the business world is becoming stiffer each day. As different
organisations seek to gain a competitive edge and increase profitability, strategy formulation has
become one of the most important aspects of organizational culture1. Strategic management is
influenced by two factors. The first factor is strategic decision making, which is the application
of the relevant theories so as to leverage an organization’s competitive advantage over
competitors2. Secondly, the leadership capability is vital as it informs the nature and extent of
strategic decision making3. This proposal, therefore, seeks to assess the impact of perspectives of
strategy on real-world strategies adopted by firms. The research will focus on the process of
strategy formulation and how the three identified theories can be incorporated into strategic
decision making. The intended research will also explore the relationship between strategic
leadership and the cognitive abilities of the leaders. It is the leaders in an organization who
1 Sims J, P PowellR Vidgen, 'A Resource-Based View Of The Build/Buy Decision: Emergent And Rational Stepwise
Models Of Strategic Planning' (2016) 25 Strategic Change
2 Alice J. Walker and Kalle J. Lyytinen, 'Rationalities & Routines For Practicing Evidence-Based Management In
Conflicted Strategic Decision-Making Groups' [2013] SSRN Electronic Journal.
3 Vargas-Hernández J, 'Research Methodology Strategies In Strategic Management' (2012) 7 JPAIR Multidisciplinary
Research

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formulate strategic decisions which makes their cognitive abilities an important variable in the
research4.
Literature review
The industry-based view theory focuses on the business environment within the industry.
This is an evaluation of the external factors which are at play within the industry in which an
organization is carrying out its business5. This theory involves the analysis of the existing
conditions within the business environment and how they can be manipulated to the advantage of
an organization6. The aim of application of this theory is to gain a competitive advantage and to
create a unique product or service that will not be exposed to competition in the industry7. The
resource-based view theory, on the other hand, focuses on the internal capabilities and strengths
that an organisation can exploit so at to maintain its dominant opposition in the market or create
a new market niche. Resource-based view leads to a competitive advantage if an organization
possesses resources that are non-substitutable, non-imitable and rare and valuable8.
The third theory is the institutional based view which is a supplement to the first two
theories. This theory looks into the institutional culture of an organization vis a vis the overall
culture of the industry9. The differences in business cultures can then be exploited to further
expand an organization’s competitive advantage by exploiting the beneficial institutional
4 Dwivedi RS Chakraborty, 'Strategic Decision Making For A Footwear Industry Using Activity Based Costing And
Value Chain Models' (2017) 17 Leather and Footwear Journal
5 Sims J, P PowellR Vidgen, 'A Resource-Based View Of The Build/Buy Decision: Emergent And Rational Stepwise
Models Of Strategic Planning' (2016) 25 Strategic Change
6 Dan Lovallo, Carmina Clarke and Colin Camerer, 'Robust Analogizing And The Outside View: Two Empirical Tests
Of Case-Based Decision Making' (2012) 33 Strategic Management Journal.
7 Li HX Zhou, 'Risk Decision Making Based On Decision-Theoretic Rough Set: A Three-Way View Decision Model'
(2011) 4 International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems
8 Ali Raza Nemati and others, 'Impact Of Resource-Based View And Resource Dependence Theory On Strategic
Decision Making' (2010) 5 International Journal of Business and Management.
9 Huaxiong Li and Xianzhong Zhou, 'Risk Decision Making Based On Decision-Theoretic Rough Set: A Three-Way
View Decision Model' (2011) 4 International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 4
business cultures that are superior to the overall industry business culture10. In the process of
strategy formulation within an international business environment, the application of a
combination of these theories can be advantageous by enabling a business to efficiently allocate
its resources, align its marketing strategy to the demand as well as align its internal management
policy and institutional culture to the industry culture11. With respect to the theories in strategic
decision making, the research will be based on a broad context, and will explore a wide range of
published journals and published data through quantitative study. As well, the research will
analyse the application of the above theories to a range of firms and organizations from different
countries globally. Based on the above extensive study, the research will be based on the
following hypotheses:
the application of resource-based theory in strategic decision making can improve an
organization’s internal efficiencies both in terms of resource allocation and limitation of wastage
organizations that apply the industry-based view have better marketing strategies
The institution-based view theory can be used to gauge the effectiveness of the leadership skills
within an organization.
The research will also be based on an additional integrative hypothesis
A combination of the three theories is the most effective in a global business
environment.
10 Nemati A and others, 'Impact Of Resource Based View And Resource Dependence Theory On Strategic Decision
Making' (2010) 5 International Journal of Business and Management
11 Walker AK Lyytinen, 'Rationalities & Routines For Practicing Evidence-Based Management In Conflicted Strategic
Decision-Making Groups' [2013] SSRN Electronic Journal

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 5
A leader’s profile is also a determinant of the nature of strategic decisions that are made
in an organization12. The individual qualities, traits and competencies all inform the nature of
decisions that business leaders arrive at, with the influence of the prevailing business
environment. The decisions that business leaders arrive at are influenced by factors such as their
qualification, field of studies, age and gender13. Others studies have also discovered a correlation
between strategic decision making and the behavioral and psychological traits of a leader14. The
link between these various factors and the actual decision-making ability of a leader is the
cognition of a leader15. For instance, the ability of a leader to relate and use their unique
qualifications and psychological traits to formulate practical business strategies is dependent on
the levels of cognitive skills that they possess16. For this reason, this research will also explore
the link between the leader profiles and strategy formulation. In this respect, the hypothesis of
the research will be that the individual leadership capabilities of the management of an
organization have an effect on the overall business culture through the adoption of relevant
strategic decision-making theories.
12 Nemati A and others, 'Impact Of Resource Based View And Resource Dependence Theory On Strategic Decision
Making' (2010) 5 International Journal of Business and Management
13 Rishi Dwivedi and Shankar Chakraborty, 'Strategic Decision Making For A Footwear Industry Using Activity Based
Costing And Value Chain Models' (2017) 17 Leather and Footwear Journal.
14 Amrollahi AB Rowlands, 'OSPM: A Design Methodology for Open Strategic Planning' (2018) 55 Information &
Management
15 Srinivas VB Shekar, 'Strategic Decision-Making Processes: Network-Based Representation And Stochastic
Simulation' (1997) 21 Decision Support Systems
16 Nicholas Poggioli, 'Extending The Resource-Based View Beyond Private Resources To Common-Pool Resources'
(2018) 2018 Academy of Management Proceedings.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 6
Research questions
The research will address the following research questions:
1. How do companies make strategic decisions?
2. To what extent are the real-world strategies adopted by firms associated with/supported
by the three major perspectives (resources, institution and industry) of strategy.
3. Whether/ to what extent do the leader specific characteristics (qualification, the field of
studies, age, gender, behavioral or psychological characteristics) influence their strategic
decision-making abilities.
4. What is the relationship between the specific psychological and behavioral
characteristics and cognitive behavior?
5. What is the impact of a leader’s cognitive behavior on strategic decision making?
The significance of research/research objectives
The findings of this research will contribute to a better understanding of how the three mentioned
theories affects the decision-making processes within organizations, especially in businesses that
operate globally17. The scope of the theories will be advanced, as well as the investigation of
whether other additional factors influencing the decision-making abilities of leaders could be
developed. This will enable companies and policymakers to come up with practical variables that
can be used in the recruitment of leaders in industries where strategy is vital such as the
technology-driven organizations where the business strategy should be dynamic and market-
17 Julian Sims, Philip Powell and Richard Vidgen, 'A Resource-Based View Of The Build/Buy Decision: Emergent And
Rational Stepwise Models Of Strategic Planning' (2016) 25 Strategic Change.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 7
oriented18. Strategy determines company performance, competitiveness and sustainability which
are all dependent on the ability of the management to analyse and understand the business
environment, the internal environment as well as the prevailing business culture globally19. The
objective in this respect is therefore to provide a link between leadership profiles and how they
can be incorporated in the strategic decision-making process. The cognitive behaviour of a
leader is significant to an organization since the decisions made by the top management
influence the success and profitability. Better cognitive behaviours results into better
strategic decision making which will benefit all stakeholders in an organization.
Methodology
A quantitative approach will be used in the sampling and gathering of data and
information. This will be conducted through the use of questionnaires and surveys of a sample
that meets the set criteria. Computational techniques will then be used to manipulate the existing
statistical data20. A thorough content analysis of a broad range of published materials with
relevant information will be carried out to correlate the findings of the existing research to the
hypothesis that have been formulated21. A deductive approach will be applied in the
interpretation and analysis of the data and information so as to ensure that the correlation is
effective and addresses the research questions22. The research questions will be related to each
18 Alice J. Walker and Kalle J. Lyytinen, 'Rationalities & Routines For Practicing Evidence-Based Management In
Conflicted Strategic Decision-Making Groups' [2013] SSRN Electronic Journal.
19 Nemati A and others, 'Impact Of Resource Based View And Resource Dependence Theory On Strategic Decision
Making' (2010) 5 International Journal of Business and Management
20 José G. Vargas-Hernández, 'Research Methodology Strategies In Strategic Management' (2012) 7 JPAIR
Multidisciplinary Research.
21 V. Srinivas and B. Shekar, 'Strategic Decision-Making Processes: Network-Based Representation And Stochastic
Simulation' (1997) 21 Decision Support Systems.
22 Alireza Amrollahi and Bruce Rowlands, 'OSPM: A Design Methodology For Open Strategic Planning' (2018) 55
Information & Management.

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specific hypothesis that it addresses so as to come up with findings and a conclusion that is based
on evidence and credible data interpretation techniques.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 9
References
Amrollahi AB Rowlands, 'OSPM: A Design Methodology for Open Strategic Planning' (2018)
55 Information & Management
Dwivedi RS Chakraborty, 'Strategic Decision Making For A Footwear Industry Using Activity
Based Costing And Value Chain Models' (2017) 17 Leather and Footwear Journal
Li HX Zhou, 'Risk Decision Making Based On Decision-Theoretic Rough Set: A Three-Way
View Decision Model' (2011) 4 International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems
Lovallo D, C ClarkeC Camerer, 'Robust Analogizing And The Outside View: Two Empirical
Tests Of Case-Based Decision Making' (2012) 33 Strategic Management Journal
Nemati A and others, 'Impact Of Resource Based View And Resource Dependence Theory On
Strategic Decision Making' (2010) 5 International Journal of Business and Management
Poggioli N, 'Extending The Resource-Based View Beyond Private Resources To Common-Pool
Resources' (2018) 2018 Academy of Management Proceedings
Sims J, P PowellR Vidgen, 'A Resource-Based View Of The Build/Buy Decision: Emergent And
Rational Stepwise Models Of Strategic Planning' (2016) 25 Strategic Change
Srinivas VB Shekar, 'Strategic Decision-Making Processes: Network-Based Representation And
Stochastic Simulation' (1997) 21 Decision Support Systems
Vargas-Hernández J, 'Research Methodology Strategies In Strategic Management' (2012) 7
JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 10
Walker AK Lyytinen, 'Rationalities & Routines For Practicing Evidence-Based Management In
Conflicted Strategic Decision-Making Groups' [2013] SSRN Electronic Journal