| Description |
This dissertation focuses attention on two areas of importance to the study of strategic management and the development of competitive advantage - concurrent sourcing (and its limitations) and the use (and misuse) of goals to find and solve valuable problems. The first two chapters are dedicated to advancing our understanding of concurrent sourcing. Chapter 1 describes the structure of, and the related processes at, the interface of the long-haul trucking company (BCT) from which the concurrent sourcing data used in Chapter 2 were obtained. Chapter 2 formulates and tests hypotheses to explore the limitations of concurrent sourcing. Chapter 2 argues that there are boundaries that limit the beneficial effects of concurrent sourcing on firm performance. Chapter 3 shifts from concurrent sourcing to the exploration of the use of goals in finding and solving valuable problems. The problem-finding/problem-solving perspective prescribes appropriate governance forms by matching the problem type for which solutions are sought with the coordination type that yields the most efficient search for high value solutions. A primary objective of this perspective is to discover the impediments and constraints which limit exploration of the problem and solution space. We explore how certain types of goals, historically thought to be useful in directing and motivating search effort, may unintentionally impede or constrain search when not discerningly aligned with specific types of problems. Matching goal type and problem type may substantially improve the practice of problem sensing, framing and formulating iv and searching and implementing solutions. This leads to the development of testable propositions, which suggest matching problem types with appropriate goal types will minimize the coordination impediments and constraints that might otherwise be encountered in framing, formulating, and solving strategic problems. |
