Strategic Integration

Book excerpt: Strategic Integration Edited by Howard Thomas and Don O’Neal University of Illinois, USA What a company might do; could do; wants to do; should do. These are the four elements of strategy which illustrate the integrative nature of strategic management. It quickly becomes apparent that the key to successful strategy is effective integration — of resources, competences, markets, opportunities, organizational structure, culture, environment, innovation, technology, processes, decisions and actions. There are four crucial areas of debate and these are covered in depth. They are:- Boards and Governance — suggests that no element of strategy is better positioned to influence strategy and its integration than senior management. Competition and Core Competences — examines their interdependence and relationship with successful strategy. Organizational Restructuring — discusses organizational types, IT and strategy, managing in a dynamic environment and measurement of strategic performance. Technology — demonstrates relationship between technological change and strategy, structure, culture, and competition; and the relationship between quality and strategy, and integrating technology and marketing strategies. Strategic Integration is concerned with building and maintaining bridges between theory and practice. On the research side it generates and tests theories related to business and management; and on the practitioner side it shows how to learn, understand, and apply tested theories in practice.