Convergence Versus Strategic Reorientation: The Antecedents of Fast-paced Organizational Change

Abstract

We reexamine and extend the antecedents of strategic reorientation, a change in strategy combined with change in at least two of organization structure, power distribution and control systems, presented by Lant, Milliken, and Batra (1992) by using archival data (1987–1993) for firms in the stable furniture and turbulent computer software industries. While enabling direct comparability of results from the two studies, we specify an extended, integrated model of change forces, and test the hypotheses with a more robust data analytic technique, hierarchical regression analysis. The results support industry turbulence and CEO turnover as precursors to strategic reorientation, and suggest that industry turbulence conditions managers’ external attributions for negative financial performance in influencing strategic reorientation. Alternatively, the results indicate that top management team turnover is negatively related to strategic reorientation. The results do not support the Lant et al. (1992) conclusions that low past financial performance, top management team heterogeneity, awareness of environmental changes, and external attributions for negative financial performance outcomes are significantly associated with strategic reorientation. Structural equation analysis indicated the predictive superiority of the respecified model, and we offer suggestions for theoretical refinement and development of strategic reorientation.