Re‐examining Strategic Flexibility: A Meta‐Analysis of its Antecedents, Consequences and Contingencies
Journal
British Journal of Management
Type
Article
Date Issued
2020-06-25
Author(s)
Abstract
Strategic flexibility (SF) is a concept that has evolved from strategy through other disciplines, including management, marketing, innovation, entrepreneurship and operations. However, despite attempts to consolidate the domain of SF, there remain theoretical and empirical tensions underlying its antecedents, the consequences and contingencies. Based on 106 independent samples reported in 98 different studies (n = 26,940 firms), we provide a meta‐analytical examination of these tensions. We highlight and resolve several disagreements regarding the enablers, inhibitors and triggers of SF, and we reveal an adjusted mean performance effect of 0.24. We further find that the measurement of SF, as well as some, but not all, dimensions of the environment, moderate the performance effect. Finally, an explorative analysis reveals that innovation outcomes and market outcomes mediate the positive relationship between SF and financial outcomes, in addition to a negative direct effect. These insights provide a comprehensive and coherent understanding of the nomological network of SF and a stronger basis for further theorizing and conducting empirical research. Moreover, our findings help firms to refine their strategy by implementing the right enablers that drive SF and to understand how and when their investment in SF pays off.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
32
Number
2
Official URL
Subject(s)
Division(s)
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
open.access
Name
BJM 2020 # Re-Examining Strategic Flexibility.pdf
Size
498.9 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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