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Strategic renewal—is disruptive revolution unavoidable?
Author(s) -
Leavy Brian
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
strategic change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.527
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1099-1697
pISSN - 1086-1718
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1697(199708)6:5<283::aid-jsc313>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - punctuated equilibrium , ibm , disruptive innovation , perspective (graphical) , field (mathematics) , focus (optics) , process (computing) , disruptive technology , strategic management , management , sociology , marketing , operations research , computer science , economics , business , engineering , artificial intelligence , paleontology , materials science , physics , mathematics , manufacturing engineering , pure mathematics , optics , biology , nanotechnology , operating system
Strategic renewal has become a central focus in the strategy field in recent times. Leading companies with long track records of success, like General Motors, Sears and IBM, have been undergoing the kind of painful transformations that would have been unthinkable even a decade ago. Must the renewal process be so painful and socially disruptive or can it be managed in a more gradual and continuous fashion? This paper sets out to examine this question in the light of the development of the strategy field to date. It reviews the relevant literature, which up to the present has been dominated by the punctuated‐equilibrium perspective on renewal. It then identifies and discusses three promising developments, the focus on learning and learning theory, the emphasis on systems thinking and non‐linear processes, and the new interest in intraecological dynamics, and concludes with an assessment of their overall implications for future theory and practice. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.