Strategy Development Processes and Useful Approaches in High-Velocity Environments

Resumen o Introducción

The fact that strategic decisions have an essential impact on growth, as well as on profitability, illustrates that organisations should become familiarised with the different approaches on how to come to a strategic decision.

Researchers discuss whether strategic planning tools should be used and which risk they bear and debate about the degree of formalization. Should decisions rely more on facts or more on human intuition and what benefits are involved? While there are several discussable approaches, it is widely agreed that strategic decisions influence the long-term performance of the company, by focusing on the future of the business as a whole, rather than on specific business units.

A glance at the practice shows that companies use several different approaches to come to strategic decisions. Performance indicators prove that some organisations established a very successful way of decision making, while other companies are struggling to find a way to make strategic decisions which fit the business model and the industry they are acting in.

This essay illustrates which approach is effective in making strategic decisions in today's world, with the emphasis to create an entrepreneurial environment. To analyse different approaches, this essay first reviews the literature in order to provide an overview of the theory about strategic development processes, continuing with benefits and dilemmas of deliberate and emergent strategies, illustrating that the incremental approach possesses balanced features. Finally, the essay discusses practical approaches of how to make effective strategic decisions in a high-velocity environment.