Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert collect together leading US strategy researchers
to review theory and research in resource allocation
Demonstrates how the resource allocation decisions of a firm collectively create its
strategy
Draws upon exetensive field work and empirical analysis
Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert have collected together some of the leading
experts on strategy to examine how strategy is actually made by company managers across
the several levels of an organization. Is strategy a coherent plan conceived at the top by
a visionary leader, or is it formed by a series of smaller decisions, not always
reflecting what top management has in mind? Often it is by examining how options for using
resources are developed and selected, that we can see how a companys competitive position
gets shaped. On the basis of this understanding, we can see better how these processes can
be managed.
The books five sections examine how the resource allocation process works, how the way
it works can lead a company into serious problems, how top management can intervene to fix
these problem, and where the most recent thinking on these problems is headed. A fifth
section contains assessments of this work by thought leaders in the fields of economics,
competitive strategy, organizational behavior, and strategic management.
The implications for those who study firms are considerable. Activity that is normally
thought about in terms of substantive outcomes such as market share and revenue growth, or
present value and internal rate of return, is seen to be inextricably related to
organizational and administrative questions. The findings presented here should inform the
research of economists, strategists, and behavioral scientists. Thoughtful executives and
those who consult with them will also find the book provocative. The processes described
are complex, but clear enough so that the way toward effective management is apparent. The
models developed provide a basis for building the systems and organization necessary for
todays competitive world.
Readership: Academics, researchers, and advanced students of Strategy, Management, and
Resource Allocation; Managers and Management Consultants
Table of Contents
Section I: Introduction to the Resource Allocation Process
1 Joseph L. Bower, Yves Doz, and Clark G. Gilbert: Linking Resource Allocation to
Strategy
2 Joseph L. Bower: Modeling the Resource Allocation Process
3 Robert A. Burgelman: The Role of Strategy Making in Organizational Evolution
4 Clark G. Gilbert and Clayton M. Christensen: Anomaly-Seeking Research: Thirty Years
of Theory Development
Section II: When the Bottom-up Process Fails
5 Donald N. Sull: When the Bottom-up Resource Allocation Process Fails
6 Clayton M. Christensen and Joseph L. Bower: Customer Power, Strategic Investment, and
the Failure of Leading Firms
7 Donald N. Sull: No Exit: The Failure of Bottom-up Strategic Processes and the Role of
Top-down Disinvestment
8 Walter Kuemmerle: The Process of International Expansion: Comparing Established Firms
and Entrepreneurial Start-ups
Section III: Restoring the Bottom-up Process
9 Clark G. Gilbert: Restoring the Bottom-up Process of Resource Allocation
10 Tomo Noda and Joseph L. Bower: Strategy Making as an Iterated Process of Resource
Allocation
11 Clark G. Gilbert: Resource vs. Routine Rigidity: Toward an Interpretive Model of
Response to Discontinuous Change
Section IV: The Need for Top-down Intervention
12 Thomas R. Eisenmann: Corporate Intervention in Resource Allocation
13 Thomas R. Eisenmann: The Entrepreneurial M-Form: A Case Study of Strategic
Integration in a Global Media Company
14 Michael E. Raynor: Strategic Flexibility: The Value of Corporate-level Real Options
as a Response to Uncertainty in the Pursuit of Strategic Integration
15 Yves Doz: Resource Allocation Process in Multidimensional Organizations: MNCs and
Alliances
Section V: Outside Commentaries on the RAP Perspective
16 John Roberts: Resource Allocation, Strategy, and Organization: An Economist's
Thoughts
17 Daniel A Levinthal: Comments on the Resource Allocation Process
18 Margaret Peteraf: Research Complementarities: A Resource-Based View of the Resource
Allocation Process Model (and Visa Versa)
19 Joel Podolny: CEO as Change Agent?
Section VI: Conclusion
20 Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert: A Revised Model of the Resource Allocation
Process
Hardback
484 pages