Strategic management relies on an array of complex methods drawn from various allied disciplines to examine how managers attempt to lead their firms toward success. This book discusses about key methodology issues in the strategic management field.

This revised and extended third edition of the highly successful How to Get Published in the Best Management Journals draws on a wealth of knowledge from leading scholars and journal editors to showcase the latest advice in securing publication in the world’s top management journals.

Capturing 5 new adventures in the life of graduating college student Atlas Black, this graphic novel is the work of award-winning teachers Jeremy Short, Talya Bauer, Dave Ketchen and award-winning illustrator Len Simon. Both entertaining and educational, it illustrates key concepts from principles of management, organizational behavior, strategic management, and entrepreneurship, as Atlas struggles to navigate his college career and plan his new life after graduation. This book examines Atlas and his best friend and honor roll student, David Chan, as they transition from entrepreneurial dreamers to new venture managers.

The answer to many strategic management research questions is often summarized as “It depends.” Faced with the marginal results of many main effect hypothesis tests of one variable on another variable, strategy researchers began developing contingency hypotheses that explored more nuanced relationships involving multiple variables. Herein, the authors examine the development of contingency thinking in strategic management via a review of all empirical articles published in Strategic Management Journal from its inception in 1980 through 2009. Using Venkatraman's framework, they identify all contingency studies within this sample. Their analysis reveals that, while contingency hypotheses are becoming more common, there is less diversity in the way the effects are tested. Additionally, while the framing of contingency hypotheses has become more sophisticated over time, there remain many opportunities for methodological improvements. Based on this content analysis, the authors offer both theoretical and methodological guidelines for future strategic management studies.

Conceptually, a central aspect of "strategic HRM" is the integration of the HR function with strategic decision making. Little is known, however, about the factors that influence integration or its subsequent effects. Using data from 148 diverse organizations, it was found that strategic type and whether or not top management views employees as strategic resources were associated with integration, but that labor market munificence and organizational growth were not. The results concerning the relationship between integration and performance were surprising; integration was associated with a lower evaluation of the HRM function by top management.

Virtual teams are an increasingly popular element of organizational designs. While virtual teams offer important advantages - including increased collaboration, greater flexibility, and cost savings - they may also create legal issues. Specifically, using virtual teams may lead executives to unwittingly violate labor and personnel laws. The results can be costly, including the loss of key personnel, damage to a company's reputation, and financial harm. Viewing virtual teams from a legal point of view, we identify pitfalls that virtual teams may encounter and offer ways to avoid them.

Actors within organizations commonly must make choices armed with incomplete and asymmetrically distributed information. Signalling theory seeks to explain how individuals are able to do so. This theory's primary predictive mechanism is 'separating equilibrium', which occurs when a signal's expectations are confirmed through experience. A content analysis finds that most strategic management signalling theory studies have not fully leveraged separating equilibrium. This presents two possible paths for future research. First, some researchers may wish to incorporate separating equilibrium. We illustrate how doing so can uncover new relationships, generate novel insights, and fortify the theory's application. Others who want to theorize about signals, but not examine separating equilibrium, could integrate ideas from signalling theory with other information perspectives. Here a signal becomes one stimulus among many that corporate actors interpret and act upon. We provide research agendas so strategy scholars can apply signalling theory most effectively to meet their research objectives.

"'Should our family firm expand, or should we be content with the success we enjoy now?' -- 'Which of my children should succeed me at the helm?' -- 'Is franchising a viable source or growth, and is it really a form of entrepreneurship?' -- 'How can I ensure that my family firm thrives in the future?' -- The founders of family firms wrestle with complex questions like these every day, and the answers are elusive. In Tales of Garcón: The Franchise Players, a charismatic entrepreneur named Garcón tries to direct the destiny of the family-owned hotel that he created. The family's plans take an unexpected turn when a mysterious investor offers to become the hotel's first franchisee. Garcón's carefree son Ramón readily embraces the opportunity, while his cynical daughter Isabel questions the investor's motives. Written in an engaging style, Tales of Garcón: The Franchise Players covers key concepts from family business management, small business management, and franchising. This graphic novel can serve as the main text for a college course, as a supplement to a traditional textbook, as a reading within an executive program, and as a primer for entrepreneurs who simply want to learn more about how to be successful. As Garcón would say, 'Disfruta de la aventura, amigos.' Enjoy the adventure, my friends."--Publisher description.

Creating organizational designs that maximize performance is a key goal for many executives. We sought to uncover ways that a giant organization - the United States Department of Defense (DoD) - could improve its performance via organazational design changes. Based on input from 80 executives who collectively represent over 60 defense contractors, we found that the DoD could become more efficient and effective by (1) relying on relational contracting within its supply chains, (2) designing better reward systems, (3) focusing on results rather than processes when managing its suppliers, (4) moving its supply chains toward a best value approach, and (5) investing strategically in its workforce. In drawing implications from our findings for organizations in general, we highlight companies that have reaped rewards from making these five moves in the past.