Critical Success Factors in Implementing Organizational Strategies: A Case Study

Subject Areas : Business Management

Farajollah Rahnavard ¹ , Roghayeh Fathi ² , Taher Roshandel Arbatanh ³

1 - Associate Professor, Institute of Management and Planning, Management Department, Tehran, Iran. F
2 - Master of Arts, Aras International Campus, University of Tehran, MBA Management Group, Tehran, Iran
3 - Associate Professor, Tehran University, Media Management Group, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2013-08-23 Accepted : 2014-01-28 Published : 2014-05-22

Keywords: Organizational Culture, Organizational Structure, Strategy Implementation, Alignment, Empowered Human Resource,

Abstract :

Supposing that senior management has formulated an appropriate organizational strategy in the light of environmental analysis and strategic direction of an organization, there is still a key question regarding its successful implementation. East Azerbaijan Broadcasting has spent a lot of money and time to formulate its organization strategies, but at the implementation stage has faced serious barriers, and its strategies have not been put into practice yet. A literature review and a number of interviews were used to identify twenty three key contingency factors that influence successful implementation of strategy among public sector organizations. A survey was administered to 223 employees in East Azerbaijan Broadcasting. The data were analyzed using factor analysis. The study only explores the perceptions of employees regarding critical success factors for strategy implementation. The results indicate that organizational structure, organizational culture, managerial control, empowered human resource, adequate financial resource, rewarding system, and vertical alignment of strategic levels are the key factors to address factors influencing strategy implementation. The model explains 59 percent of the variance in strategy implementation, which is a suitable model in this regard.  

References:

Aaltonen, P., Ikavalko, H. (2002), "Implementing Strategies Successfully". Integrated Manufacturing Systems, 13 (6), 415-18.

Alkhafaji, A.F. (2003), Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment, New York: The Haworth Press.

Beer, M., Eisenstat, R. A. (2000), "The Silent Killer of Strategy Implementation and learning". Sloan Management Review, July, 29-30.

Boseman, G., Phatak, A., and Schellenberger, R. E. (1986), Strategic Management::Text and Cases. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Brenes, E. R., Mena, M., & Molina, G. E. (2008),"Key Success Factors for Strategy Implementation in Latin America." Journal of Business Research, Vol.61, No.6, pp.590-598.

Charan R. and Colvin, G. (1999), “Why CEOs Fail,” Fortune, June 21.

Critenden, V., & Critenden, W. (2008), "Building a capable organization: The eight levers of strategy implementation". Business Horizons, 51(4), 301–309.

David, F. R. (2011). Strategic Management. Tehran: Cultural Research Center, (In Persian).

Huber, A.J. (2011), Effective Strategy Implementation: Conceptualizing Firms’ Strategy Implementation Capabilities and Assessing Their Impact on Firm Performance, Germany: Gabler Verlag.

Jalali Fariz hendi, S. H. (2010). Solutions to Address Barriers to Implementing Marketing Strategies. Allameh Tabatabaei University, (In Persian).

Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (1996),"The Balanced Score-card – Translating Strategy into Action", Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Mankins, M. C., Steele, R. (2005), "Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance". Harvard Business Review 83 (7/8), 64–72.

Miller, S. (1997), "Implementing Strategic Decisions: Four key Success Factors", Organization Studies, 18(4), 577-602.

Miller, S., Hickson, D. & Wilson, D. (2008), "From strategy to action: involvement and influence in top level decisions". Long Range Planning 41(6), 606–628.

Miller, S., Wilson, D., & Hickson, D. (2004), Beyond Planning: Strategies for Successfully Implementing Strategic Decisions". Long Range Planning 37 (3), 201-218

Okumus, F. (2001), "Towards a Strategy Implementation Framework". International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 13(7), 327-38.

Quinn, J. B., Mintz Berg, H., & James, Robert M. (2003). Strategic Management. Translate by: M. Saibi, Tehran: Higher Education and Research Management and Planning, (In Persian).

Rahnavard, F., & Nikzad, S. (2009). Creating a Balance between Organizational Elements in the Light of Strategic Reference Points and Its Relationship with Organizational Performance. Public Administration, 1(2), 34-19, (In Persian).

Sarmad, Z., Bazargan, A. S., & Hejazi, A. (1997). Research Methods in Behavioral Sciences. Tehran: Agah Publishing, (In Persian).

Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2003), Research methods for business students (3rd Ed). Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.

Schmelzer, C.D., and Olsen, M.D. (1994), A data based strategy implementation framework for companies in the restaurant industry, Int. J. Hospitality Management, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 347-359.

Thompson, A. A. and Strickland, A. J. (1987), Strategic Management. Business Publications, Inc.: Plano. TX.

Waterman, R. H., Peters, T. J., Phillips, J. R. (1980), "Structure is the organization". Business Horizons, 23(3), 14-26.