Abstract: In the global marketplace, a premium is placed on corporate innovation. Previous literature has focused too much on crude proxies of corporate innovation (i.e., R&D expenditures), and is restricted too much to US firms. In this study, we examined some of the predictors of innovative behaviors within the 2008 Fortune Global 500 list. Specifically, we identified firms with a corporate presence in Second Life, and we are in the process of comparing these “innovative” corporations with firms that are similar in size and operating in the same industry but have not established a corporate presence in Second Life. Our aim was to discern how these two sets of firms differ. We currently are in the process of collecting and analyzing data.

Abstract: Theory development on the relationship between strategic planning and organizational performance has focussed on largely discrete examinations of dependent and independent variables. While the literature has examined the impact of organizational learning on strategic planning, no holistic empirical approaches have been employed in order to fully explore the inter-play between these important constructs. This paper addresses the cited limitations in both the strategic planning and organizational performance literatures by creating profiles of organizational learning and strategic planning capacity using a configuration theory-based approach. The organizational learning orientation profiles (OLOPs) created of prospector, disseminator, interpretative and memory, contribute to theory development regarding the relationship of strategic planning and organizational learning. The theory developed provides insights that have not been previously reported.

Abstract: We investigate the upstream process in the oil industry based on five case studies. This allows us to concentrate on a scale-intensive, process oriented setting which substantially contrasts from traditional science-driven industries such as biotech and pharmaceuticals. We identify four trends that characterize the upstream process: (1) The importance of demand increases as governments respond by providing access to new regions and managers shape reward systems accordingly. This in turn results in new innovation. (2) Trial and error becomes increasingly important in an industry where (3) interdisciplinary cooperation is revolutionizing the way people work and where (4) ICT solutions facilitate communication between experts in different regions and with varying background.

Abstract: This paper formulates a process-oriented approach to strategic opportunities in information industries. Managers attempt to discover products which offer prospective users markedly higher connectivity and network value. They create the opportunities by using the firm’s distinctive capabilities to harness supply-side and demand-side economies of scale. Extreme uncertainty reflects the emergent, uncertainty-enhancing growth of information industries. Recursive interactions between the firm’s internal and external environments enable the pursuit of tip-ping-point strategies. The paper argues that managers’ probabilistic reasoning assigns high salience to upside risks and relies heavily on categorization and intuitive judgments. One of the hardest challenges is to properly decipher nonlinear probabilistic causal relations between strategic variables. The process-oriented approach to strategic op-portunities shows that recommendations by the positioning and resource-based views are rather complementary than mutually exclusive. Implications stimulate designing more efficient training programs for strategic managers.