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This paper draws upon three broad perspectives on the strategic decision-making process in order to develop a more completely specified model of strategic decision effectiveness in a different context, namely Egypt. The key variables in this model consist of three strategic decision-making process dimensions (rationality, intuition, and political behavior); seven moderating variables concerning decision-specific, environmental, and organizational factors; and strategic decision effectiveness as an outcome variable. A two-stage study was conducted in which the first stage provided exploratory insights and the second stage investigated hypotheses on the impact of strategic decision-making process dimensions on strategic decision effectiveness and the moderating role of broader contextual variables. The second-stage study produced three major findings: (1) both rational and political processes appear to have more influence on strategic decision effectiveness than does intuition; (2) strategic decision effectiveness is both process- and context-specific; and (3) certain results support the ‘culture-free’ argument, while others support the ‘culture-specific’ argument. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare the survival of new domestic and foreign-owned firms. We analyze the determinants of the survival of new firms and investigate whether foreignness accounts for significant differences in the survival of new foreign and new domestic firms. We find survival to be determined by ownership advantages, size and growth strategies, the internal organization of firms, and by industry characteristics such as economies of scale, and industry entry and growth. After controlling for these characteristics, we find that domestic and foreign firms do not exhibit different chances for survival, that they respond in similar fashions to the determinants of survival and display identical time patterns of exit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of two experimental investigations into the efficacy of a causal cognitive mapping procedure as a means for overcoming cognitive biases arising from the framing of strategic decision problems. In Study 1, final year management studies undergraduate students were presented with an elaborated strategic decision scenario, under one of four experimental conditions: positively vs. negatively framed decision scenarios, with prechoice vs. postchoice mapping task orders (i.e., participants were required to engage in cognitive mapping before or after making a decision). As predicted, participants in the postchoice mapping conditions succumbed to the framing bias whereas those in the prechoice mapping conditions did not. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings in a field setting, on a sample of senior managers, using a decision scenario that closely mirrored a strategic dilemma currently facing their organization. Taken together, the findings of these studies indicate that the framing bias is likely to be an important factor in strategic decision making, and suggest that cognitive mapping provides an effective means of limiting the damage accruing from this bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship intensity and five specific strategic management practices in a sample of 169 U.S. manufacturing firms. The five strategic management practices include: scanning intensity, planning flexibility, planning horizon, locus of planning, and control attributes. The results of the study indicated a positive relationship between corporate entrepreneurship intensity and scanning intensity; planning flexibility, locus of planning, and strategic controls. The fine-grained nature of these results may be of practical use to firms that are trying to become more entrepreneurial and may help researchers better understand the subtleties of the interface between strategic management and corporate entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in causal modeling techniques have made it possible for researchers to simultaneously examine theory and measures. However, researchers must use these new techniques appropriately. In addition to dealing with the methodological concerns associated with more traditional methods of analysis, researchers using causal modeling approaches must understand their underlying assumptions and limitations. Most researchers are well equipped with a basic understanding of LISREL-type models. In contrast, current familiarity with PLS in the strategic management area is low. The current paper reviews four recent studies in the strategic management area which use PLS. The review notes that the technique has been applied inconsistently, and at times inappropriately, and suggests standards for evaluating future PLS applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a randomized group experimental design combined with qualitative research methods to assess the outcomes of an outdoor management education (OME) program in one organization. Measures of trainee reactions, learning, attitudes and motivation, behavior, and organizational results were collected. The OME program positively influenced participant knowledge, organizational commitment, organizational-based self-esteem, and intentions to implement learning. It did not improve trust or self-efficacy levels. Additionally, there was evidence of behavioral change and improvements in several organizational results up to three years after the training, although attribution of cause and effect is difficult at these levels of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews research leading to a Competing Values Model for Management Communication and provides instruments for evaluating managerial writing and speaking based on that model. Developed through empirical research by Quinn, Hildebrandt, Rogers, and Thompson (1991), the Competing Values Model for Communication illustrates the interplay between contrasting qualities in management messages. Instruments based on this model allow users to analyze the extent to which these qualities characterize their written and spoken presentations. By collecting analytical data from superiors, subordinates, and peers, a manager may compare his/her self-assessment with the assessments of others. Methods for interpreting the data include suggestions for developing action plans. The article concludes with a discussion of other potential applications of the instruments to communication research and pedagogy in managerial contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between the process of strategic decision-making and management and contextual factors. First, drawing on a sample of strategic decisions, it analyzes the process through which they are taken, into seven dimensions: comprehensiveness/rationality, financial reporting, rule formalization, hierarchical decentralization, lateral communication, politicization, problem-solving dissension. Second, these process dimensions are related to (1) decision-specific characteristics, both perceived characteristics and objective typologies of strategic decisions, (2) top management characteristics, and (3) contextual factors referring to external corporate environment and internal firm characteristics. Overall, the results support the view that strategic decision processes are shaped by a multiplicity of factors, in all these categories. But the most striking finding is that decision-specific characteristics appear to have the most important influence on the strategic decision-making process, as decisions with different decision-specific characteristics are handled through different processes. The evident dominance of decision-specific characteristics over management and contextual factors enriches the traditional `external control' vs. `strategic choice' debate in the area of strategic management. An interpretation of results is attempted and policy implications are derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity among executives is widely assumed to influence a firm's strategic decision processes, but empirical research on this linkage has been virtually nonexistent. To partially fill the void, we drew upon three separate studies to examine the impact of executive diversity on comprehensiveness of strategic decision-making and extensiveness of strategic planning. Contrary to common assumptions of researchers and executives, our results suggest that executive diversity inhibits rather than promotes comprehensive examinations of current opportunities and threats, and inhibits rather than promotes extensive long-range planning. In light of the cumulative research showing that firm performance is related to both comprehensiveness and extensiveness, our results provide evidence for an indirect connection between executive diversity and firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similarity judgments are an important and distinct aspect of strategy formulation. They are manifest in strategic decisions and errors, and in the construction of analytic concepts such as strategic groups and relatedness in diversification. However, existing models of strategy formulation either assume away the process of making similarity judgments or regard it as unproblematic. This paper highlights the role of similarity judgments in strategy formulation, and discusses cognitive findings showing that decision makers' assessment of similarity is not free from bias. The cognitive findings help construct a new process explanation for a wide range of apparently isolated strategic errors. The process explanation is contrasted and integrated with traditional explanations based on imperfections in decision inputs. Finally, in light of the cognitive findings, the methods and assumptions of existing approaches in strategy formulation research to the construction of analytic concepts are reexamined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central issues addressed in this paper are what it means for strategies to exist and for strategies to change. The concept of strategy is developed progressively as a coordinated series of actions, having a comprehensive scope, and being conditional on environmental events and actions of others. Strategies can be inferred from decisions as well as being stated by top management and can be described in both structured categories as well as in unstructured terms. The framework is utilized to provide guidelines for studying changes in strategies. An analysis of key empirical studies demonstrates the difficulties in answering the question of whether firm strategies exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the strategic decision making literature by focusing on the dominant paradigms--i.e., rationality and bounded rationality, politics and power, and garbage can. We review the theory and key empirical support, and identify emergent debates within each paradigm. We conclude that strategic decision makers are boundedly rational, that power wins battles of choice, and that chance matters. Further, we argue that these paradigms rest on unrealistic assumptions and tired controversies which are no longer very controversial. We conclude with a research agenda that emphasizes a more realistic view of strategic decision makers and decision making, and greater attention to normative implications, especially among profit-seeking firms in global contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different perspectives of strategic decision-making and outcomes have been advanced in the literature. Among those are the rational normative, external control, and strategic choice models. The current research examined hypothesized effects of factors associated with these three perspectives on strategic acquisition decisions. Strong support was found for the rational/analytical normative choice perspective with objective criteria explaining the greatest amount of total explained variance in evaluation of target firms. However, industry and executive characteristics also produced main effects on target firm evaluations. Furthermore, the strategic decision models were found to vary by industry and executive characteristics of age, educational degree type, amount and type of work experience, and level (CEO and below). The results suggest that strategic decision models are quite complex with significant implications for future research and for strategic decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous authors have argued for the need to study the process of strategic decision making. In the present study a judgement capturing methodology is employed, to identify the specific structures of decision models and simplification heuristics in a series of strategic investment decisions. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of authors argue that research in the organizational sciences must produce results that are both rigorous and relevant. These results should go beyond the obvious, yielding unexpected variation in our understanding of organizational phenomena. A recent paper published in this journal by the authors reported the results of a laboratory experiment examining the effect of several psychological influences on strategic decisions. This note reports the results of a survey in which executives and MBA sudents were asked to predict the results of the experiment. Although the respondent predictions were consistent, their overall set of predictions was inaccurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of meta-analysis allows us to draw stronger inferences from past research than are possible from traditional literature. In this paper the general purpose of meta-analysis is discussed, and it is used to resolve a dispute regarding a collection of studies in strategic management dealing with devil's advocacy and dialectical inquiry. The use of meta-analysis leads to different conclusions from those drawn in an earlier review of these studies. At the end of the paper the limitations and potential uses of meta-analysis in strategic management are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses different notions of incremental strategic management and, on the basis of empirical data from a longitudinal study of strategic management, and existing research and theory, reconceives the subject within an 'organization action' framework. The paper also argues that such an approach raises important issues concerned with the management of strategic change in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several apparently conflicting empirically tested theories have been advanced as explanations of strategic behavior. This paper suggests that the theories differ because they were based on observations of organizations in different environmental settings. The paper proposes a paradigmic framework which legitimizes and accommodates the respective theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the strategic management field to advance its understanding of the interpersonal dimensions of strategic decision-making, valid and reliable measures of power and influence need to be developed. Research in the discipline would also be subsequently likely to enjoy enhanced viability and greater cross-discipline confidence if it was based on proven measures. For these reasons, field research was undertaken to determine if a modified version of an existing instrument (Spekman, 1979), designed to gauge social power at low organizational levels, could be used to measure the exercise of CEO power in strategic decision-making. This paper reports the methodology employed and the successful results achieved from the instrument validation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on middle management motivation to implement strategy. It uses expectancy theory to predict that middle managers will intervene in organizational decision-making processes leading to strategy implementation when their self-interest is at stake. It develops the notion of 'counter effort', as an extension of expectancy theory. The paper reports an empirical study of middle management intervention theory. The data and analysis of this study provide strong, if indirect, evidence that middle managers who believe that their self-interest is being compromised can not only redirect a strategy, delay its implementation or reduce the quality of its implementation, but can also even totally sabotage the strategy. Implications of the study for the management of strategy implementation are developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a framework for understanding the multiple purposes that problem statements can serve during the formulation phase of strategic planning. Both functional and dysfunctional purposes exist. Variables that can help to identify dysfunctional purposes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an empirical study of strategic decisionmaking processes and organizational learning in 32 business organizations facing complex environments. The decision processes were found to vary in four prototypical patterns described here as the strategic decision-making models. These models are proposed as an initial step towards the development of a taxonomy of strategic decision processes. The relationships between strategic decisionmaking models and organizational learning systems that support them are explored. These models may help researchers to conceptualize and practitioners to manage strategy formulation processes in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper calls attention to a central but neglected process in strategic decision making, i.e. strategic issue diagnosis (SID). A framework for discussing SID is presented in terms of three critical components: inputs, process characteristics and outputs. The framework is illustrated in the context of PIMS and BCG, two widely recognized strategy models. The major implications highlight the theoretical significance of SID for understanding strategic decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of planning models in industry. The author believes while they may be useful in establishing a plan, they do not create plans in and of themselves. Among corporations in the United States, Canada, and Europe highlighted in a survey by Thomas Naylor and Horst Schauland in 1976, he focuses on the planning model of Anheuser-Busch. According to the author, Anheuser-Busch's planning model is by no means its only method of decision-making. It is a tool utilized to make estimations of potential costs and gains. He contends that problems can be approached in three different ways, by resolving them, solving them, or dissolving them. He also highlights three methods of deal with crisis management; a clinical approach, a research approach, and a design approach.

The relative importance of internal organizational activities versus environmental interaction as sources of influence on strategic decision making was explored in a field study in 15 organizations. Results indicate that environmental interaction is the primary factor in determining departmental influence on strategic decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes how six large Swedish multinational corporations manage the task of assuring strategic integration between headquarters and foreign subsidiaries. Swedish companies are shown to address the problem in an informal way and by leaving their foreign subsidiaries a great deal of autonomy. However, in many instances the necessary integration is not assured. Cases of strategic conflict between parts of companies are analysed, characteristics of and trends in the environment of multinational corporations are identified, and theoretical considerations are applied. With this discussion as a basis, some suggestions are advanced about how to involve subsidiaries more in strategic decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a response to the paper "Procedural Justice, Strategic Decision Making and the Knowledge Economy," by W.C. Kim and R. Mauborgne. The author focuses on the topic of how to build competitive advantage, which is discussed in Kim and Mauborgne's paper. He says that Kim and Mauborgne measure success in business through the process of how strategic decision making is undertaken. This leads to the building of competitive advantage. He feels that the paper is important because more and more members of management are becoming involved in the process of decision making. The author concludes by agreeing with Kim and Mauborgne regarding procedural justice. They believe not only is increased participation necessary, explanation and expectation management are essential as well.

The article presents the editor's introduction to the Winter Special Issue of the periodical "Strategic Management Journal." The guest editors of this issue are Richard P. Rumelt, David J. Teece. Each special issue centers on a specific theme in the field of strategic management. This winter edition focuses on fundamental issues in strategy for the 1990s. Articles in the issue range from resources and market orientation to management education and problem solving. The editor also thanks various organizations affiliated with the publication.

The article presents a response to a critique by M.J. Foster to the paper "The value of strategic planning for formal decisions: review of empirical evidence." The original paper reviewed evidence pertaining to the benefits of strategic planning in the decision-making of management. The author came to the conclusion that prior research on business planning was poorly done. Foster believed the author's paper used an inappropriate model to assess performance. He also felt the author's pool of organizations was not diverse enough to fully state that a correlation exists or doesn't exist. The author contends that the model used was indeed valid because it tests experimental work. The author does feel however, that it is possible that the coding was biased in the original study.

In this paper, we derive an optimal strategy for the popular Deal or No Deal game show. To do this, we use Q-learning methods, which quantify the continuation value inherent in sequential decision making in the game. We then analyze two contestants, Frank and Susanne, risky choices from the European version of the game. Given their choices and our optimal strategy, we find what their implied bounds would be on their levels of risk aversion. Previous empirical evidence in risky decision making has suggested that past outcomes affect future choices and that contestants have time-varying risk aversion. We demonstrate that the strategies of Frank and Susanne are consistent with constant risk aversion levels except for their final risk-seeking choice. We conclude with directions for future research. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Discovering novel information can result in the generation of potentially valuable new ideas and can therefore be beneficial to organizations interested in innovation. To be useful, novel information must have a particular relationship to existing organizational knowledge. It must be far enough away to qualify as novel, but it must be close enough that it can be understood and exploited. Therefore, a key challenge for novel-information discovery (NID) is to find concepts that have such relationships to a given starting point or focal concept of interest. Despite the potential benefits, organizations face a number of challenges when discovering novel information on the Web: locating it, understanding its relevance, and making sense of it given the constraints and biases of existing mental models. In this article, we develop an understanding of the challenges of NID and how a tool can support individuals in locating and translating novel information into novel ideas. Using a design science approach, we develop a design theory for NID. A prototype is developed and evaluated. Our findings show that an NID tool performs better than other Web search tools such as Google in terms of the perceived levels of novel information provided and radicalness of the ideas generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When turnover among new hires with less than 18 months of service at a New England-based health insurance provider doubled in two years, the organization examined its recruitment process and then redesigned it to align with research-based best practices. Revamped to address candidates' cultural fit in a collaborative environment, the new process requires analyzing the target job; identifying relevant dimensions of job performance; identifying the abilities, skills, and knowledge (ASKs) required to successfully perform the job; adopting tools to measure the ASKs; and validating tools to ensure they accurately predict performance. As a result of the company's efforts to consider cultural fit during the selection process, the organization reduced new-hire turnover by 40 percent in 18 months. Encouraged by this success, the company now has a multipronged approach to workforce planning that encompasses a combination of strategies to ensure effective external recruitment while fostering the development of in-house talent. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambidexterity is of central importance to the competitive advantage of the firm, yet to date there is limited understanding of how it is managed. The theorization of ambidexterity is inadequate for complex, practical realities and, in turn, this hinders the way in which it can aid the management of ambidexterity in practice. This paper asks: What are the mechanisms for achieving ambidexterity? The authors use a systematic review to develop a research framework which integrates intellectual capital resources (organizational, social and human capital) across various levels of analysis (organization, group and individual). This review extends understanding of the generic mechanisms (i.e. temporal, structural and contextual ambidexterity) that dominate the literature. This allows for a more fine-grained understanding of how ambidexterity is achieved and enables avenues for further research to be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While strategic flexibility is widely accepted as a prerequisite for a firm's success, its application in strategic decision making to a firm's new product development ( NPD) activities is limited to only a few studies. Furthermore, many organizations still have difficulties creating proactive strategic flexibility in their decision-making processes. Past research studies have largely ignored the relationship between strategic decision-making flexibility and firms' resources and/or capabilities and success in the context of NPD. This study advances strategic flexibility by adopting the proactive approach of NPD decision-making flexibility and by examining its role in translating organizational resources and capabilities into NPD success. This study draws upon the resources, capabilities (i.e., flexibility), and performance framework to show how proactive strategic decision-making flexibility plays a crucial role in developing new products that can create new opportunities and comply with market needs. Therefore, this research aims to (1) develop an operational definition of strategic decision-making flexibility and (2) propose a framework to understand the drivers and the subsequent new product performance outcomes of strategic decision-making flexibility. This study adopts the proactive perspective of strategic decision-making flexibility and defines it as a capability that enables firms to develop NPD strategies to respond to future changes in the environment. The analysis, based on data collected from 103 European firms, shows that that the effects of long-term orientation, strategic planning, internal commitment, and innovative climate on proactive strategic decision-making flexibility are significant. The findings indicate specifically the roles of both champions and gatekeepers, who infuse a firm's knowledge with a clear understanding of its resources, constraints, and market needs, thereby enhancing decision makers' motivation to behave proactively to precipitate transformation. The results also reveal a positive association between proactive strategic decision-making flexibility and NPD performance outcomes. As such, strategic flexibility provides firms with an ability to adapt to changing environments and to create new market opportunities, product, and technological arenas, and to deliver successful new products. When firms open new market, technological, and product arenas, they can easily foresee their new demands and changes and successfully deliver new products, meeting customer needs/demands, and offering benefits such as quality, cost, and timeliness. This study therefore provides a valuable reference point for future research in strategic decision-making flexibility in NPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this conceptual article, we explore mechanisms of conflict management in European Union (EU) regulatory policy-making. We build on J.G. March's distinction between aggregation and transformation as the two strategic options to deal with inconsistent preferences or identities that are at the source of social conflict. While this distinction is helpful in mapping conflict management mechanisms, the rigid association of these two options with the rival paradigms of rationalism and constructivism respectively has led political scientists to neglect conflict management strategies that work at the edges of aggregation and transformation. We show the potential of these latter strategies as intelligent ‘in-action’ hybrids that emerge from ground-level policy-making praxis of actors navigating a complex institutional and policy environment. Specifically, we discuss five strategies: issue-based aggregation; arena-based aggregation (arena-shifting and arena-creation); socialization; re-framing; and proceduralization, their underlying mechanisms and related scope conditions. The theoretical implications of this discussion lead us towards ‘strategic constructivism’. In the conflict management mechanisms that are of most interest, norms and ideational structures matter, but they are related to strategic actors who draw on and orchestrate ‘ideas’ in pursuit of political goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how groups end and how group members depart helps us understand how these ending and departure processes affect group outcomes, individuals' willingness and ability to work in subsequent groups together or with others, and the maintenance of group-generated knowledge over time. In this article, a distributed, grant-funded research project group provides the setting for an analysis of the process that members went through as they disengaged from and dismantled their group when the funding period ended and the project was winding down. Qualitative interviews with group members were analyzed using a model of disengaging that was developed in an earlier study. The model comprises 12 interwoven parts of a disengaging process that begins well before the group ends and extends beyond the official termination of the group. The model frames the analysis and is revised as a result of the research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Across many domains, research has shown that students often fail to select and apply appropriate conceptual knowledge when solving problems. Programs designed to support monitoring skills have been successful in several domains. PURPOSE(HYPOTHESIS) Critical conceptual knowledge in statics appears to be cued by paying attention to the bodies that are present in a problem, as well as to which ones are interacting and how. The research question addresses whether students call be induced to drink about the bodies present, and whether focusing on bodies improves problem solving performance. DESIGN/METHOD Using a pre-post test design, written and verbal protocols were obtained for students solving problems before and after instruction. During instruction all students saw the same set of examples and corrected answers, but only the experimental group was asked questions designed to promote body centered talk. Solutions and protocols were coded and analyzed for frequency of body centered talk and solution quality. RESULTS The experimental group showed statistically significant increases in relevant body centered talk after instruction. Both groups improved their ability to represent unknown forces in free body diagrams after instruction, with the experimental group showing a greater, but not statistically significant, improvement. However, for both groups, the error rate in representing unknown forces at an interaction was significantly lower when a student referred to the bodies in the particular interaction. CONCLUSIONS Problem solving in conceptually rich domains can improve if, in addition to acquiring conceptual knowledge, students develop strategies for recognizing when and how to apply it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between individuals' expressed preferences for stages within the creative process (i.e., problem clarification, idea generation, solution development and implementation planning) and their personality traits. To explore these relationships, 137 participants in a leadership development program completed two paper-and-pencil measures. Creative process preferences were assessed through a measure called FourSight, while personality traits were measured through the DiSC Personal Profile System. Statistical analysis showed that the strongest relationships between the FourSight and the DiSC were produced by the Clarifier and Ideator preferences. Based on the relationships between the Clarifier preference and the DiSC it would seem that problem clarification is associated with tendencies to be cautious, careful, analytical, accurate and tactful. In contrast, those who express strong preference for the idea generation stage of the creative process are likely to show such traits as willingness to challenge prevailing thought, need for change and attraction to variety. Additional relationships between the creative process and personality are described, along with theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a closer look at the existing multi-step diamond shaped models for creative problem solving (CPS). A case history of a real-life technical problem in which CPS techniques were used is our source of inspiration for some new ideas about approaching CPS. We propose three concurrent processes: Content finding, Acceptance finding and Information finding. In concrete in-company projects, these three processes need to be managed simultaneously, which leads to a fourth overarching process: project management. Content finding is concerned with the process the creative session members are going through based on people's own active knowledge and ideas and on sharing their mental models to get new ideas. Acceptance finding is concerned with the co-creation of new and additional mental systems that are needed for bringing new ideas into good currency within the existing organization and goes beyond agreement on implementation plans. Information finding is concerned with gathering additional knowledge on the ideas that are not readily available during the session. Finally, Project management is concerned with organizing and leading the creative session and in the embedding of the project into the larger organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine serum markers of matrix turnover in an animal model of disk degeneration. Design: Randomized prospective in vivo study. Setting: Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Spine Research and Department of Large Animal Research. Participants: Twenty-one New Zealand White rabbits. Intervention: Rabbits were randomly grouped into control (n = 8), sham surgery (n = 5), or stab surgery (n = 8). The stab surgical group underwent annulotomy of L2-3, L3-4, and L4-5 to induce intervertebral disk degeneration. The sham surgical group underwent surgical exposure without annulotomy, and the control group received no intervention. Outcome Measurements: Lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and serum samples were obtained before intervention and at 0, 3, 6, and 12 weeks thereafter. MRIs were analyzed for evidence of intervertebral disk degeneration via measurement of MRI index. The serum was assayed at 0, 3, 6, and 12 weeks for the aggrecan biosynthesis marker CS846 and the C-telopeptide of collagen II (CTX-II). Results: The stabbed disks demonstrate degeneration apparent by MRI criteria. CTX-II increased with time in the stabbed group compared to the control and sham surgery groups regardless of baseline levels. Aggrecan showed no statistically significant difference among groups. Conclusions: CTX-II shows promise as a useful serum biomarker for intervertebral disk degeneration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we investigate the role of two types of problem solving approaches on supply chain performance. Additionally, we investigate how the level of information availability moderates problem solving approach on supply chain performance. We draw on construal level theory from the experimental psychology literature to explain how the problem solving approaches (abstract problem solving approach vs. concrete problem solving approach) contribute to supply chain performance. From this foundation, we run a series of behavioral experiments to test our hypotheses that problem solving approaches and information availability impact supply chain performance as presented in the beer distribution game. A key finding of this study is that individuals who take an abstract problem solving approach are able to perform better than individuals who take a concrete problem solving approach in the context of limited information availability. However, in the context of complete information availability, the impact of both types of problem solving approaches on performance becomes negligible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tools and methods developed during the era of quality and optimization have shown their limitations and become inappropriate in the context of the requirements of innovation. Nowadays the need to rebuild design practices in enterprises is strongly felt both in terms of human skills and methodological expertise. In part, a way to face the innovation era's difficulties has been provided through the theory of inventive problem solving. This theory represents a significant breakthrough in driving problem statement and solving in a direction that is expressed through the idea that technical systems are driven by objective laws. A second postulate concerns the notion of contradiction, but so far only few contributions have addressed the relations between laws and contradictions. This paper, through a qualitative approach, presents a solution to this limitation and proposes a possible use of laws within the choice of the appropriate conflicting pair, prior to the use of any TRIZ solving techniques. Tests to observe the impact of the proposed approach were conducted in a French engineering ‘grande école’ during three semesters with 180 engineers. The contribution of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, there is a theoretical contribution to the theory of inventive problem solving. In addition, the proposed method offers especially TRIZ practitioners new ways for problem understanding and problem formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thinking and problem solving skills are considered to be of significant importance in many professions. Surveys indicate that university education fails in appropriately enhancing these skills. This paper presents a concept of teaching thinking and problem solving as a separate course, based on the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). Student surveys showed that students' perception of their abilities in problem solving changed vastly as a consequence of the course. Students reflected that they would never have expected themselves to come up with the ideas they eventually thought of and suggested while conducting their final project, had they not been formally taught about the tools of problem solving. It was also found that this course on TRIZ thinking tools impacted students' problem solving abilities much more than discipline-based courses, supporting the superiority of the ‘enrichment’ over the ‘infusion’ approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ability of ethnographic research methods to effectively study spatially extensive political activity. It argues that traditional ethnographic methods of sustained engagement with spatially bounded sites are not adequately suited to dealing with contemporary spatially extensive political movements. It argues that contemporary attempts to bridge this impasse have emphasised a dichotomy between global and local that ignores the connections, disconnections and process that occur between places. The paper argues for a critical ethnography that is based on a relational understanding of space emphasising Gillian Hart's conception of the interconnected nature of the ‘site’. Taking a single demonstration against the Beijing 2008 Olympics conducted by UK-based Tibet supporters, it examines how the site of protest was closely linked to a variety of other places. Interrogating the processes of connection and disconnection brought about through the protest creates an ethnographic account that, while partial, develops an engagement with the heterogeneity of contemporary political action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors tell about their heterogeneous 91 person research and evaluation unit at an operating foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota. They focus on evaluation for program improvement, one of several purposes of studies they work on. The three authors write from their different manager positions within the unit. Included are the context of the organization, strategic principles of their work and how it fits into a program improvement model. Mattessich writes as the executive director and details his day-to-day evaluation work. Mueller writes as the associate director, who oversees most of the unit's evaluation work, while Holm-Hansen writes as a consulting scientist who leads a core research team of four to six. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here the essentials of the expertise of managing are presented as orientation toward (ethos, stance, and gaze), knowledge about, and knowledge how-to (“know-how”). These are grounded to specific content, summarized, and then connected to a typology of managing evaluation. The orienting questions for the field are reviewed to reveal what it means to prepare expert evaluation managers and expertise in managing evaluation. This includes very brief introductions to curricula, pedagogy, and learning styles. A short discussion presents a proposed managing career path for evaluators and nonevaluators. The chapter ends with two answers to focal questions of the text and a stance for the profession on the practice and preparation for managing evaluation. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depth, resonance, and shadow are added to how the expertise of managing evaluation could be grasped and understood. Returning to the notion of “competency” (Stevahn, King, Ghere, & Minnema, 2005), this is contrasted more deeply with Dreyfus and Dreyfus's (2004) conception of expert and to its use in nursing by Benner (2004; Benner, Tanner, & Chelsa, 1996). Dreyfus's five-stage developmental model is presented, as is a sixth stage often not discussed, “practice wisdom” or phronesis, what Strasser (1985) calls “practical science.” This notion is explored and its sources in Ancient Greece cited. A beginning exploration is made of lived managing, as is the notion of the “already known.” Evaluators are “knowledge workers” (Davenport, 2005), and managing them is central to the work of managing studies and managing an evaluation unit. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]