| The study suggests answers to the question of when and how organizations change their strategic positions, and what the performance consequence of those strategic changes is.; The first chapter investigates drivers of convergence and divergence in strategic positioning in terms of resource-allocation decisions. The study, based on the behavioral theory of the firm, suggests two types of kinked-curve relationships between performance levels and strategic convergence-divergence. Empirical analysis of dyad-level data in the U.S. food processing industry reveals that a firm's mimetic strategic change is sensitive to its aspiration levels and the performance gap between it and the firm it selects as a model. The analysis also shows that firm-level uncertainty and market contact cause differences in the extent and direction of future strategic change vis-a-vis other competitors.; The second chapter investigates the performance consequence of strategic changes when firms move closer to or further away from other firms in the industry. The study shows that strategic divergence is negatively related to performance, and that organizational size, firm-specific uncertainty, competitive extensiveness, and strategic complexity significantly influence the effect of strategic convergence and divergence on financial performance. Particularly, strategic complexity is shown to be conducive to enhancing performance for firms implementing strategic changes in either convergent or divergent way.; The third chapter develops and tests a theory of inter-team imitation that focuses on the critical role of perceived uncertainty, strategic complexity, and team characteristics such as power centralization, collective efficacy, and group cohesiveness. Using the longitudinal survey data from participants of a business simulation game, the study examines the effect of team characteristics over the relationship between perceived uncertainty and team-level imitation orientation. In addition, it investigates under what conditions a team's imitation orientation will enhance team-level performance.; To sum, the dissertation research combines the behavioral theory of the firm with institutional theory and structural inertia theory, in order to explain the extent and direction of mimetic strategic change and their performance implications. Thus, the study provides an initial step toward understanding of firm-level mimetic strategic change and competitive dynamics. |
