| This study examined the fundamental elements of Chaos and Complexity theories as they relate to strategic management and marketing. The study organized Chaos and Complexity principles and their elements, into a structured survey that was presented to a panel of industry experts using a two-round Delphi technique. A significant portion of these principles emphasized adaptation and response mechanisms guided by commitment-centric leadership. Twenty senior level executives, including Directors and Vice-Presidents from Compaq, AT&T, Microsoft, and IBM, evaluated six key principles and forty-eight elements to determine their value in managing organizations operating in turbulent environments. These executives rated many of the principles and elements as being extremely important to their organizations and exhibited a high degree of consensus.; The results suggest that Chaos and Complexity principles that emphasize adaptation and response offer a valuable model for organizations operating in a turbulent environment; traditional planning may be inappropriate when future states are unpredictable and commitment-centric leadership is needed to guide individuals toward common purposes.; The implications of the value executives placed on an “adapt and respond” model and commitment-centric leadership principles offers management the opportunity to strengthen it's strategic management and functional activities by championing a customer—centric view, developing new capabilities for sensing and interpreting change and leveraging marketing as a catalyst within organizations. All of these concepts can help management communicate visions, implement these visions and respond to their environmental pressures. |
