The following is a description of the model or tool that we are going to use from now on in this blog to analyze a series of case studies on the strategic process of the firm. This model (‘Empirical Model’) together with the ‘Theoretical Model’ are part of the ‘Integrative Model of the strategic process’ presented in the book: “The strategic process of the firm: Theory and cases” (Roch, 2024).
Before starting, it is important to point out that the concepts and variables reflected in both models have been arranged according to the point of view of the company’s top manager(s): those people with ultimate responsibility for strategy and the strategic process. From that point of view, for instance, strategic initiatives developed at the lower levels of an organization are part of ‘bottom-up’ emergent processes, as reflected in the model. If, on the contrary, the point of view of the people leading these initiatives were taken as the reference, these processes would have a much more deliberate character.
The ‘Empirical Model’ is a tool that is particularly suitable for describing and representing any type of strategic process that may occur in reality in any company, making it possible to reflect, accurately and in detail, how these processes unfold over time. As a consequence, it can be a useful tool for the analysis and monitoring of the strategic processes that are developed within companies.
This model or tool has:
– A table in which the different actions that make up the strategic process under analysis, as well as the strategy obtained as a result of this process, can be described in detail (see Table 1).
– A figure in which the different actions that make up the strategic process under analysis, as well as the strategy obtained as a result of said process, can be represented (after having described these actions in the above-mentioned table). (see Figure 1).
Table 1. Empirical Model: Table to describe the strategic process under analysis
Figure 1. Empirical Model: Figure to graphically represent the strategic process under analysis
This figure is composed of two axes: the horizontal axis, where the variable ‘time’ is reflected, and the vertical axis, which incorporates the two types of strategic subprocesses existing in the ‘Theoretical Model’ (Deliberate Subprocess and Emergent Subprocess).
The ‘Deliberate Subprocess’ is composed of all those actions of a deliberate nature that can be developed within a strategic process; in other words, by all those actions that can be developed within a deliberate kind of strategic process.
The ‘Emergent Subprocess’ is composed of all those actions of an emergent nature by which non-premeditated strategies can be formed or which develop outside the deliberate process.
As discussed earlier in this blog, three different types of emergent strategic processes can be developed depending on where the actions arise, or in other words, who the protagonists of these actions are:
– Emergent actions arising from the top, namely, involving the top management of the company: Top-down emergent process.
– Emergent actions that arise from below, i.e., that have people at lower hierarchical levels as protagonists (employees, line managers, etc.): Bottom-up emergent process.
– Joint emergent actions (top + bottom or ‘democratic’ type). Emergent actions carried out jointly by top management and others at lower hierarchical levels: ‘’Democratic’ type emergent process [1].
As can be seen in the figure above, the ”time” variable has been clearly and explicitly included. This solves the shortcoming observed in this respect in the rest of the strategic process models currently in existence.
Following the same philosophy as in a ‘Gantt Chart’, this figure should represent the strategic actions carried out over time in the strategic process under analysis, placing each item in the time frame in which it was carried out and within the strategic subprocess that corresponds to its typology (deliberate actions within the deliberate subprocess, and emergent actions within the corresponding frame of the emergent subprocess: ‘Top-down’, ‘Joint (Top + Bottom)’, ‘Bottom-up’).
The following symbology can be used to represent the strategic processes in this figure:
In this way, using this table and figure, it will be possible to describe and represent, accurately and in detail, how the strategic processes are developing over time.
In the following blog entry (Entry 14) a practical example is shown in order to facilitate the understanding of the use of this model or tool.
[1] The existence of this type of strategic process has recently been considered in this field of study, being defined (theoretically) and verified (empirically) for the first time during the research carried out in his doctoral thesis by Roch (2016 and 2019). This type of strategic process is also described in the book: “The strategic process of the firm: Theory and cases” (Roch, 2024).
If you are interested in going deeper into the strategic process, allow me to recommend you: - Book: "The strategic process of the firm: Theory and cases" (Roch, 2024). - Courses and consulting program on the strategic process.
