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Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of the rationality of the strategic decision-making process between decision magnitude of impact and the quality of the decision process output Design/methodology/approach — From analysis of alternative research approaches, a field survey seems to be the most appropriate methodological choice. This is a field study of real strategic decision-making process rather than an artificial setting. The questionnaire consists of items measuring the variables of primary interest namely the independent, mediator, and dependent variables. The study was conducted in Pinang, Malaysia, involving small, medium, and large-sized private manufacturing firms. To test and eliminate ambiguous or biased items and to improve the format, both for ease of understanding and to facilitate data analysis, a pilot study was conducted by computing Cronbach's reliability alpha. Findings — The results of regression analysis indicate that the decision magnitude of impact is significantly associated with the level of rationality in the decision-making process. The results of hierarchical regression analyses indicate that the extent of rationality in the decision-making process is able to significantly change the total variations in the decision- making quality explained by magnitude of impact Research limitations/implications — The complex nature of strategic decision-making process as a research topic places limitations on this study, particularly in the area of sample selection and data availability and collection. The major sample selection at the manufacturing firms is difficult because a firm's perception in terms of strategic decisions may not be the same, thus it is not easy to ascertain relevant sample characteristics. Practical implications — Findings of this study indicate that a better quality decision is achieved through a rational process. Thus, organizations should encourage greater use of rationality in the decision-making process, especially when the decision that is going to be made has more impact on the various parts of the organization or it is a strategic decision. Originality/value — This study is believed to be the first to test the mediating impact of rationality of the strategic decision-making process. This study was carried out among Malaysian manufacturing firms, and therefore comparison of its results to the findings in other countries may suggest the influence of other factors such as ideology, belief, and culture on strategic decision-making processes. This in turn may open up a promising avenue for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of competitive strategy and performance measurement in the Malaysian context by applying a modified version of Conant et al's generic strategy scale and categorizing Malaysian firms along the Miles and Snow business strategy typology. Design/methodology/approach — Competitive strategy and performance measurement were assessed via survey. A total of 975 firms were randomly selected from the directory of Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) as listed in 2003. Overall, 133 surveys were returned, 120 of which were usable for analysis. Findings — Results suggest that Malaysian firms view competitive strategy differently and are more likely than their Western counterparts to emphasize the use of financial measures of organizational performance. Findings also highlight the difficulties faced when Western measurement scales are employed in non-Western emerging nations. Research limitations/implications — Because greater emphasis was placed on financial rather than non-financial measures, results indicate a statistically significant different improvement only in sales growth and ROl performance among the three strategy categories. Strategy researchers should focus their attention to the use*of multiple performance measures in assessing firm's performance as shown by the significant different in the use of customer satisfaction and loyalty measures, as well as employee satisfaction and training measures. Originality/value — These findings hold relevance for executives responsible for the formulation and implementation of business strategy. A better understanding of the relationship between business strategy and performance measures using the BSC perspectives of measures has been provided. The study provides some useful insights into the role of performance measures. In addition, this study conveys the message to top managers and designers of performance measurement tools—most notably the balanced scorecard#x2014; should pay particular attention to non-financial performance measures in implementing their organization's strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this research is to show a preliminary examination of the effects of the development of the causal model of the strategy in the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard. Studies on the Balanced Scorecard adoption show that many organizations that adopted the Balanced Scorecard did not develop a causal model of their strategy. The study seeks to examine the differences in Balanced Scorecard implementation of adopters who developed a causal model of their strategy and those who did not. Design/methodology/approach — Mailed survey was used to collect the data. Findings — It was found that Balanced Scorecard adopters who did not develop a causal model of their strategy experienced specific problems more than those who developed a causal model of their strategy. It affected the outcomes and ease of implementation of the Balanced Scorecard. Research limitations/implications — The small number of responses obtained in this study due to the relatively recent adoption of the Balanced Scorecard in Malaysia limits the generalizability of this study. However, it does provide insights on the hypotheses to be examined in future studies. Practical implications — The findings of this survey suggest that the successful implementation of the Balanced Scorecard requires that organizations develop and articulate a causal model of their strategy. Originality/value — This study is probably the first attempt to examine the role of causal model development in effective implementation of the Balanced Scorecard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]