Sergio Janczak | Western University Canada (original) (raw)
Papers by Sergio Janczak
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2015
Research Papers in Economics, 2012
This paper summarizes the presentations by invited speakers and discussions at a Professional Dev... more This paper summarizes the presentations by invited speakers and discussions at a Professional Development Workshop held at the Academy of Management Conference in Montréal, Canada, on 7 August 2010. Participants exchanged views and experiences concerning the need to develop more theoretical approaches in business assistance systems, and suggested ways to work in that direction.
Problems and Perspectives in Management, 2008
The formation of strategic alliances is often motivated by the benefits arising from organization... more The formation of strategic alliances is often motivated by the benefits arising from organizational learning and knowledge transfer among alliance members. In strategic alliances, both strategic similarity and dissimilarity may exist and both may have positive effects on organizational learning and knowledge transfer. This theoretical paper explores the recent contributions of knowledge management to the study of strategic alliances. The first part justifies the importance of a learning approach of strategic alliances, while the second part analyzes strategic alliances as a setting for inter-organizational learning.
This paper intends to describe the evolution of the strategic decision-making processes in organi... more This paper intends to describe the evolution of the strategic decision-making processes in organizations and propose an integrate view to these processes. This paper seeks to make a number of contributions to the literature on strategy development processes. It explores a multidimensional conceptualization of strategy development and inquires specific process characteristics, such as creativity, development of resources and rationality. Further, the paper provides a critical evalua- tion of the nature of the relationship between decision-making and performance. Finally, the au- thor emphasizes the need for identifying the different levels of analysis, the need for a continuous temporal analysis, the need for evaluating the events with their natural complexity In summary, the author argues that what is needed in strategy field are "process" models which are more environment-focused. In doing this, the paper highlights promising directions for the development of process mode...
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2012
Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, Mar 1, 2007
ABSTRACT This empirical study explores the logic of action used by intrapreneurs when undertaking... more ABSTRACT This empirical study explores the logic of action used by intrapreneurs when undertaking internal ventures. The design of this qualitative study includes the identification of a sample of 59 internal ventures undertaken by 39 middle managers in 35 complex multidivisional organizations in Canada. The findings of this exploratory study indicate that intrapreneurs may indeed employ three different logics-authoritarian, emotional, and conciliatory-in the intrapreneurial process. Such logics depend on intrapreneurs' perceptions of their endeavors. Although some intrapreneurs used different logics in different projects, none of them changed the applied logic when undertaking a specific project. INTRODUCTION Many researchers have explored decision-making as the core of the strategy formation process (Chakravarthy & White, 2002; Langley, Mintzberg, Pitcher, Posada, & Saint-Macary, 1995; Simon, 1947). Several models have been developed to describe decision-making, but little is understood about the corporate entrepreneurial process. Scholars tend to explain this process in terms of the differences in the cognitive procedures of intrapreneurs. However, the logics behind intrapreneurs' actions remain relatively unexplored (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983; Mintzberg, 1994). This paper aims to identify intrapreneurs' underlying reasoning for their ventures by focusing on the procedures those managers use to develop projects. We will use the definition of managerial logic of action as the implicit relationship between the means and the ends that underlie the specific actions, policies, and activities of organizational members (Bacharach, Banberger, & McKinney, 2000). In order to explore intrapreneurs' logics, we will first briefly review the entrepreneurial processes described in the literature. Next, we will present an analysis of the qualitative data, explaining how the conceptualization of logics can enrich the process literature. Finally, we will describe the logics of action that emerged from a process model of intrapreneurs' interactions. LITERATURE REVIEW The Entrepreneurial Process Few writers use a strategic approach to the notion of entrepreneurship whereas many scholars advocate an "integration of strategic and entrepreneurial thinking" (Ireland, Camp, & Sexton, 2001, p. 480). Launching a new activity within an existing firm is an entrepreneurial attitude insofar as it involves innovation, proactiveness and risk-taking. These three dimensions allow one to assess a firm's entrepreneurial orientation (Miller, 1983). Stevenson and Jarillo (1990) suggested a definition that allows one to take into account these different behaviors and to highlight the strategic dimension of entrepreneurship. They define entrepreneurship as "the process by which individuals-either on their own or inside organizations-pursue opportunities without regards to the resources they currently control" (p. 23). The entrepreneurial process includes all cognitive and behavioral steps from the initial conception of a rough business idea, or first behavior towards the realization of a new business activity, until the process is either terminated or has led to a business venture with regular sales. Towards Understanding the Logics that Underpin Entrepreneurial Processes According to Cunningham and Lischeron (1991), "An understanding of entrepreneurs and their ventures require criteria from each facet of the overall process: entrepreneurs' personal perspective, their ways of identifying opportunities, their methods of acting and managing, their mechanisms for adapting and reassessing" (p. 58). This means that, in order to understand the entrepreneurial process, scholars should understand the decision-making process that entrepreneurs use from the first idea (autonomous or mandated) until the assessment of the implementation of the new venture. First of all, Barnard (1938) defined a decision as a matter of purpose, discrimination, and rational reasoning of strategic factors that regulate the relationship between the organization and the environment. …
This paper intends to describe the evolution of the strategic decision-making processes in organi... more This paper intends to describe the evolution of the strategic decision-making processes in organizations and propose an integrate view to these processes. This paper seeks to make a number of contributions to the literature on strategy development processes. It explores a multidimensional conceptualization of strategy development and inquires specific process characteristics, such as creativity, development of resources and rationality. Further, the paper provides a critical evalua- tion of the nature of the relationship between decision-making and performance. Finally, the au- thor emphasizes the need for identifying the different levels of analysis, the need for a continuous temporal analysis, the need for evaluating the events with their natural complexity In summary, the author argues that what is needed in strategy field are "process" models which are more environment-focused. In doing this, the paper highlights promising directions for the development of process mode...
The Handbook of Experiential Learning In International Business, 2014
The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2012
This paper summarizes the presentations by invited speakers and discussions at a Professional Dev... more This paper summarizes the presentations by invited speakers and discussions at a Professional Development Workshop held at the Academy of Management Conference in Montréal, Canada, on 7 August 2010. Participants exchanged views and experiences concerning the need to develop more theoretical approaches in business assistance systems, and suggested ways to work in that direction.
Revista Eletronica De Administracao, Jun 19, 2013
The objective of this paper is to analyse the conditions and principles regarding the emergence o... more The objective of this paper is to analyse the conditions and principles regarding the emergence of new organizational forms across Canada. In comparing data from 1999 and from 2003, the survey results show some directions and processes that Canadian firms have adopted. Based on a set of nine variables described by Pettigrew and Fenton (2000), we established the extent to which internal network form characteristics have emerged in Canada. These research findings reveal widespread, but not revolutionary, change in terms of process and boundaries, yet a relative stability in structures.
The objective of this paper is to analyse the conditions and principles regarding the emergence o... more The objective of this paper is to analyse the conditions and principles regarding the emergence of new organizational forms across Canada. In comparing data from 1999 and from 2003, the survey results show some directions and processes that Canadian firms have adopted. Based on a set of nine variables described by Pettigrew and Fenton (2000), we established the extent to which internal network form characteristics have emerged in Canada. These research findings reveal widespread, but not revolutionary, change in terms of process and boundaries, yet a relative stability in structures.
How to cite Complete issue More information about this article Journal's homepage in redalyc.org ... more How to cite Complete issue More information about this article Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Scientific Information System Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative
... research. I would like also express my heart-felt gratitude and appreciation to my dissertati... more ... research. I would like also express my heart-felt gratitude and appreciation to my dissertation advisor, Dr. Christiane Demers for her patience. Her rigor in exercising ... My warm thanks also go for Alia Kalafi, Alessandro Zimmer and Williams Campello for being very helpful friends. ...
This paper aims at generating research propositions regarding the strategies implemented by Weste... more This paper aims at generating research propositions regarding the strategies implemented by Western firms in emerging countries. We examine three approaches to the relationships between Western firms and the environments of emerging countries. First we analyze the institutionalist approach, centered on local constraints and the need for adaptation on the part of Western firms. Then we examine the global strategy approach, together with the Schumpeterian tradition, as the two approaches share significant similarities. Finally, we examine the interactionist model (i.e., local and global), as illustrated in Giddens ’ structurationist theory and in the emergent paradigm of international entrepreneurship. These approaches differ on key and interrelated dimensions of dynamic capability building. First, they are characterized by specific interpretations of what is rational in an international context. Then these various forms of rationality correspond with particular conceptualizations of ...
International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 2010
In the last decades, globalization pressures have pushed business schools to internationalize the... more In the last decades, globalization pressures have pushed business schools to internationalize the body of students and professors. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has emphasized that graduates should be prepared to pursue a business or management career in a global context. That is, ‘students should be exposed to cultural practices different than their own’ (AACSB, 2014). Besides offering courses in International Business and Cultural Management, business schools have also launched experiential learning courses to better prepare their students to excel in this global business environment. Experiential learning presents the advantage of generating knowledge through a transformation experience (Kolb, 1984).
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2015
Research Papers in Economics, 2012
This paper summarizes the presentations by invited speakers and discussions at a Professional Dev... more This paper summarizes the presentations by invited speakers and discussions at a Professional Development Workshop held at the Academy of Management Conference in Montréal, Canada, on 7 August 2010. Participants exchanged views and experiences concerning the need to develop more theoretical approaches in business assistance systems, and suggested ways to work in that direction.
Problems and Perspectives in Management, 2008
The formation of strategic alliances is often motivated by the benefits arising from organization... more The formation of strategic alliances is often motivated by the benefits arising from organizational learning and knowledge transfer among alliance members. In strategic alliances, both strategic similarity and dissimilarity may exist and both may have positive effects on organizational learning and knowledge transfer. This theoretical paper explores the recent contributions of knowledge management to the study of strategic alliances. The first part justifies the importance of a learning approach of strategic alliances, while the second part analyzes strategic alliances as a setting for inter-organizational learning.
This paper intends to describe the evolution of the strategic decision-making processes in organi... more This paper intends to describe the evolution of the strategic decision-making processes in organizations and propose an integrate view to these processes. This paper seeks to make a number of contributions to the literature on strategy development processes. It explores a multidimensional conceptualization of strategy development and inquires specific process characteristics, such as creativity, development of resources and rationality. Further, the paper provides a critical evalua- tion of the nature of the relationship between decision-making and performance. Finally, the au- thor emphasizes the need for identifying the different levels of analysis, the need for a continuous temporal analysis, the need for evaluating the events with their natural complexity In summary, the author argues that what is needed in strategy field are "process" models which are more environment-focused. In doing this, the paper highlights promising directions for the development of process mode...
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2012
Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, Mar 1, 2007
ABSTRACT This empirical study explores the logic of action used by intrapreneurs when undertaking... more ABSTRACT This empirical study explores the logic of action used by intrapreneurs when undertaking internal ventures. The design of this qualitative study includes the identification of a sample of 59 internal ventures undertaken by 39 middle managers in 35 complex multidivisional organizations in Canada. The findings of this exploratory study indicate that intrapreneurs may indeed employ three different logics-authoritarian, emotional, and conciliatory-in the intrapreneurial process. Such logics depend on intrapreneurs' perceptions of their endeavors. Although some intrapreneurs used different logics in different projects, none of them changed the applied logic when undertaking a specific project. INTRODUCTION Many researchers have explored decision-making as the core of the strategy formation process (Chakravarthy & White, 2002; Langley, Mintzberg, Pitcher, Posada, & Saint-Macary, 1995; Simon, 1947). Several models have been developed to describe decision-making, but little is understood about the corporate entrepreneurial process. Scholars tend to explain this process in terms of the differences in the cognitive procedures of intrapreneurs. However, the logics behind intrapreneurs' actions remain relatively unexplored (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983; Mintzberg, 1994). This paper aims to identify intrapreneurs' underlying reasoning for their ventures by focusing on the procedures those managers use to develop projects. We will use the definition of managerial logic of action as the implicit relationship between the means and the ends that underlie the specific actions, policies, and activities of organizational members (Bacharach, Banberger, & McKinney, 2000). In order to explore intrapreneurs' logics, we will first briefly review the entrepreneurial processes described in the literature. Next, we will present an analysis of the qualitative data, explaining how the conceptualization of logics can enrich the process literature. Finally, we will describe the logics of action that emerged from a process model of intrapreneurs' interactions. LITERATURE REVIEW The Entrepreneurial Process Few writers use a strategic approach to the notion of entrepreneurship whereas many scholars advocate an "integration of strategic and entrepreneurial thinking" (Ireland, Camp, & Sexton, 2001, p. 480). Launching a new activity within an existing firm is an entrepreneurial attitude insofar as it involves innovation, proactiveness and risk-taking. These three dimensions allow one to assess a firm's entrepreneurial orientation (Miller, 1983). Stevenson and Jarillo (1990) suggested a definition that allows one to take into account these different behaviors and to highlight the strategic dimension of entrepreneurship. They define entrepreneurship as "the process by which individuals-either on their own or inside organizations-pursue opportunities without regards to the resources they currently control" (p. 23). The entrepreneurial process includes all cognitive and behavioral steps from the initial conception of a rough business idea, or first behavior towards the realization of a new business activity, until the process is either terminated or has led to a business venture with regular sales. Towards Understanding the Logics that Underpin Entrepreneurial Processes According to Cunningham and Lischeron (1991), "An understanding of entrepreneurs and their ventures require criteria from each facet of the overall process: entrepreneurs' personal perspective, their ways of identifying opportunities, their methods of acting and managing, their mechanisms for adapting and reassessing" (p. 58). This means that, in order to understand the entrepreneurial process, scholars should understand the decision-making process that entrepreneurs use from the first idea (autonomous or mandated) until the assessment of the implementation of the new venture. First of all, Barnard (1938) defined a decision as a matter of purpose, discrimination, and rational reasoning of strategic factors that regulate the relationship between the organization and the environment. …
This paper intends to describe the evolution of the strategic decision-making processes in organi... more This paper intends to describe the evolution of the strategic decision-making processes in organizations and propose an integrate view to these processes. This paper seeks to make a number of contributions to the literature on strategy development processes. It explores a multidimensional conceptualization of strategy development and inquires specific process characteristics, such as creativity, development of resources and rationality. Further, the paper provides a critical evalua- tion of the nature of the relationship between decision-making and performance. Finally, the au- thor emphasizes the need for identifying the different levels of analysis, the need for a continuous temporal analysis, the need for evaluating the events with their natural complexity In summary, the author argues that what is needed in strategy field are "process" models which are more environment-focused. In doing this, the paper highlights promising directions for the development of process mode...
The Handbook of Experiential Learning In International Business, 2014
The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2012
This paper summarizes the presentations by invited speakers and discussions at a Professional Dev... more This paper summarizes the presentations by invited speakers and discussions at a Professional Development Workshop held at the Academy of Management Conference in Montréal, Canada, on 7 August 2010. Participants exchanged views and experiences concerning the need to develop more theoretical approaches in business assistance systems, and suggested ways to work in that direction.
Revista Eletronica De Administracao, Jun 19, 2013
The objective of this paper is to analyse the conditions and principles regarding the emergence o... more The objective of this paper is to analyse the conditions and principles regarding the emergence of new organizational forms across Canada. In comparing data from 1999 and from 2003, the survey results show some directions and processes that Canadian firms have adopted. Based on a set of nine variables described by Pettigrew and Fenton (2000), we established the extent to which internal network form characteristics have emerged in Canada. These research findings reveal widespread, but not revolutionary, change in terms of process and boundaries, yet a relative stability in structures.
The objective of this paper is to analyse the conditions and principles regarding the emergence o... more The objective of this paper is to analyse the conditions and principles regarding the emergence of new organizational forms across Canada. In comparing data from 1999 and from 2003, the survey results show some directions and processes that Canadian firms have adopted. Based on a set of nine variables described by Pettigrew and Fenton (2000), we established the extent to which internal network form characteristics have emerged in Canada. These research findings reveal widespread, but not revolutionary, change in terms of process and boundaries, yet a relative stability in structures.
How to cite Complete issue More information about this article Journal's homepage in redalyc.org ... more How to cite Complete issue More information about this article Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Scientific Information System Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative
... research. I would like also express my heart-felt gratitude and appreciation to my dissertati... more ... research. I would like also express my heart-felt gratitude and appreciation to my dissertation advisor, Dr. Christiane Demers for her patience. Her rigor in exercising ... My warm thanks also go for Alia Kalafi, Alessandro Zimmer and Williams Campello for being very helpful friends. ...
This paper aims at generating research propositions regarding the strategies implemented by Weste... more This paper aims at generating research propositions regarding the strategies implemented by Western firms in emerging countries. We examine three approaches to the relationships between Western firms and the environments of emerging countries. First we analyze the institutionalist approach, centered on local constraints and the need for adaptation on the part of Western firms. Then we examine the global strategy approach, together with the Schumpeterian tradition, as the two approaches share significant similarities. Finally, we examine the interactionist model (i.e., local and global), as illustrated in Giddens ’ structurationist theory and in the emergent paradigm of international entrepreneurship. These approaches differ on key and interrelated dimensions of dynamic capability building. First, they are characterized by specific interpretations of what is rational in an international context. Then these various forms of rationality correspond with particular conceptualizations of ...
International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 2010
In the last decades, globalization pressures have pushed business schools to internationalize the... more In the last decades, globalization pressures have pushed business schools to internationalize the body of students and professors. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has emphasized that graduates should be prepared to pursue a business or management career in a global context. That is, ‘students should be exposed to cultural practices different than their own’ (AACSB, 2014). Besides offering courses in International Business and Cultural Management, business schools have also launched experiential learning courses to better prepare their students to excel in this global business environment. Experiential learning presents the advantage of generating knowledge through a transformation experience (Kolb, 1984).