Title: Organisational life cycle stage and strategy: must they match?

Authors: Donald L. Lester

Addresses: Center for Entrepreneurial and Family Business Studies, College of Business, Arkansas State University, P.O. Box 59, State University, AR 72467 0059, USA

Abstract: Organisations are thought to evolve through a series of growth stages as they mature, a process described as a life cycle of organisations. Each stage of the life cycle is characterised by four major factors: situation, decision-making style, structure, and strategy. While the first three are commonly accepted, the fit between strategy and life cycle stage is much less clear. This paper proposes a life cycle/strategy relationship based on a new strategic typology developed by Parnell and Carraher (2002) to determine if an ideal strategy exists for each life cycle stage.

Keywords: strategy; organisational life cycle; strategic typology; organisational development; organisational growth.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2004.005345

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2004 Vol.5 No.2/3, pp.135 - 143

Published online: 25 Sep 2004 *

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