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14 - New directions for the study of organizational growth
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- By Robert Drazin, Professor of Organization and Management, Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Robert K. Kazanjian, Professor of Organization and Management, Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Edward D. Hess, Adjunct Professor of Organization and Management and Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Corporate Growth, Goizueta Business School, Emory University
- Edited by Edward D. Hess, Emory University, Atlanta, Robert K. Kazanjian, Emory University, Atlanta
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- Book:
- The Search for Organic Growth
- Published online:
- 03 December 2009
- Print publication:
- 28 September 2006, pp 271-284
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Summary
As we contemplated hosting the “Hitting the Growth Wall” conference at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University, and editing this book, we observed that little had actually been written about organic growth in recent years. Work by Penrose (1995) and Chandler (1962) had set the stage for viewing growth from an evolutionary economics perspective. Much of the work that followed then shifted into research on organizational resources and the linkage between strategy and structure. However, the most dominant growth-related theme that exercised researchers and practitioners alike was the study of innovation processes and outcomes. Our understanding of innovation grew dramatically from the 1980s as the topic took on increasing practical and theoretical significance. This literature covered a broad range of topics and concepts, extending from paradigm shifts (Anderson & Tushman, 1990), to corporate entrepreneurship (Hitt, Ireland, & Tuggle, this volume, ch. ; Stopford & Baden-Fuller, 1994), intelligent organizations (Quinn, 1992), mastering change (Kanter, 1983), and time-based competition (Eisenhardt, 1989). Most of these were ideas in good currency, enjoying unparalleled popularity among managers and envious citation rates among scholars. Surely such a wealth of information signaled the arrival of a dominant theoretical model for the role of organizations in creating innovation. But what about growth?
Whereas each book or journal article provided its own valuable contribution, we were disappointed to discover that no dominant theoretical perspective had emerged to integrate the multiple streams of innovation into a more comprehensive and substantive view of growth.
1 - The challenge of organic growth
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- By Robert K. Kazanjian, Professor of Organization and Management, Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Edward D. Hess, Adjunct Professor of Organization and Management, Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Cor-porate Growth, and Executive Director of the Values-Based Leadership Institute, Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Robert Drazin, Professor of Organization and Management, Goizueta Business School, Emory University
- Edited by Edward D. Hess, Emory University, Atlanta, Robert K. Kazanjian, Emory University, Atlanta
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- Book:
- The Search for Organic Growth
- Published online:
- 03 December 2009
- Print publication:
- 28 September 2006, pp 1-16
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Summary
Through much of the 1990s, corporations realized extraordinary growth in revenues and earnings. As this trend unfolded, senior executives began to experience significant pressure from financial analysts, shareholders, and others for continued growth as measured by quarterly reports of performance against forecasts. In the aftermath of the technology bubble, and as the accounting and financial scandals of 2001 and 2002 surfaced, it was apparent that a portion of the earlier reported growth was the product of a mix of widespread earnings management and financial engineering, serial acquisitions, and the utilization of accounting and tax manipulations to create specific financial results. The vitality and substance of those results are now being questioned in various regulatory, legal, and legislative forums. In other cases, firms may have developed innovative strategies or products that led to high growth, but as the firm matured or approached market saturation, growth slowed. For a range of reasons, then, many firms have “hit the wall,” experiencing flat revenues after an extended period of high growth.
As a result, executives in many companies now struggle with an increased emphasis on internally generated, or organic, growth, which is qualitatively different in the substance and character of the key tasks central to success, from growth via acquisition. As Rita McGrath notes in Chapter 9, with a sample of over 900 large companies she examined, approximately 6% of all companies who were growing at even a modest rate overall could be accurately described as growing organically.
1 - Synovus Financial Corporation: “Just take care of your people”
- Edited by Edward D. Hess, Emory University, Atlanta, Kim S. Cameron, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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- Book:
- Leading with Values
- Published online:
- 06 July 2010
- Print publication:
- 03 August 2006, pp 9-28
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Summary
Introduction
The Synovus Financial Services Corporation uses an extensive systems-wide approach to values-based leadership. By system-wide, we mean that values-based leadership permeates the entire company. Values are the basis for leadership, culture, selection, training and executive development. Values are used to shape the firm's strategy, its relationship to customers and to community. Senior executives consistently talk about values and culture among themselves and with employees at all levels. Values-based leadership is tangible – it is part of evaluation and promotion systems. Values are transformed into practices. While core values stay the same, senior managers are consistently updating practices. Values are discussed as much as strategy.
Our purpose in this chapter is to chronicle how these values extend back in history, what the values are now and how Synovus implements practices to support or operationalize its values. Synovus is an example of the founding families' values surviving four leadership successions, and a company flourishing financially because of its values-based people-centric culture. Some of the lessons to focus on while reading this chapter are: (1) you can achieve great financial results, create substantial shareholder value AND be an employee-centric company with values; (2) maintaining a values-based culture is hard work and can never be taken for granted; (3) senior leadership must live daily the values they want emulated and be role models for all levels of leadership; and (4) you have to back up the words by rewarding good values and recognizing cultural deviations.