Strategy diversity in Australian family owned businesses: impact of environment induced constraints

Abstract

[from Introduction] The central propositions of contingency theory assert that organisational effectiveness is a product of an appropriate matching between internal organisational characteristics and the demands created by elements of context such as technology and external environments. This literature has identified a number of variables systematically associated with management functions and their underlying systems. But the explanatory power of models based on these variables is still relatively low. However the use of clusters of variables as archetypes has been suggested as an approach that offers promise. One such archetype is based on the stage of development of the firm or the position in its life cycle. This paper explores how these uncertainties and consequential strategies vary at different stages of the firm's life cycle.