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Does a Feedforward Orientation Provide Competitive Advantages Under Disruptive Conditions? A Review of Control Literature with an Illustrative Case

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  • Rajaram Veliyath

    (Leven School of Management, Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA)

Abstract

This paper identifies the salient features of feedforward control and the advantages that it provides vis-à-vis feedback control. These advantages are especially salient in strategic control situations and also during periods of environmental turbulence and extreme strategic discontinuity. Consciously adopting a feedforward orientation in organizational strategic management processes could enhance an organization’s competitive advantages and potentially lead to sustainable, superior performance. Additionally, broadening the conceptual definition of feedforward (from its cybernetic origins) to also include strategic foresight might also enable organizations to develop dynamic capabilities. The example of Zara, a leader in ‘fast-fashion’ retailing, is presented as an example of how feedforward attributes can be identified, inculcated, and ingrained/retained as organizational attributes that become a part of an organization’s DNA. Moreover, when severe external environmental disruptions inevitably erode an organization’s resource bases and pose an existential threat to the organization’s survival, such a feedforward orientation could be the catalyst for coping, adapting, and developing new dynamic capabilities. These new capabilities can not only help organizations to counter newly emergent threats and survive, but also help them to dynamically cultivate and develop newer sources of competitive advantages.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajaram Veliyath, 2024. "Does a Feedforward Orientation Provide Competitive Advantages Under Disruptive Conditions? A Review of Control Literature with an Illustrative Case," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2024:i:1:p:13-:d:1556362
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abiodun Adegbile & David Sarpong & Dirk Meissner, 2017. "Strategic Foresight for Innovation Management: A Review and Research Agenda," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(04), pages 1-34, August.
    2. Yves Doz & C K Prahalad, 1984. "Patterns of Strategic Control Within Multinational Corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 15(2), pages 55-72, June.
    3. Constance E. Helfat & Margaret A. Peteraf, 2015. "Managerial cognitive capabilities and the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 831-850, June.
    4. Cantley, Mark F., 1981. "Scale, protectionism and European integration: the structural dynamics of strategic control in a turbulent field," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 148-160, June.
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