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Revisiting the Strategy, Structure, and Performance Paradigm: The Case of Venture Capital

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  • Noam Wasserman

    (Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138)

Abstract

The strategy-structure-performance (SSP) paradigm has developed a central role within strategy research. However, recent critiques of the paradigm have called for research that uses more appropriate measures of strategy and structure, inductive methods that enable richer exploration of the paradigm, and extension of the paradigm to the expert-focused organizations that have grown in importance since the paradigm was first developed. This paper answers this call by integrating inductive methods with quantitative analysis of a unique panel data set of 317 professional services firms (PSFs) to find new measures of strategy and to understand their linkages to organizational structure within such firms. It shows how the core knowledge required for decision making and the coordination challenges in these firms drive their internal structures and that the degree of strategy-structure fit has important performance implications for those firms.

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  • Noam Wasserman, 2008. "Revisiting the Strategy, Structure, and Performance Paradigm: The Case of Venture Capital," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 241-259, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:19:y:2008:i:2:p:241-259
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1070.0309
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    2. Raymond, Louis & Bergeron, François & Croteau, Anne-Marie & Uwizeyemungu, Sylvestre, 2019. "Determinants and outcomes of IT governance in manufacturing SMEs: A strategic IT management perspective," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    3. Y. Sekou Bermiss & Benjamin L. Hallen & Rory McDonald & Emily C. Pahnke, 2017. "Entrepreneurial beacons: The Yale endowment, run‐ups, and the growth of venture capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 545-565, March.
    4. Guenther, Christina & Özcan, Serden & Sassmannshausen, Dirk, 2022. "Referrals among VCs and the length of due diligence: The effect of relational embeddedness," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    5. Der-Fang Hung, 2015. "Sustained Competitive Advantage and Organizational Inertia: The Cost Perspective of Knowledge Management," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 6(4), pages 769-789, December.
    6. Vasileiou, Efi & Georgantzis, Nikolaos & Attanasi, Giuseppe & Llerena, Patrick, 2024. "The role of innovation portfolio in green innovation decisions: A study of French and Italian firms," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    7. Godfrey Mugurusi & Lydia Bals, 2017. "A processual analysis of the purchasing and supply organization in transition: the impact of offshoring," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 64-83, June.
    8. Revital Hollander Shabtai & Or Tzofi & Tali Hadasa Blank, 2025. "Unlocking growth potential: investigating the significance of firm location for music startups," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Lenka Sukova, 2020. "Greiner's Model and Its Application in Automotive Companies in the Czech Republic," Acta Informatica Pragensia, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2020(1), pages 18-29.
    10. Lenka Sukova, . "Greiner’s Model and Its Application in Automotive Companies in the Czech Republic," Acta Informatica Pragensia, University of Economics, Prague, vol. 0.

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