ABSTRACT
From an intuitive standpoint, strategic planning would seem to be a useful practice for senior managers. First, planning serves an integrative function whereby various units of the firm contribute to the joint planning exercise (Kohtamäki, Kraus, Mäkelä, & Rönkkö, 2012; Vancil & Lorange, 1975). Second, planning serves an adaptation function whereby individuals in the firm systematically examine their industrial environments for possible future changes in technology trajectories, strategic postures of competitors, and government regulations (Rogers & Bamford, 2002; van Gelderen, Frese, & Thurik, 2000). Scenario planning has been a key tool for this second function of strategic planning (Stokke, Ralston, Boyce, & Wilson, 1990). Third, planning serves a legitimizing function. In most parts of the world, the institutional environment carries implicit, if not explicit, expectations for systematic study of the future. Absent concerted efforts to better understand unfolding trends and possible discontinuous changes, legitimacy can be compromised, resulting in a reduced flow of resources from environmental actors (Feldman & March, 1981).
