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Article
Publication date: 2 August 2021

John Camillus, Shoba Ramanadhan and Krishnan Ganapathy

The business environment is increasingly fraught with societal disruptions—caused by factors such as pandemics, climate change and the probability of sentient machines—that are…

Abstract

Purpose

The business environment is increasingly fraught with societal disruptions—caused by factors such as pandemics, climate change and the probability of sentient machines—that are fundamentally different than the industry disruptions that firms have experienced and determined how to overcome. Societal disruptions create chaotic ambiguity and unknowable futures. This paper offers an approach to strategic management in the context of societal disruptions, employing purpose-driven “smart power” to harmonize the organization and the environment and promote both economic and social sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper integrates the construct of smart power that blends hard and soft power, the concepts of purpose and identity that define what is core, aspirational, enduring and distinctive about the organization and the techniques of taming wicked problems in order to design processes and structures that can function in the context of social disruptions.

Findings

The paper offers a strategic management approach that employs purpose-driven smart power to overcome the challenge and thrive in the context of chaotic ambiguity.

Practical implications

The approach offers practical guidelines for designing processes and structures that can guide strategic decision making in organizations challenged by societal disruptions.

Originality/value

The distinctive and daunting challenge posed by societal disruptions is delineated, and constructs and frameworks from multiple disciplines are uniquely integrated to potentially tame the chaotic ambiguity and unknowable futures created by these disruptions.

Details

Journal of Strategy and Management, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-425X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2021

Vadake Narayanan, Richard E. Wokutch, Abby Ghobadian and Nicholas O'Regan

The purpose of this introduction is fourfold: (1) to articulate the reasons for the special issue; (2) to highlight some of the fundamental issues related to the management…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this introduction is fourfold: (1) to articulate the reasons for the special issue; (2) to highlight some of the fundamental issues related to the management research on COVID-19; (3) to introduce the authors and to summarize their contributions to this special issue; and (4) to provide some suggestions for future research pertaining to global challenges and business in general.

Design/methodology/approach

This article introduces the special issue by addressing the following four points related to the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) conceptualization of the crisis, (2) the role of organizations, (3) challenges of the global pandemic and (4) business–society relationships. We briefly relate the papers in this special issue to these four points and we conclude with some thoughts on how to move forward on research in this domain.

Findings

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be one of the most important challenges to mankind and to organizations in recent years, and many organizations have proven to be very resilient in the face of this. Effective leadership, communication with stakeholders, global organizations and new organizational forms such as cross-sectoral collaborations have all proven important in dealing with this crisis. They will also likely be important for dealing with even more serious crises in the future such as climate change and other challenges referred to in the papers in this issue.

Originality/value

This paper provides an overview and summary of the implications of the papers in this special issue. As such, its originality derives mostly from the originality of the papers contained in this special issue.

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