The phenomenon of big data-large, diverse, complex, and/or longitudinal data sets-is having a stark influence on organizational strategy making. An increase in levels of data and technological capabilities is redefining innovation, competition, and productivity. This article contributes to both practical strategic application and academic research in the strategic management domain by presenting a framework that identifies how big data improves functional capabilities within organizations, shapes entirely new industries, and is a key component of innovative and disruptive strategies used by learning organizations to diversify and break down barriers of traditionally defined industries. This framework provides an appropriate basis for internal corporate strategy discussions that surround big data investments by explaining how firms create value through various approaches. In addition, this we offer guidance for how firms might derive their own big data approach through the merits of aligning data strategy aspirations with data strategy authenticity.

The advantages of speed are often invoked by academics and practitioners as an essential condition during post-acquisition integration, frequently without consideration of the impact earlier decisions have on acquisition speed. In this article, we examine the role speed plays in acquisitions across the acquisition process using research organized around characteristics that display complexity with respect to acquisition speed. We incorporate existing research with a process perspective of acquisitions in order to present trade-offs, and consider the influence of both stakeholders and the pre-deal-completion context on acquisition speed, as well as the organization's capabilities to facilitating that speed. Observed trade-offs suggest both that acquisition speed often requires longer planning time before an acquisition and that associated decisions require managerial judgement. A framework for improving manager decisions during acquisitions is discussed and its implications for managers and research summarized.

This special issue explores the impacts of behavioral strategy on management practice. Behavioral strategy can best contribute to management practice by shifting its focus from individual decision biases to the design of behaviorally informed decision processes at the level of the firm. This introduction identifies three types of organizational decision processes, shows how they interact with individual and group biases, and proposes a model showing how managers can design and deploy these processes to shape the strategy of the firm. It then introduces the articles in this special issue and discusses their contributions to the future of behavioral strategy.

In today's world, CEOs are frequently dismissed following corporate misconduct or poor performance. Yet, it is often difficult to predict when boards will dismiss the CEOs, as the same behavior often results in different decisions across firms. Taking a socio-cognitive perspective, this article explores the factors that lead a CEO to become tarnished. It then uses expectancy violation theory combined with attribution theory as well as stakeholder theory, concepts of legitimacy, and motivational theory to understand how the board evaluates the tarnished CEO.

Dealmakers tend to neglect uncertainty when making acquisition decisions, rushing into deals that eventually fail to deliver the anticipated synergies. Cause for this uncertainty neglect can be found in behavioral biases that cloud executive decision making. Acquirers should more often use minority stakes as a toehold to test full acquisitions and to guard themselves against the negative effects of uncertainty. An extended valuation toolkit that requires more managerial attention to uncertainty and behavioral pitfalls can help executives to better identify and value the benefits of minority stake strategies as an alternative to controlling acquisitions in uncertain situations.

It is often said that being a good strategist requires keeping a cool head. However, eradicating emotional influences from the strategy process is not only infeasible, it is also undesirable. Drawing on the latest advances in the science of emotion, this article explains how emotion regulation is an essential skill that executives must cultivate to ensure that their enterprises are able to adapt effectively in these turbulent times. The authors offer practical steps to help executives manage better the emotional dynamics of strategizing, which left unchecked can derail even the most carefully orchestrated of strategy processes

Researchers in behavioral strategy are producing new insights on strategic decision making. At the same time, a few pioneering companies are discovering ways to put behavioral strategy into practice. This article draws on behavioral research and strategy practice to present an approach called diligence-based strategy. In markets comprised of people rather than rational economic agents, the analysis of competitive advantages matters less than the diligent execution of fundamental activities. Diligence-based strategy offers an applied method for formulating and executing strategy in organizations, showing how managers can leverage technology and management discipline to drive business success in the twenty-first century.

Despite the consensus that climate change will have huge consequences not just for the planet but also on corporate operations, businesses continue to fail to adjust their strategic decision-making processes to become more sustainable. One of the silent culprits behind climate change inertia lies in the cognitive biases at play in corporate decision making. This article builds on existing strategic decision-making models to explain how biases prevent managers from accurately identifying the moral dimensions of climate change. It also presents a broad range of practical interventions for how this constraint can be overcome.

This article introduces strategists to the Mindspace framework and explores its applications in strategic contexts. This framework consists of nine effective behavioral interventions that are grounded in public policy applications, and it focuses on how changing the context can be more effective than attempts to de-bias decision makers. Behavioral changes are likely when we follow rather than fight human nature. Better decisions can be achieved by engineering choice contexts to "engage a bias" to overcome a more damaging bias. This article illustrates how to engineer strategic contexts through two case studies and outlines directions and challenges when applying Mindspace to strategic decisions.

The consumer banking industry is notoriously hard to enter. Customers rarely switch banks (switching costs are high) and there are considerable barriers to entry to new players. Traditionally, banking products can be complex, often accompanied by non-transparent cross-selling practices and hidden fees and commissions that seem designed to extract as much money as possible from customers, rather than serving them in a customer-centric way. The case is set in South Africa, where around the turn of the millennium the banking sector was dominated by four major players who collectively had a market share in excess of 80%. The established players differentiated customers according to income bracket, rather than the value of the service being provided, and tended to overlook those on lower incomes. There was a large 'unbanked' or underserved demographic who lacked almost all access to financial services. The case details how Capitec entered and disrupted the industry by targeting the mass market, including the hitherto unbanked, and by becoming a bank that was open to customers from all income groups and which treated all customers alike. By focusing on three key principles - affordability, accessibility and simplicity - and with a clear customer focus, Capitec was able to stimulate much broader financial inclusion and capitalise on it accordingly, establishing a position in the top four banks and enjoying year-on-year growth in terms of new customers and revenue that far outstripped its competitors.

Frustrated by some of his experience with public/private partnerships, the author began daydreaming about how State Street, which has a large charitable foundation, could attack the problem of workforce development. The foundation was already spending millions of dollars a year in the areas of education and job training, and State Street is one of Boston's largest employers: It could provide a job and a career at the end of a young person's education, which nonprofits could not. Furthermore, the company is full of Millennials who want to volunteer as mentors. In 2015 Hooley and his team launched Boston WINs ("workforce investment networks"). They committed to investing $20 million and hiring 1,000 graduates of urban schools over the next four years.

At the top of the ladder, the stakes are high and the demands intense. Too many CEOs falter in the job; about a quarter of the Fortune 500 chiefs who leave their firms each year are forced out. Clearly, boards do not always get their hires right. In conducting an analysis of in-depth assessments of 17,000 executives, the authors uncovered a large disconnect between what directors think makes for an ideal CEO and what actually leads to high performance. The findings of their 10-year research project challenge many widely held assumptions. Charisma, confidence, and pedigree all have little bearing on CEO success, it turns out. Instead, top performers demonstrate four specific business behaviors: (1) They're decisive, realizing they can't wait for perfect information and that a wrong decision is often better than no decision. (2) They engage for impact, working to understand the priorities of stakeholders and then aligning them around a goal of value creation. (3) They adapt proactively, keeping an eye on the long term and treating mistakes as learning opportunities. (4) They deliver results in a reliable fashion, steadily following through on commitments.

"Onboarding" is an apt term for the way many companies support new leaders' transitions, because not much more is involved than bringing the executive safely on deck. After that, he or she is expected to sort things out with little or no guidance. "Integration" suggests a more aspirational goal--doing what it takes to make the new person a fully functioning member of the team as quickly and smoothly as possible. That's not common practice, unfortunately. The authors' studies show that well-integrated executives can build momentum early on and reduce the average amount of time to full performance by a third, from six months to four. New leaders need the greatest integration support in five major tasks: assuming operational leadership; taking charge of the team; aligning with stakeholders; engaging with the culture; and defining strategic intent.

High potentials being groomed as future leaders would appear to have it made--but their seemingly good fortune can turn out to be a curse. As they strive to conform to company ideals for leadership, they often bury the qualities that made them special. They become reluctant to take risks, lest they prove themselves unworthy. This "talent curse" can hinder personal growth, performance, and engagement--and even push people out the door. If you are on a high-potential track, watch for three signs of trouble: (1) A shift from using your talent to constantly trying to prove it; (2) A preoccupation with your image, which feels increasingly inauthentic; and (3) The feeling that your present work is empty and only future opportunities will be meaningful. Then take these steps to break the talent curse: (1) Own your talent; don't let it own you. Balance others' expectations with your needs and learn to accept help. (2) Bring your whole self to work. Channel the darker sources of your talent. (3) Value the present. View your current work as a worthy destination, not merely a stepping-stone. The talent curse may be painful, but grappling with it is an important part of learning how to lead.

Many people with neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia have extraordinary skills, including in pattern recognition, memory, and mathematics. Yet they often struggle to fit the profiles sought by employers. A growing number of companies, including SAP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Microsoft, have reformed their HR processes in order to access neurodiverse talent--and are seeing productivity gains, quality improvement, boosts in innovative capabilities, and increased employee engagement as a result. The programs vary but have seven major elements in common. Companies should: (1) Team with governments or nonprofits experienced in working with people with disabilities; (2) Use noninterview assessment processes; (3) Train other workers and managers in what to expect; (4) Set up a support system; (5) Tailor methods for managing careers; (6) Scale the program; (7) Mainstream the program. The work for managers will be harder, but the payoff to companies will be considerable: access to more of their employees' talents along with diverse perspectives that will help them compete.

Innovation is often seen as the engine of growth, but there is a dark side: Unmanaged innovation frequently leads to excessive business complexity--in supply chain, sales and marketing, product development, IT, and administrative processes--leading to higher expenses and difficulties for customers and employees. Every time customers are asked to enter the same data twice, have inconsistent experiences when interacting with different parts of the business, or are forced to contact multiple people to get something done, it hurts the company. Every time employees can't access important information or their decisions get derailed by silos, it hurts the company. Excess innovation can even destroy a business. The authors offer three guidelines to address this problem: (1) Focus on product integration rather than proliferation; (2) Make sure that product developers are in close touch with customer-facing employees; and (3) Define your purpose in a way that will guide decision making.

Although the ability to manage torrents of data has become crucial to companies' success, most organizations remain badly behind the curve. More than 70% of employees have access to data they should not. Data breaches are common, rogue data sets propagate in silos, and companies' data technology often isn't up to the demands put on it. In this article the authors describe a framework for building a robust data strategy that can be applied across industries and levels of data maturity. The framework will help managers clarify the primary purpose of their data, whether "defensive" or "offensive." Data "" is about minimizing downside risk: ensuring compliance with regulations, using analytics to detect and limit fraud, and building systems to prevent theft. Data "offense" focuses on supporting business objectives such as increasing revenue, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Using this approach, managers can design their data-management activities to support their company's overall strategy.

According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, privately owned Chinese companies are making more than 150 investments a year in Africa's manufacturing sector, up from only two in 2000. These companies are having a major impact: They smelt steel in Nigeria to fuel its construction boom; they've made the clothing industry the largest economic sector in Lesotho; and the board of Humanwell, a Chinese pharmaceutical company, has approved an eventual investment of $100 million in Ethiopia. These and other investments are transforming Africa's economy and society by providing millions of Africans with formal employment for the first time, fostering a generation of African entrepreneurs, and inspiring African institutions to support vibrant manufacturing clusters.

The human brain likes simple straight lines. As a result, people tend to expect that relationships between variables and outcomes will be linear. Often this is the case: The amount of data an iPad will hold increases at the same rate as its storage capacity. But frequently relationships are not linear: The time savings from upgrading a broadband connection get smaller and smaller as download speed increases. Would it surprise you to know that upgrading a car from 10 MPG to 20 MPG saves more gas than upgrading from 20 MPG to 50 MPG? Because it does. As fuel efficiency increases, gas consumption falls sharply at first and then more gradually. This is just one of four nonlinear patterns the authors identify in their article. Nonlinear phenomena are all around in business: in the relationship between price, volume, and profits; between retention rate and customer lifetime value; between search rankings and sales. If you don't recognize when they're in play, you're likely to make poor decisions. But if you map out relationships in data visualizations, you can actually see whether they are nonlinear and how--and then make choices that maximize your desired outcome.