Top managers' strategic cognitions of the strategy making process : differences between high and low performing firms

The article discusses the difference in top managers' strategic cognition of the strategy making process in high and low performing firms. At the heart of every organizational success lies a well crafted strategy of where are we now, where do we want to go, how do we get there, and how do we know when we have got there. This article presents the latest findings on how top managers--boards of directors and top management team members--in high and low performing firms describe their strategy making experiences. The similarities and differences found are quite intriguing and useful for any senior executives involved with the strategic direction of their organisations. A Repertory Grid Technique was chosen to elicit top managers' strategic thinking in this article because it was known to be a powerful, rigorous and systematic interviewing approach to discover how people construe and make sense of their worlds. This interviewing technique basically consists of three aspects: elements, constructs and ratings.Department of Management and Marketin