Adapting organizational strategies to evolving external environment: A multiple-case study of United States apparel manufacturers

This dissertation investigates the interaction between the environment and organizational strategy. It focuses on the ways in which an evolving legal environment determines strategy. Particularly, it examines the extent to which the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) and its three protocol renewals have progressively affected foreign competition. The latter appears to have been the dominant factor in strategic change. This is a cross-sectional multiple-case study covering twenty years (1971-1990). Most of the data were collected through semi-structured, person-to-person, on-site interviews with key executives of six major apparel manufacturers that represented four of the competitive segments of the industry. Other data were obtained from documents, archival records, and expert interviews. The crucial environmental aspects covered in the interviews were government policies and actions, foreign competition, technology, concentration trends, inputs, markets, and related issues selected by the interviewees. Seven key corporate strategy areas were used to identify each organization\u27s changes in strategy during the period. The areas chosen were marketing, production, distribution and logistics, management and organization, finance, external relations, and planning approach. The analysis followed the theoretical propositions that led to the case study. As recommended by Yin (184), the research data were analyzed by the explanation-building process. This is a type of pattern-matching method, which results in a cross-case analysis. The findings revealed that the executive\u27s overall perception of the environment was affected mostly by the dominant factor in the external environment. This was foreign competition. Organizational strategies were formulated and implemented to accommodate that factor. Although the organizations were in the same industry, but in different segments, and differed in their perceptions of the environment, the findings confirmed the general thesis that environment does affect strategy. The findings also indicate that more research is necessary to determine: (1) how the interaction between external forces and internal forces affect the manager\u27s perception of the environment; (2) how this perception differs in industry segments; and (3) how this perception affects subsequent changes in strategy