The External Environment-Strategic Planning Interface: U.S. Multinational Corporate Practices in the 1980s
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Abstract.This paper presents data collected by structuredinterviewsconcerninghow externalenvironmentalanalysis and strategic planningare relatedin majorU.S.-based to ascertainwhyandtheextent Theresearchwasalsoundertaken multinational corporations. the externalenvironmental functionssince the to whichfirmshave formallyinstitutionalized Iranianrevolution. * This paper serves 2 purposes. The first is to determine the extent and manner of external environmental analysis by large U.S.-based multinationalfirms. Inthis respect, the following research may be compared to a 1978 study by Stephen Kobrin, John Basek, Stephen Blank, and Joseph La Palombara.1 Some of the same questions and issues are analyzed to see if substantial changes in the external environmental function have occurred since the Iranianrevolution. Second, and far more importantly, the relationship between external environmental analysis and the strategic corporate planning function is addressed. The level of interaction between external environmental analysts and strategic planners, the importance of external environmental forecasts to determinations of strategic goals or objectives, and the integration of forecasts about environmental trends into the planning process are the central questions explored.
INTRODUCTION
A structured interview approach was utilized to collect the data. In March-April METHODOLOGY 1983, 94 firmswere contacted by mail.A cover letter plus a 3-page questionnaire OF THESTUDY guideline was sent to the Chairman or Chief Executive Officer, unless a prior contact within the company was available. The cover letter stated the general purpose of the study and indicated that a written response in a typical survey research manner was not desired. Personal interviews at corporate headquarters or over the telephone were preferred instead. The 3-page questionnaire guideline simply served as an explanation for the study and as a means of facilitating the personal interview. A copy of the questionnaire is provided in the Appendix. One should note that the actual give and take of interview questions differed to some degree fromwhat was written in the questionnaire, but all interview respondents were verbally asked the same questions. The 94 companies that were initially contacted by mail were not selected randomly but were chosen on the basis of certain criteria.The first standard was that firms must have had total annual sales of over $1.5 billionin 1982, making them Fortune top 250 companies. Within that group, the next criterion for selection was that each firmwas known to be a large multinationalcorporation (over 1/3 of total sales being abroad) or in industrycategories that were relatively global in nature. A global industry was defined as one in which firmswith at least 1/3 of total sales abroad held 1/3 or more of world market share.2 Of the 94 companies contacted, 61 firms (65 percent) agreed to participate by the 1 June 1983 deadline date. Of these, 10 were interviewed inface-to-face sessions, *CharlesR. Kennedy,Jr.,formerlya VisitingAssi
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