A Framework for a Grounded Theory of Corporate Policy

A framework is presented for developing a theory of corporate policy, based on a fairly exhaustive survey of case studies used in capstone courses in strategy and policy in AACSB accredited master's programs in schools of business administration in the US.

The main variables relevant to corporate policy were identified and grouped into eight meta-variables: strategy, strategic actions, organizational characteristics, environment, strategic process, organizational design, strategic actors, and organizational performance. I propose a framework for strategic theory: A strategy is the actions taken to match an organization with its environment. The strategy is formulated and implemented by a process and an organizational design in which various actors take part. Strategic match results in high performance.

This is the first step in generating a theory from data, to be followed by generating propositions.