華人組織層峰樣態與策略形成

The Upper Echelon’s Configuration and Strategy Formation in Chinese Organizations

任何組織都需面臨兩大功能議題：內部整合與外部適應，策略是組織謀求外部適應的重要手段，然而由於策略私密性的神秘面紗，研究者對策略形成歷程仍所知不多，台灣在策略歷程的黑箱探索研究更是才剛剛開始。本文以家長式領導與差序格局的構念為立基，以概念推理的方式提出三個命題，並以厚實性個案的實徵證據肯定了命題存在之合理性：(1)具差序格局與家長式領導特性的華人組織層峰群，領導者與層峰者所知覺的為身處結構洞網絡樣態；(2)在層峰群互動為控制的主導邏輯下，結構洞網絡樣態所傍生的為權力邏輯的策略形成歷程；資訊的主導邏輯所傍生的則為執兩用中與辯證突現的策略形成歷程；(3)其他條件不變下，辯證突現的策略形成歷程，將比執兩用中生產出較創新的策略品質；此二者則優於權力邏輯的策略形成歷程。最後，則與文獻對話，討論了華人組織策略形成歷程之共性與殊性、家長領導對組織績效的混合影響、人的競爭力解釋等理論議題。

Leaders of organizations have strategies for dealing with the functional issues of internal integration and external adaptation. However, as they like to keep these strategies private, the processes used to form such strategies are not well understood by researchers. Research on these strategy formation processes have only recently been initiated in Taiwan. Based on the paternalistic leadership model and the differential matrices model, we propose the following: (1) In those organizations characterized by paternalistic leadership and the differential matrices models, the social structure of top level leaders (upper echelon) is what Ronald S. Burt called 'structural hole'. (2) When the upper echelon's interaction rule is dominated by control logic, the structural hole social structure will induce a power-leading strategy formation process; when it is dominated by information logic, the structural hole social structure will induce 'take the golden mean' position and 'dialect and emerge' strategy formation processes. (3) When all else is equal, the 'dialect and emerge' process will produce more innovative and higher quality strategies than the 'take the golden mean' position and the power-leading process; the 'take the golden mean' position will produce higher quality strategy than the power-leading process. One longitudinal case study research in a reputed apparel corporation affirmed these propositions. The theoretical meanings are discussed and compared to the upper echelon perspective theory. The compounding phenomena of paternalistic leadership's effect on corporate performance are also discussed.