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Girard  (p. 9-22)

Cooper (p. 23-32)

Kunz-Osborne (p. 33-41)

Coulmas-Law (p.42-46)

Stasio (p. 47-56)

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JOURNAL OF STRATEGIC INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

Specialization, Slack Orientation, and Adaptive Capacity in Uncertain Environments

Author(s): Matthew W. Ford

Citation: Matthew W. Ford, "Specialization, Slack Orientation, and Adaptive Capacity in Uncertain Environments," Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability, Vol. 12, Iss. 1, pp. 55-67

Article Type: Research paper

Publisher: North American Business Press

Abstract:

This investigation applies a structural contingency perspective toward the problem of operations

specialization under conditions of uncertainty. Generally, more environmental uncertainty is proposed to

reduce the degree of specialization associated with effective adaptation. The study also considers how

specialized operations, which are costly to modify due to their high asset specificities, cope with changing

environments. The concept of organizational slack is employed to develop various orientations that offer

adaptive capacity for specialized operations. Appropriate slack orientation is proposed to depend on

whether volume or technological uncertainty is prevalent in the environment.