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Strategic Renewal of Organizations

College of Business, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois 61822
Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
agarwalr{at}illinois.edu
constance.helfat{at}dartmouth.edu

Strategic renewal, although critical for the sustained success of organizations, has received relatively little attention as distinct from the more general phenomenon of strategic change. Like all strategic issues, strategic renewal presents both opportunities and challenges for organizations. In this article, we first define the term "strategic renewal" and elaborate on important characteristics of this phenomenon. We also bring to bear evidence that suggests that strategic renewal has a critical impact not only on individual firms and industries but also on entire economies. We then provide an in-depth example of a company that has successfully renewed itself more than once, namely, IBM. Finally, we examine several different avenues for strategic renewal, involving both content and process, and identify common themes among them.

Key Words: strategic renewal; dynamic capability; innovation; cognition; market entry

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