Dominance, Interruption, and Corrective Strategic Rebalancing Under Market Volatility
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66203/manexia.01103Keywords:
corrective rebalancing, market volatility, organizational imbalance, recursive reinforcement, strategic dominance, strategic resilienceAbstract
Market volatility frequently exposes structural imbalances that accumulate during periods of sectoral or strategic dominance. While prior research has examined diversification and strategic scope largely through structural or performance lenses, limited attention has been given to the endogenous processes through which dominance emerges, stabilizes, and is subsequently disrupted. This conceptual paper develops a process theory explaining how strategic dominance forms through recursive reinforcement, how volatility acts as an interruption mechanism that reveals latent imbalance, and how organizations engage in corrective strategic rebalancing. The framework conceptualizes dominance as an internally reinforced concentration of strategic attention and resource allocation, rather than merely an external market outcome. Volatility functions not simply as exogenous shock but as a revelatory condition that activates managerial interpretation and strategic recalibration. Corrective rebalancing is theorized as a disciplined, governance-mediated response aimed at restoring coherence and long-term viability. By integrating strategic management, managerial cognition, and governance perspectives, the paper advances a dynamic account of how organizations oscillate between dominance and balance. The study contributes to strategy theory by reframing imbalance as an endogenous process and positioning corrective rebalancing as a core mechanism of strategic resilience under persistent uncertainty.
References
Agarwal, R., & Helfat, C. E. (2009). Strategic renewal of organizations. Organization Science, 20(2), 281–293. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0423
Arthur, W. B. (1989). Competing technologies, increasing returns, and lock-in by historical events. The Economic Journal, 99(394), 116–131. https://doi.org/10.2307/2234208
Bebchuk, L. A., & Fried, J. M. (2004). Pay without performance: The unfulfilled promise of executive compensation. Harvard University Press.
Dess, G. G., & Beard, D. W. (1984). Dimensions of organizational task environments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29(1), 52–73. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393080
Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A. (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193–206. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1984.4277628
Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(76)90026-X
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263–291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185
Kaplan, S., & Orlikowski, W. J. (2013). Temporal work in strategy making. Organization Science, 24(4), 965–995. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0792
Montgomery, C. A. (1994). Corporate diversification. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8(3), 163–178. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.8.3.163
Ocasio, W. (1997). Towards an attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 18(S1), 187–206. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199707)18:1+<187::AID-SMJ936>3.0.CO;2-K
Palich, L. E., Cardinal, L. B., & Miller, C. C. (2000). Curvilinearity in the diversification–performance linkage: An examination of over three decades of research. Strategic Management Journal, 21(2), 155–174. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200002)21:2<155::AID-SMJ82>3.0.CO;2-2
Rumelt, R. P. (1974). Strategy, structure, and economic performance. Harvard University Press.
Staw, B. M. (1981). The escalation of commitment to a course of action. Academy of Management Review, 6(4), 577–587. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1981.4285694
Staw, B. M., Sandelands, L. E., & Dutton, J. E. (1981). Threat rigidity effects in organizational behavior: A multilevel analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(4), 501–524. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392337
Sydow, J., Schreyögg, G., & Koch, J. (2009). Organizational path dependence: Opening the black box. Academy of Management Review, 34(4), 689–709. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.34.4.zok689
Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: The nature and microfoundations of sustainable enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319–1350. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.640
Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. Sage Publications.
Wenzel, M., Stanske, S., & Lieberman, M. B. (2021). Strategic responses to crisis. Strategic Management Journal, 42(2), O16–O27. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3161
Williamson, O. E. (1985). The economic institutions of capitalism. Free Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
This journal applies the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.