Management teams see strategic initiatives as efficient answer to pressing challenges. Managing initiatives, however, is perceived as highly complex by most managers. To lower the high degree of causal ambiguity in the relationship between contextually induced strategy-making and the performance of strategic initiatives Wolfgang Kaltenbrunn develops a dynamic model and derives three hypotheses. The statistical analyses confirm both the validity of the theoretical model and the significance of all hypotheses. Finally, the author infers concrete recommendations for managerial practice from this PhD thesis s statistical results.

Autorentext
While working as a capital investment controller in Munich, Dr. Wolfgang Kaltenbrunn (born in 1979), completed his doctoral thesis at the University of St. Gallen under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Günter Müller-Stewens at the Institute of Management at the University of St. Gallen.

Zusammenfassung
Foreword Since the first studies by Bower and Burgelman in the early 1980's on the phenomenon of strategic initiatives, the use of strategic initiatives in the strategic management of diversified organizations now is omnipresent. Strategic initiatives are seen as efficient answers of management teams for pressing challenges. By making use of strategic initiatives, managers can proceed flexibly and with entrepreneurial vigor from broad ideas toward specific commitments. Managing initiatives is perceived as a complex challenge by most managers. Empirical studies show that about 70% of all strategic initiatives fail to reach their goals. This statistic shows us, that successful management and implementation of strategic initiatives requires a multitude of diverse managerial skills. To date, the complexity of strategic initiatives is most often not fully taken into account in strategic management research. Almost all studies investigating strategic initiatives have concentrated either on the external or internal organizational context or have solely identified contextual factors that undermine the successful implementation of strategic initiatives. This underscores the fact that most prior research on the relationship between the organizational context and strategic initiatives is too narrow and suggests the need for a more holistic approach.

Inhalt
Prior research.- Theoretical model and hypotheses.- Methodology.- Conclusions.