Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Variety and the firm's performance: An empirical investigation

Publication ,  Journal Article
Burton, RM; Forsyth, JD
Published in: Technovation
January 1, 1986

Traditional strategic planning attempts to answer "What should a firm plan to do?". We propose an alternative approach and question "What should a firm plan to be able to do?". It is not a play on words, but rather a control approach to strategic planning rather than a problem solving approach. Its origins lie in Ashby's law of requisite variety and its implications. Variety is the list of things that a firm can do. It is measured using, separately, factor analysis and experts. The two approaches are correlated. Variety is then used as the independent variable in a financial performance - variety model. Statistically significant results obtain. Finally, normative implications of variety creation for the firm are explored. © 1986.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Technovation

DOI

ISSN

0166-4972

Publication Date

January 1, 1986

Volume

5

Issue

1-3

Start / End Page

9 / 21

Related Subject Headings

  • Business & Management
  • 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
  • 3503 Business systems in context
  • 1505 Marketing
  • 1503 Business and Management
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Burton, R. M., & Forsyth, J. D. (1986). Variety and the firm's performance: An empirical investigation. Technovation, 5(1–3), 9–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-4972(86)90041-6
Burton, R. M., and J. D. Forsyth. “Variety and the firm's performance: An empirical investigation.” Technovation 5, no. 1–3 (January 1, 1986): 9–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-4972(86)90041-6.
Burton RM, Forsyth JD. Variety and the firm's performance: An empirical investigation. Technovation. 1986 Jan 1;5(1–3):9–21.
Burton, R. M., and J. D. Forsyth. “Variety and the firm's performance: An empirical investigation.” Technovation, vol. 5, no. 1–3, Jan. 1986, pp. 9–21. Scopus, doi:10.1016/0166-4972(86)90041-6.
Burton RM, Forsyth JD. Variety and the firm's performance: An empirical investigation. Technovation. 1986 Jan 1;5(1–3):9–21.
Journal cover image

Published In

Technovation

DOI

ISSN

0166-4972

Publication Date

January 1, 1986

Volume

5

Issue

1-3

Start / End Page

9 / 21

Related Subject Headings

  • Business & Management
  • 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
  • 3503 Business systems in context
  • 1505 Marketing
  • 1503 Business and Management