Performance of different organization types
In business, the prevailing theory is that companies can be categorized into one of four types based on their strategic profile: reactors, which are dominated by industry forces; defenders, which specialize in lowering costs for established products while maintaining quality; prospectors, which develop new/improved products; and analyzers, which operate in two product areas-one stable and the other dynamic.
The American Business Review (January 1990) reported on a study that proposes a fifth organization type, balancers, which operate in three product spheres-one stable and two dynamic. Each firm in a sample of 78 glassware firms was categorized as one of these five types, and the level of performance (process research and development ratio) of each was measured.
(a) A completely randomized design ANOVA of the data resulted in a significant (at α = .05) F-value for treatments (organization types). Interpret this result.
(b) Multiple comparisons of the five mean performance levels (using Tukey's procedure at α = .05) are summarized in the following table. Interpret the results.
