To what extent can Robert's decision to purchase Quickcover, and the subsequent introduction of Stadiumcover, be viewed as intelligent opportunism?"

Case

Strategy has had a variety of definitions applied to it. Alfred Chandler (1963, p 13), for example, considers

strategy to be: '... the determination of the long-run goals and objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of

courses of action and the allocation of resource necessary for carrying out these goals'. On the other hand,

Michael Porter (1996, p 64) suggests that 'Competitive strategy is about being dif

ferent. It means deliberately

choosing a dif

ferent set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.' Firms must possess the necessary

capabilities to enable them to reconfigure, renew and redeploy resources and capabilities constantly in order

to capture changing opportunities more ef

fectively (Foss

et al

, 201

1; Lau

et al

, 2004). Competitive strategy

,

therefore, explores how firms operate to improve their performance (Lechner and Gudmundsson, 2014). For

most people in business, 'strategy' is viewed as a way to explain the things they do (Thompson

et al

, 2014);

it is a plan, a conscious decision or an intended course of action that is premeditated and deliberate (Graetz,

2002).

Strategic thinking, intelligent opportunism and emergent strategy

The purpose of strategic thinking, it has been suggested, is to:

'

discover novel, imaginative strategies which

can re-write the rules of the competitive game; and to envision potential futures significantly dif

ferent from the

present' (Heracleous, 1998, p 485). Strategic thinking is an essential prerequisite to firms' survival (Beaver

and Ross, 2000). More recently

, strategic thinking has been related to the innovative aspects of a firm'

s

strategic planning (Harrison and St John, 2013). However

, Mintzberg and W

aters (1985) recognize that not

all strategy is consciously planned, referring to 'emergent strategy' that is often developed intuitively by

entrepreneurs rather than as the result of rational planning (Hill

et al

, 2014).

The notion of emergent strategy is closely linked to the theory of 'ef

fectuation' (Sarasvathy

, 2001): that is, the

notion that entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, reasoning and acting that focuses on the identification and

exploitation of business opportunities from a broad general perspective, which Sarasvathy (2004) describes

as the 'essential agent' of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is, therefore, associated with opportunity

recognition and has been defined as the: 'examination of how

, by whom, and with what ef

fects opportunities to

create future goods and services are discovered, evaluated and exploited' (Shane and V

enkataraman, 2000,

p 218), and the ability to recognize opportunities is widely viewed as a key step in the entrepreneurial process

(Tang and Khan, 2007). The purpose of strategic thinking, on the other hand, is to clarify the future, allocate

and manage resources and manage change (Thompson

et al

, 2014). However

, to create the most value,

entrepreneurial firms also need to act strategically

, and this calls for an integration of both entrepreneurial and

strategic thinking (Hitt e

t al

, 2001), as Zahra and Nambisan (2012, p 219) explain: 'Strategic thinking and the

entrepreneurial activities ... influence one another in a cycle that perpetuates and even sparks innovation'.

The question is, how can these two concepts be successfully combined?

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SAGE Business Cases

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Strategic Thinking: Intelligent Opportunism and Emergent Strategy - The

Case of Strategic Engineering Services

The concept of 'intelligent opportunism' refers to the idea that, although strategic thinking is inherently

concerned with shaping and reshaping strategic intent, there must be room for flexibility (Hamel and Prahalad,

1989), thus allowing entrepreneurs to consider new opportunities. Intelligent opportunism involves

entrepreneurs being open to new experiences that allow them to take advantage of emergent strategies

that are, arguably

, more relevant in a rapidly changing business environment and can be considered a form

of 'opportunistic' strategy (Liedtka, 1998). Intelligent opportunism therefore acts as a locus for combining

opportunity recognition and emergent strategies, as Liedtka (1998, p 123) explains: 'within this [type of] intent-

driven focus, there must be room for intelligent opportunism that not only furthers intended strategy but that

also leave open the possibility of new strategies emerging'. Intelligent opportunism is about adopting a flexible

approach to strategy in order to take advantage of emerging strategies and new opportunities and, by being

'intelligently opportunistic', entrepreneurial leaders can influence strategic decision making (Haycock, 2012).

All information gathered for the case study should be considered to have been disclosed in a relationship

of trust, and participants have the right to expect that it will not be divulged without their permission. At the

request of the organization, and for commercial reasons, all confidential data pertaining to the organizations

and its products have been presented in an anonymous way

, observing ethical standards.

Strategic Engineering Services

Robert Stewart, the MD of Strategic Engineering Services Ltd (SES), was considering whether he should

concentrate on strengthening the engineering services part of the business, where the company had a strong

reputation in the market, or whether he should invest more time and money in the firm'

s latest product. Robert

had purchased a new product, 'Quickcover

', because he saw an opportunity to improve on the original design

of the product as well as to diversify the company'

s existing portfolio by expanding its range of products and

services. As he explains:

'If I see an interesting business I will consider buying it if it complements our existing portfolio ... by providing

services and products this prevents us putting all our eggs in one basket, so to speak.'

In Robert'

s view

, diversification was essential to the long-term financial success of SES, but his fellow

directors would need convincing.

Company background

Formed in 1972, the SES Group is a privately owned group of companies providing engineering products

and services throughout Europe, as well as in the Middle East and Far East. The original firm, Strategic

Engineering Services Ltd (SES), was founded by Eric Stewart, who had trained as a machinist making steel

components such as nuts, bolts and steel casings. Eric used a small bank loan to buy his own lathe and

started making these components, which were supplied to many firms in various industries in the north

of England, including the steel and petrochemical industries. The business was very successful and the

company quickly grew

. By the early 1980s, SES employed around 60 people. Due to the changing nature

of the heavy engineering sector in the late 1990s, the SES Group changed the shape of its business. This

included divesting itself of most of its activities in heavy fabrication, heavy machining and manufacture of large

water and sewage pumping systems, to allow a focused commitment to the company'

s technical pedigree

and the emerging renewables, oil and gas and marine engineering sectors.

During this time, the company had expanded into related areas such as welding, fabrication and engineering

maintenance. Again, these new activities were very successful, and a separate company

, Strategic Site

Maintenance Ltd (SSM), was established in 1992 to deal with the site services side of the business. SSM is an

engineering and contracting services company providing a wide range of engineering services to customers

in the UK and overseas. This includes fabrication and construction projects to oil and gas, marine and

petrochemical industries. SSM also provides recruitment services specifically designed to serve a wide range

of specialist trades, technical and engineering personnel working in all sectors of industry

.

The success of the site services business meant a move to larger premises with additional space, better

undercover facilities and the cranage required for heavy lifting and carrying out large-scale maintenance

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Strategic Thinking: Intelligent Opportunism and Emergent Strategy - The

Case of Strategic Engineering Services

contracts. A large (10-acre) site that used to be an old steel foundry provided an ideal location for the growing

business. This site remained the home of both SES and SSM up until the mid-1990s. At this time, the

traditional machining market was starting to dry up as more UK firms began outsourcing this sort of work to

companies in Eastern Europe and the Far East. SES recognized the need to branch out into new areas of

business and had already started to diversify into new and related areas of engineering, such as plant and

equipment hire, instrument calibration and project management.

Diversification

By the mid-1990s, SES was established as a holding company for a number of subsidiary trading companies

that were set up to run each of the company'

s growing and increasingly diverse business interests. At the

same time, the strategic decision (Hendry

, 2000) was made to sell the original machining part of the business,

which was becoming unprofitable, and also to sell the premises, which were now too large for its existing

needs. The company moved into brand new premises on a local business park in rural Northumbria, where

it was now able to concentrate on its portfolios of businesses. SES was now represented by three distinct

subsidiary companies, each run as separate businesses by Eric'

s three sons:

Strategic Site Maintenance Ltd (SSM) - established in 1992 and run by Simon Stewart, SSM is

a specialist engineering, construction and technical recruitment business. The company provides

recruitment services to a broad range of sectors including nuclear and power generation,

construction, the chemical industry and the onshore/of

fshore oil and gas industries both within the

UK and internationally

. It also provides project management services for fabrication and construction

projects in the oil and gas, marine and petrochemical industries.

MobileCAL Ltd - established in 1992 and run by David Stewart, MobileCAL of

fers mobile calibration

and testing of equipment. The business provides a mobile service covering the whole of the UK.

Its services include calibration, load testing, portable appliance testing (P

AT), exhaust and dust

extraction, air quality testing and certification.

TestCAL Ltd - established in 1997 and run by Robert Stewart, T

estCAL is a test equipment specialist

providing a range of calibration services including equipment hire, on-site calibration laboratories and

sales of test and measurement equipment. It also provides hire services throughout the UK.

A new opportunity

More recently

, SES has acquired a new company as part of its portfolio, Quickcover Ltd, which manufactures

a unique remote-controlled sports pitch covering system. This system is designed to fit any size of outdoor

sporting venue, providing protection from the elements. A motorized roller system is operated by a simple

remote control, which at the press of a button travels across the field, automatically deploying a weatherproof

cover in less than 10 minutes. SES was initially contracted to fabricate the roller system on behalf of

Quickcover

. However

, Robert Stewart, the MD of T

estCal, saw the product as potentially very lucrative and

bought the company

. The firm now manufactures, installs and maintains the system under the brand name

Quickcover

. The product is used by a range of sporting venues including football, rugby

, cricket, athletics,

American football, baseball, tennis and hockey facilities. More recently

, SES has also developed a variation

of the product, 'Stadiumcover

', for use at equestrian and other similar outdoor arenas