Strategic reversal – The network as reason, means and end

This paper describes and discusses strategic reversal in a network context. Strategic reversal here refers to how a company implements
a strategy and, with a lapse of time, decides to undo that strategic change. The paper discusses strategic reversal in terms of being: (i) driven by the network or changes therein; (ii) using the network to accomplish the reversal; and (iii) affecting network parties. It contrasts this with the initial strategy, and discusses the initial strategy and reversal in terms of company-centric and network-driven strategy. Two case studies illustrate this. The paper concludes that the reversal may be company-centric to as high an extent as the initial strategy. The reversal is not complete in the sense that it does not bring the parties, or their network connections, back to what they were before the initial strategy. For the firms reversing their strategies, new parties need to be invited to direct relationships, while present network parties may inhibit the reversal. These findings contribute to previous research through describing post-implementation reversal of strategy, and relate it to the network in its formulation, implementation and as affecting its outcome.