A Model of Dynamic Strategy-Making: The Yin-Yang Process of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Mechanisms

The organizational capacity to cope with unexpected changes remains a fundamental challenge in strategy as global competition and technological innovation increase environmental uncertainty. Conventional strategy-making is often conceived as a sequential linear process where we see it as a non-linear interaction between top-down and bottom-up mechanisms dealing with multiple actions taken throughout the organization over time. It is driven by intension but with a flexible balance between centralized (planned) and decentralized (spontaneous) activities. We adopt the principles of complementary Yin-Yang elements and Zhong Yong balance to explain the time bound interaction between these opposing yet complementary strategy-making mechanisms where tradeoffs and synergies are balanced across hierarchical levels.