The paper aims to investigate the relationship between strategy and structure in the high-technology enterprises. The study attempts to ascertain how chief executive officers perceive the impact of strategy on organizational structure, and likewise impact of structure on strategy, at two phases in the innovation process: the phase of innovation exploration; and the phase of innovation exploitation. The research was conducted in 61 high-technology companies based in Poland that operate either in Poland or in the global marketplace. The results show that, during the exploration of innovation, chief executive officers consider that the impact of organizational structure on strategy is stronger than the impact of strategy on structure. During the exploitation of innovations, the impact of strategy on structure is stronger.

Several influential writers including Henry Mintzberg and Gary Hamel have highlighted the need for organizations to value the contribution to strategy work of middle managers in an uncertain world. In this study quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews are used to mix methods and investigate the role of middle managers in strategy-making process in Australia. The results indicate that middle managers are the ‘doers’ of strategy, with important ‘analyst’, ‘coordinator’, ‘information source’ and ‘communicator’ roles. Middle managers reported some frustration in interviews that at times they feel their input to strategic conversations is not translated effectively into organization strategy.

Our study develops a new conceptual framework in which guanxi practices (managerial use of interpersonal ties to benefit their organizations) are analyzed by their focus (resources flowing inward or resources flowing outward) and their base (familiar – based on friendship ties; or family – based on kinship ties). Using this framework, we highlight the linkage between costs and benefits from using guanxi in Chinese business organizations, and show how the linkage depends on the guanxi base. Finally, we show how guanxi focus and guanxi base importantly affect employee responses to the use of guanxi practices in their organizations.