Strategy as Vector and the Inertia of Co-evolutionary Lock-in

This comparative longitudinal study of Andy Grove's tenure as Intel Corporation's CEO (1987-1998) documents how he moved Intel's strategy-making process from an internal ecology model to the classical rational actor model. His creation of a highly successful strategy vector pursued through an extremely focused induced strategy process led to co-evolutionary-lock-in with the PC market segment. Intra-company analysis of four new business development cases highlights the inertial consequences of co-evolutionary lock-in. The paper examines implications of co-evolutionary lock-in for long-term organizational adaptation in terms of its effect on balancing induced and autonomous strategy processes and exploitation and exploration in organizational learning.