Strategic Discipline in Technology Ventures

Few businesses start with a systematic and disciplined strategy. Although issues related to the management of continuity and change are well documented in mature corporations, transitions between strategic postures in the early years of technology ventures have received less attention. We position the concept of strategic discipline as a top management team (TMT) capability and develop propositions regarding the management of paradoxical tensions and transitions across key decision domains: technology and marketing. We illustrate our framework through case studies on cell therapy companies, highlighting pitfalls and opportunities in managing continuity and change over time, within and across decision domains.