Consensus on strategy formulation and organizational performance: Competitors in a fragmented industry

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between organizational performance and consensus (or agreement) within top management teams on company objectives and competitive methods for a sample of nineteen firms competing within a highly fragmented industry—paints and allied products (SIC 2851). It was hypothesized that intense competitive pressures and the resultant low industry profitability would constrain organizational resources and augment the need for consensus on both objectives and methods. However, findings indicate that consensus on either objectives or methods is positively related to organizational performance.