Scholars of strategy process research have developed various models on the formation of strategies for which organization-environment relations have always been a primary concern. While the majority of studies have emphasized an assessment of the environment for oppor- tunities and threats (., Ansoff, 1965; Andrews, 1971; Porter, 1980), others have focused more directly on the environment as a central actor for strategy formation (see Mintzberg et al., 1998). Hart (1992), referring to the transactive mode of strategy making, views strategy as emerging out of “an ongoing dialogue with key [external] stakeholders” (Hart, 1992:338). .
