Assigned to the environment, external actors are mostly condensed under abstract definitions of heterogeneity, dynamism, or hostility (Papadakis et al., 1998). If addressed directly, current research frequently employs cross-sectional content study designs that measure their impact on different dependent variables, such as: corporate strategy (Ring and Perry, 1985; Zajac and Shortell, 1989; Rugman and Verbeke, 1998); innovativeness (Marcus, 1981; Marcus, 1988); diversification (Russo, 1992; Kashlak and Joshi, 1994; Matsusaka, 1996); or organizational design (Dickie, 1984). 2 However, as yet there has been no detailed analysis on how external actors influence the strat- egy formation process. Employing a neo-institutional perspective (Meyer and.
