Theoretical Ideal Profiles and Coalignment: A Strategy-Environment Example in the Not-for-Profit Sector

Abstract

The strategy-environment fit has been the topic of many studies, mostly with samples of for-profit organizations. Recently, a more holistic pattern-analytic approach or coalignment has been used to test the performance implications of the relationship between strategy and environment. This statistical approach may be deficient, however, if the ideal profiles from which deviations are measured are data-specific. Therefore, theoretical ideal profiles were used to examine the strategy-environment coalignment for 558 senior pastors in a Southern Baptist state convention. The results indicate that organizations in dynamic or Stade environments can be effective if they pursue appropriate strategies.