The relationships between the characteristics of the strategy process: evidence from Egypt Said Elbanna and Hassan Younies College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Abstract Purpose – Strategy process research has made considerable progress over the last 20 years and has produced a vast body of literature. This valuable contribution, however, has not adequately examined the relationships between the characteristics of the strategy process. This study aims to fill this gap by providing evidence on the relationships between the characteristics of the process of making strategic decisions (SDs) in a new setting. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings – Based on quantitative and qualitative evidence from a sample of Egyptian companies, it was found that decision makers could be simultaneously rational, political and/or intuitive. Research limitations/implications – The study recommends further research to develop new constructs of the SD making process the way in which the multi-dimensional nature of this organic process can be considered. Practical implications – The SD making process can be multi-dimensional Originality/value – The paper examines the relationships between the characteristics of the strategy process. It provides evidence on the relationships between the characteristics of the process of making strategic decisions (SDs) in a new setting. Keywords Egypt, Intuition, Behaviour, Corporate strategy, Decision making Paper type Research paper Introduction The word strategy comes from the Greek word “strategos”, which denotes an army (a group of soldiers) and leadership. Consequently, strategy is the obligation and the responsibility of the army’s leader (Kokkinis, 1995). Strategy, nowadays, means to most people a plan or a set of actions for the deployment of resources in a certain matter in order to accomplish a long-term goal. Strategy answers two questions: “where do we want to go?” and “how do we want to go there?” The discipline of strategy has been widely divided into two categories: strategy content research and strategy process research (Huff and Reger, 1987). Strategy content research deals with the subject of strategy itself, such as integration, diversification, divestment, mergers, product differentiation, turnaround and entry strategies. It has also addressed similarities and differences between strategic units within the firm and among organisations facing similar situations, such as growth or decline in demand. Strategy process research addresses the actions that lead to and support strategy. It investigates the process by which a strategy is made and implemented and the factors that affect it. The field of strategy process clarified the way in which executives influence the fortunes of their organisations. Combining strategy process and strategy content research could lead to exploring best practices for strategy-process-content combinations. For the The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0025-1747.htm MD 46,4 626 Received January 2008 Accepted January 2008 Management Decision Vol. 46 No. 4, 2008 pp. 626-639 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0025-1747 DOI 10.1108/00251740810865094