What Stops Strategy Execution: "Organizations That Can't Decide" - Ambiguity in Authority and Roles is the Bottleneck

Roland Berger Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Yuzuru Ohashi, hereinafter "Roland Berger") conducted the "5th Survey on Awareness of Listed Company CxOs and Heads of Corporate Planning" targeting 200 CxOs and Heads of Corporate Planning at Japanese listed companies regarding the difficulties of strategy execution in the generative AI era.

Now that the cost of "drawing" strategies has dramatically decreased with generative AI, what differentiates companies is not the ability to draw strategies, but the ability to execute them and turn them into results. In this series, we will explore why strategies are not executed and what distinguishes organizations that can start and complete them, based on survey data, with the theme of "strategy execution" in the generative AI era.

Part 1 | The focus of management issues shifts from "formulation" to "execution" Part 2 (This article) | What Stops Strategy Execution: "Organizations That Can't Decide" Part 3 | The key is the transition to an "Agile Organization" Part 4 | Utilizing external partners as "accelerators"

For the previous "4th Survey on Awareness of Listed Company CxOs and Heads of Corporate Planning," please click here.

There are three main points from the survey results: 1 Only about 40% of projects have clearly defined decision-making authority and roles, while projects with clearly defined roles have about three times the completion rate.

2 When sufficient authority is not given to the front lines, decision-making tends to stagnate, and the completion rate decreases. Projects where authority is delegated to the front lines have a 13-point higher completion rate.

3 The biggest factor determining success or failure is the leadership of front-line leaders. The absence of leadership is about five times more common in failed projects, and leadership is demonstrated about 1.3 times more often in successful projects.

*High-performing companies in this survey are those that responded that their company's sales growth rate is "better than competitors" when compared to competitors, and underperforming companies are those that responded "worse than competitors."

The biggest factor hindering strategy execution and completion is "organization and structure"

The reasons why strategies are not executed or completed are not necessarily limited to the "quality of the strategy/plan." This survey indicates that the core of the problem lies not in the content of the strategy, but in the "execution mechanism," such as organizational structure, decision-making, role allocation, and leadership.

As shown in Part 1, even after the spread of generative AI, the rate of strategy initiation remains around 50%. In other words, what stops execution is not the quality of the strategy, but the structural issue of "who makes decisions and how."

1 Only about 40% of projects have clearly defined decision-making authority and roles, while projects with clearly defined roles have about three times the completion rate.

In many companies, there is variability in the clarity of authority and roles for each project, and in reality, over 60% of projects have almost no defined roles.

This "clarity of authority and roles" is strongly correlated with the completion rate of strategies. In fact, when roles are not defined, about 80% of projects do not reach completion, while when they are defined, the completion rate reaches about 60%.

This indicates that the design of authority and responsibility is critically important for the execution and completion of strategies. The reason strategies do not move forward lies not in their content, but in the very structure where it is unclear "who makes decisions and who bears responsibility."

2 When sufficient authority is not given to the front lines, decision-making tends to stagnate, and the completion rate decreases. Projects where authority is delegated to the front lines have a 13-point higher completion rate.

Over 80% of companies experience project delays and stagnation due to the time required for decision-making. The main cause identified was "insufficient delegation of authority to the front lines."

The presence or absence of authority at the front lines directly impacts execution results. When sufficient authority is granted, the completion rate is about 1.5 times higher than when it is not.

On the other hand, the improvement in the initiation rate is only about 1.2 times, indicating that initiation does not progress solely through front-line decision-making.

Furthermore, whether the front lines have the authority to make autonomous decisions affects the company's competitiveness.

In fact, among high-performing companies, "delegation of authority to the front lines" is about 1.2 times higher than "not delegated," while among underperforming companies, it is only about half.

3 The biggest factor determining success or failure is the leadership of front-line leaders. The absence of leadership is about five times more common in failed projects, and leadership is demonstrated about 1.3 times more often in successful projects.

Front-line leaders' leadership most significantly influences the success or failure of projects. The absence of leadership is only 2% in successful projects, while it is about 10% in failed projects. The biggest difference between success and failure is seen in front-line leaders, with a gap of 10 percentage points.

In strategy execution, front-line leaders act as a "nexus" connecting management's intentions to the front lines, connecting front-line realities to management, and coordinating interests between departments. If this function is not adequately fulfilled, the strategy will not permeate the front lines, and the entire project will become dysfunctional.

Therefore, to enhance strategy execution capabilities, front-line leaders must be redefined not merely as messengers, but as agents who embody and realize transformation. Subsequently, it is essential to provide them with decision-making authority and execution support commensurate with their responsibilities.

Following the survey results, Seiichi Tamura, Senior Partner and Head of Roland Berger's Corporate Transformation Support Team, stated:

"In companies where strategy execution is not progressing, it is common for the question of 'who decides' to remain ambiguous. We see structures where authority is not sufficiently delegated despite demands for responsibility, or where decision-making is concentrated at the top level while execution is expected from the front lines. As long as this division between decision-making and authority persists, no matter how excellent the strategy drawn, it will not be executed."

Yojiro Kamiya, Principal in Roland Berger's Corporate Transformation Support Team, stated:

"What was particularly clear in this survey is that the leadership of front-line leaders separates successful projects from failed ones. Front-line leaders are not mere messengers but are at the core of transformation, connecting management and the front lines and embodying execution. To enhance strategy execution capabilities, front-line leaders must be given not only responsibility but also the authority to make decisions and support."

Survey Overview

Survey Period: May 2026

Survey Organization: Roland Berger

Survey Method: Internet Survey

Survey Target: CxOs and Heads of Corporate Planning at listed companies nationwide, male and female, aged 20-70 (CEOs/executives, or heads/managers of corporate planning divisions)

Number of Valid Responses: 200

Corporate transformation aims to guide companies and organizations to adapt to the future. In addition to overseeing transformation, it requires extensive on-site expertise closely related to corporate transformation, such as organizational structure, human resources, and communication with stakeholders. Roland Berger will continue to support Japanese companies by utilizing all management methods to achieve continuous improvement in corporate value.

Authors

Seiichi Tamura (Senior Partner)

Proficient in corporate transformation support, collaborating with management as a transformation strategist.

Held responsibility for investment and financing at a public-private fund, leading the revitalization and transformation of portfolio companies.

Experienced in business operations (former Vice Chairman, Representative Director of JVC KENWOOD; former Senior Executive Officer of Nidec). At JVC KENWOOD, led mid-to-long-term strategy formulation and execution as CSO/CFO, and business restructuring and execution as COO. At Nidec, led the growth of acquired businesses (Europe, North America, China) with local management.

Yuki Kaneko (Senior Project Manager)

Proficient in corporate transformation support, collaborating with management and front-line members as a transformation strategist.

Graduated from Kyoto University, joined Roland Berger after working at a Japanese think tank.

Possesses experience in supporting various functional areas, including new business development and business strategy formulation/execution support, primarily in the telecommunications/IT, electronics, and manufacturing industries.

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Roland Berger's Corporate Transformation Support Team is an industry-agnostic specialized team that handles restructuring of business and financial structures, fundamental profit improvement, and corporate revitalization/transformation, providing various support for client companies' transformations.

Please contact us via our inquiry form or by phone at 03-4564-6660.

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Roland Berger launched the business podcast "Transformation Strategist - Voices from the Front Lines -" in June 2025. In this talk show, Tamura and Nomoto (part-time), who have perspectives as "insiders" who have led transformations as management consultants, discuss "What is corporate transformation?" and "What is the reality of corporate transformation?"

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