A Strategy-as-Practice Approach to Strategy Research and Education

Abstract

This conclusion to the Dialog proposes a strategy-as-practice based approach to bringing strategy research and education closer to practice. Strategy-as-practice rejects the choice, proposed in the previous articles, between theory and practice. The authors argue for strategy research based rigorously on sociological theories of practice. Such research complements the parsimony and generalizability of economics-driven theory, extending strategy research to incorporate the messy realities of doing strategy in practice, with a view to developing theory that is high in accuracy. The authors suggest that practice-based research can also inform strategy teaching by providing students with rich case studies of strategy work as actually practiced, analyzed through such sociological lenses as ethnomethodology, dramaturgy, and institutional theory. Strategy-as-practice research does not aim to give students parsimonious models for analysis or expose them to cases of best practice but rather to help them develop practical wisdom through a better understanding of strategy in practice.

Keywords

strategy-as-practice relevance social theories of practice strategy theory teaching

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ambrosini, V., & Jenkins, M. (Eds.). (2007). Advanced strategic management . Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave.

Andrews, K. (1980). The concept of corporate strategy (2nd edition). New York: Dow-Jones Irwin.

Balogun, J. , Jarzabkowski, P. , & Seidl, D. (2007). Strategizing activity and practice. In V. Ambrosini & M. Jenkins (Eds.), Advanced strategic management (chapter 12, pp. 196-214). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave.

Barney, J.B. (2007). Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bourdieu, P. (1990). The logic of practice. Cambridge , UK: Polity.

Christensen, C.R. (1991). Business policy: Text and cases (7th ed., revised). New York: Irwin.

Denis, J.-L. , Langley, A. , & Rouleau, L. (2006). The power of numbers in strategizing. Strategic Organization, 4(4), 349-377.

Eisenhardt, K.M. , & Zbaracki, M. (1992). Strategic decision making. Strategic Management Journal, 13, 17-37.

Garfinkel, H. (1967). Studies in ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

10.

Geertz, C. (1973) The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.

11.

Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

12.

Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday Books.

13.

Grant, R.M. (2008). Contemporary strategy analysis (6th ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

14.

Hambrick, D.C. (2004). The disintegration of strategic management: It's time to consolidate our gains. Strategic Organization, 2(1), 91-98.

15.

Hedstrom, P. , & Swedberg, R. (1998). Social mechanisms. Cambridge , UK: Cambridge University Press.

16.

Hendry, J. (2000). Strategic decision making, discourse, and strategy as social practice. Journal of Management Studies, 37(7), 955-977.

17.

Hirsch, P. , Michaels, S. , & Friedman, R. (1987). "Dirty hands" versus "clean models": Is sociology in danger of being seduced by economists? Theory and Society , 16, 317-336.

18.

Jarzabkowski, P. , Balogun, J. , & Seidl, D. (2007). Strategizing: The challenges of a practice perspective . Human Relations, 60(1), 5-27.

19.

Jarzabkowski, P. , & Wilson D.C. (2006). Actionable strategy knowledge: A practice perspective . European Management Journal, 24(5), 348-367.

20.

Johnson, G. , Scholes, K. , & Whittington, R. (2007). Exploring corporate strategy-text and cases (8th ed.). Essex, UK: Pearson Education.

21.

Liang, N. , & Wang, J. (2004). Implicit mental models in teaching cases: An empirical study of popular MBA cases in the United States and China. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 3(4), 397-413.

22.

Lounsbury, M. , & Crumley E.T. (2007). New practice creation: An institutional perspective on innovation. Organization Studies, 28(7), 993-1012.

23.

Meyer, J.W. , & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83(2), 340-363.

24.

Pascale, R.T. (1984). Perspectives on strategy: The real story behind Honda's success. California Management Review, 26(3), 47-72.

25.

Raelin, J.A. (2007). Toward an epistemology of practice. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 6(4), 495-519.

26.

Regnér, P. (2007). Ericsson and the creation of the mobile telephony systems business. In G. Johnson , K. Scholes , & R. Whittingon (Eds.), Exploring corporate strategy (8th ed., pp. 605-617). Essex, UK: Prentice Hall.

27.

Rumelt, R.P. (1996). The many faces of Honda. California Management Review, 38(4), 103-111.

28.

Saloner, G. , Sheppard, A. , & Podolny, J. (2005). Strategic management. New York : John Wiley.

29.

Schatzki, T.R. , Cetina, K.K. , & von Savigny, E. (2001). The practice turn in contemporary theory. London: Routledge.

30.

Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner. How professionals think in action. London: Temple Smith.

31.

Tsoukas, H. (1989). The validity of idiographic research explanations . Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 551-561.

32.

Tsoukas, H. , & Knudsen, C. (2002). The conduct of strategy research. In A. Pettigrew , H. Thomas , & R. Whittington (Eds.), The handbook of strategy and management (chap. 18, pp. 411-435). London: Sage.

33.

Weick, K.E. (1989). Theory construction as disciplined imagination . Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 516-531.

34.

Whittington, R. (2006). Completing the practice turn in strategy research . Organization Studies, 27(5), 613-634.

35.

Whyte, W.F. (1943). Street corner society: The social structure of an Italian slum. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.