Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Strategy-as-practice : taking social practices seriously. / Vaara, Eero; Whittington, Richard.
In: The Academy of Management Annals, Vol. 6, No. 1, 06.2012, p. 285-336.Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Strategy-as-practice
T2 - taking social practices seriously
AU - Vaara, Eero
AU - Whittington, Richard
PY - 2012/6
Y1 - 2012/6
N2 - This article reviews research in Strategy-as-Practice (SAP) and suggests directions for its development. The power of this perspective lies in its ability to explain how strategy-making is enabled and constrained by prevailing organizational and societal practices. Our review shows how SAP research has helped to advance social theories in strategic management, offered alternatives to performance-dominated analyzes, broadened the scope in terms of organizations studied and promoted new methodologies. In particular, it has provided important insights into the tools and methods of strategy-making (practices), how strategy work takes place (praxis), and the role and identity of the actors involved (practitioners). However, we argue that there is a need to go further in the analysis of social practices to unleash the full potential of this perspective. Hence, we outline five directions for the further development of the practice perspective: placing agency in a web of practices, recognizing the macro-institutional nature of practices, focusing attention on emergence in strategy-making, exploring how the material matters, and promoting critical analysis.
AB - This article reviews research in Strategy-as-Practice (SAP) and suggests directions for its development. The power of this perspective lies in its ability to explain how strategy-making is enabled and constrained by prevailing organizational and societal practices. Our review shows how SAP research has helped to advance social theories in strategic management, offered alternatives to performance-dominated analyzes, broadened the scope in terms of organizations studied and promoted new methodologies. In particular, it has provided important insights into the tools and methods of strategy-making (practices), how strategy work takes place (praxis), and the role and identity of the actors involved (practitioners). However, we argue that there is a need to go further in the analysis of social practices to unleash the full potential of this perspective. Hence, we outline five directions for the further development of the practice perspective: placing agency in a web of practices, recognizing the macro-institutional nature of practices, focusing attention on emergence in strategy-making, exploring how the material matters, and promoting critical analysis.
U2 - 10.1080/19416520.2012.672039
DO - 10.1080/19416520.2012.672039
M3 - Journal article
VL - 6
SP - 285
EP - 336
JO - The Academy of Management Annals
JF - The Academy of Management Annals
SN - 1941-6520
IS - 1
ER -