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Questioning the epistemic virtue of strategy: The emperor has no clothes!

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Steven French ,
Alexander Kouzmin  and
Stephen Kelly
Steven French
Affiliation:
Southern Cross Business School, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Alexander Kouzmin
Affiliation:
Southern Cross Business School, Gold Coast Campus, Southern Cross Drive, Balinga, QLD, Australia
Stephen Kelly
Affiliation:
Southern Cross Business School, Coolangatta, QLD, Australia
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Abstract

A critical analysis of contemporary strategic management theory and practice suggests that modernist, linear thinking has facilitated the development of an abstracted reality which is misleading to managers and fundamentally flawed. It is argued that formulaic strategic tools such as those propounded by Porter fail to capture the reality of the complex environments that confront firms and falsely suggest that an answer can be derived from a predetermined toolbox.

As an alternative to this dominant paradigm, the complexity of markets is presented not as something to be feared and ignored, but rather as a truth to be embraced. As a basis of taking this step, current knowledge on how complex environments work, perspectives on how they can be better understood and how people and organizations can engage within them, is presented. Ultimately it is recognised that both theoretical and practical foundations need significant, further development.

Keywords

chaoscomplexityepistemologyequilibriummodernismparadigmsself-adapting systemsstrategy
Type
Conceptual Paper
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , July 2011 , pp. 434 - 447
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2011

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