This is an analysis of what managers actually do in relation to the development of strategy in organisations.

`An important and extremely welcome addition to the strategic management field. In this book the author builds on the work of an emerging community of scholars to lay out theoretical and methodological underpinnings of an activity-based framework for applying the practice lens to strategy′ - Academy of Management Review `Paula Jarzabkowski has astutely signaled an agenda for future scholarship that will no doubt fuel the continued growth of this subfield′ - Organization Studies `Pioneering work. As the first book in the new strategy-as-practice field, it offers readers both innovative models and exemplary field research′ - Richard Whittington, Professor of Strategic Management, Said Business School, Oxford ′Extends and develops the emerging fields of strategy and practice as well as activity theory. It also demonstrates empirically, using University settings, how activity theory is itself bounded by the wider contexts of organisation, embedded routines and the heavy hand of history′ - David C. Wilson, University of Warwick `An insightful book that would be of use to people interested in the actual practices of strategy and strategizing′ - Organization Bridging the gap between what managers actually do and organizational strategies, this book provides an activity-based framework for studying strategy as practice, with empirical evidence to illustrate the dynamics of this framework in real terms.

Now in its second edition, this extended and thoroughly updated handbook introduces researchers and students to the growing range of theoretical and methodological perspectives being developed in the vibrant field of strategy as practice. With new authors and additional chapters, it shows how the strategy as practice approach in strategic management moves away from disembodied and asocial studies of firm assets, technologies and practices to explore and explain the contribution that strategizing makes to people working at all levels of an organization. It breaks down many of the traditional paradigmatic barriers in strategy to investigate who the strategists are, what they do, how they do it, and what the consequences or outcomes of their actions are. This essential work summarizes recent developments in the field while presenting a clear agenda for future research.

The 2nd edition of Strategy in Practice presents a practitioner focused approach to strategy. It is increasingly recognised that the ability to adapt classic formulas to changing circumstances and develop fast, sound strategic thinking is what differentiates the successful corporate leader. Developed from experience in industry this successful text will include an instructor site with PowerPoint slides, extra examples and exercises, and links highlighting changing business practice. While rigorously founded on current thinking and theoretical concepts in the field of strategic management it aims to: • provide the strategy practitioner with a systematic and insight-driven approach to strategic thinking • establish and translate the relevance of strategy theory to its application in the practice field • lead the reader through the strategic thinking process, beginning with the formulation of compelling and clearly articulated strategic questions that set the scene for practical issues • provide tools of strategic analysis in combination with informed intuition to understand the strategic landscape.

The Cambridge Handbook of Strategy as Practice provides a comprehensive overview of an emerging and growing stream of research in strategic management. An international team of scholars has been assembled to produce a systematic introduction to the various epistemological, methodological and theoretical aspects of the strategy-as-practice approach. This perspective explores and explains the contribution that strategizing makes to daily operations at all levels of an organization. Moving away from a disembodied and asocial study of firm assets, technologies and practices, the strategy-as-practice approach breaks down many of the traditional paradigmatic boundaries in strategy to investigate who the strategists are, what strategists do, how they do it, and what the consequences or outcomes of their actions are. Including a number of detailed empirical studies, the handbook will be an essential guide for future research in this vibrant field.

Lecturers - save time by clicking here to request an e-inspection copy of this textbook - no waiting for the post to arrive! Written by a team of leading academics, this groundbreaking new text is an invaluable guide to the core elements of strategy courses, that will challenge conventional thinking about the field. Key features: - Provides a coherent and engaging overview of the established 'classics' of strategy, while taking an innovative approach to contemporary issues such as power and politics, ethics, branding, globalisation, collaboration, and the global financial crisis. - A unique critical perspective that encourages you to reflect on the strategy process and strategic decision-making. - Packed with learning features, including a wealth of international case studies and accompanying discussion questions. - A website offering a full Instructors' Manual, video cases, podcasts and full-text journal articles. Visit the Companion Website at www.sagepub.co.uk/cleggstrategy Read the authors’ research paper ‘Re-Framing Strategy: Power, Politics and Accounting’ in which they make the case for a critically informed approach to studying strategy in the special issue of Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (Vol 23, Issue 5) Praise for Strategy: Theory and Practice "Finally, something different in a strategy text! This new volume provides a broad view of strategy covering the conventional as well as less mainstream alternatives like the growing strategy-as-practice perspective. It also does a great job of providing balanced critiques of the existing orthodoxy and provides explicit connections to some of the more accessible academic articles providing more depth to the arguments presented. All in all, it is an excellent break from the unfortunate tendency to make strategy a narrow economic enterprise in a world that is far more complex and social than that. Strategy: Theory and Practice is a welcome addition to the available texts on strategy" - Nelson Phillips, Professor of Strategy and Organizational Behaviour Co-Editor, Journal of Management Inquiry "A super and overdue book. It embraces the central importance of organization theory and, especially, the play of power and politics both inside and outside the organization. This erudite, almost polemical book promises to redraw how we approach the study of strategy - and not before time!" - Royston Greenwood, Associate Dean, School of Business, University of Alberta "It explains where strategy originates from and how contemporary ideas and practices facilitate or constrain decision-making and action. In particular, this book illuminates the role of power and politics in strategy - an issue that has been overlooked in most textbooks in this area. Enjoyable and inspiring reading for students, researchers and practitioners" - Eero Vaara, Professor of Management and Organization Dean of Research Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki "The authors have managed to produce a unique and admirable combination of critical external engagement with 'strategy', understood as a complex object of organizational and political construction, and a useable insiders text book rich in illustrative cases. As such it is essential reading for academics, students and practitioners - all of whom will discover how theory and practice are more intertwined than they ever imagined" - Michael Power, Professor of Accounting, London School of Economics and Political Science

Strategy is becoming more 'open' - more transparent and more inclusive. Opening Strategy tells the story of how corporate strategists and strategy consultants have worked since the middle of the last century to open up the strategy process. First strategic planning, then strategic management, and now 'open strategy' have all brought more people into the strategy process and provided more strategic information, for the benefit of both business and society at large. Informed by interviews with corporate strategists and consultants at leading firms such as General Electric and McKinsey & Co, and drawing on the historical archives of strategy's pioneers, this book provides vivid insights into the trials and tribulations of practice change in the strategy profession. Above all, it stresses the hard work of the little recognized and sometimes eccentric individuals who have been leaders in practice change. By building on a wide range of illustrations, covering both successes and failures, the book draws out general lessons for practice innovation in strategy. Those studying the topic will be able to set standard strategy techniques in historical and social context and develop new areas for investigation, while practising executives and consultants should gain a sense of how to innovate in strategy - and how not to.