Strategic concepts as micro-level tools in strategic sensemaking

Kari Jalonen*, Henri Schildt, Eero Vaara

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Research Summary: The purpose of this article is to illuminate the role of concepts in strategic sensemaking. Based on a longitudinal real-time study of a city organization, we demonstrate how the concept of “self-responsibility” played a crucial role in strategic sensemaking. We develop a theoretical model that elucidates how strategic concepts are used in meaning-making, and how such concepts may be mobilized for the legitimation of strategic change. Our main contribution is to offer strategic concepts as a missing micro-level component of the language-based view of strategic processes and practices. By so doing, our analysis also adds to studies on strategic ambiguity and advances research on vocabularies. 

Managerial Summary: Our analysis helps to understand the role of strategic concepts, that is, specific words or phrases with established and at least partly shared meanings, in an organization's strategy process. We show how adopting the concept “self-responsibility” helped managers in a city organization to make sense of environmental challenges and to promote change. Our analysis highlights how such concepts involve ambiguity that can help managers to establish common ground, but can also hinder implementation of specific decisions and actions if it grows over time. We suggest that under environmental changes, development of new strategic concepts may be crucial in helping managers to collectively deal with environmental changes and to articulate a new strategic direction for the organization.

Original languageEnglish
Peer-reviewed scientific journalStrategic Management Journal
Volume39
Issue number10
Pages (from-to)2794-2826
Number of pages33
ISSN0143-2095
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18.09.2018
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article - refereed

Keywords

  • 512 Business and Management
  • concept
  • discourse
  • language
  • practice
  • sensemaking

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