Towards a Practical Model of Strategy-as-Practice
Together with our team of researchers: Ergo Metsla, Rando Rannus, Egert Valmra and myself, we carried out research of strategy practices in 4 Estonian organisations: AS Eesti Post, the Estonian postal service company with 4200 employees, an oil-shale refinery and chemical plant VKG Grupp AS with approximately 1000 employees, AS Lasnamäe Tervisekeskus, a hospital with 450 employees and in a factory with approximately 200 employees and 30 staff, which wished to remain anonymous.
Based on the analysis of these case studies we presented our initial findings in the Working Papers of the Tallinn University of Technology to initiate discussion and search for comments. The full paper can be downloaded over this link: http://ideas.repec.org/p/ttu/wpaper/138.html
The abstract of the article is the following:
Strategy-as-Practice is a young research field concentrating on how the strategists actually do strategy. Not being content with the more traditional views of strategy, the central tenet to the field is an understanding that the strength of micro activities of strategy – commonly known as strategy practices – is what separates performers from non-performers. This paper is an attempt towards building a model that details some of the mechanisms, through which supra-organizational institutionalized practices shape the micro activities and in turn, how the micro activities shape the strategy process. The main merit of the model is viewing these links in unison. The link from the supra-organizational practices is modelled through applying the concepts of routines, strategy methods, strategy concepts and behavioural norms and beliefs. The link from micro activities to the strategy process is built by modelling the main functions strategy practices perform within the strategy process.
Based on the analysis of these case studies we presented our initial findings in the Working Papers of the Tallinn University of Technology to initiate discussion and search for comments. The full paper can be downloaded over this link: http://ideas.repec.org/p/ttu/wpaper/138.html
The abstract of the article is the following:
Strategy-as-Practice is a young research field concentrating on how the strategists actually do strategy. Not being content with the more traditional views of strategy, the central tenet to the field is an understanding that the strength of micro activities of strategy – commonly known as strategy practices – is what separates performers from non-performers. This paper is an attempt towards building a model that details some of the mechanisms, through which supra-organizational institutionalized practices shape the micro activities and in turn, how the micro activities shape the strategy process. The main merit of the model is viewing these links in unison. The link from the supra-organizational practices is modelled through applying the concepts of routines, strategy methods, strategy concepts and behavioural norms and beliefs. The link from micro activities to the strategy process is built by modelling the main functions strategy practices perform within the strategy process.