Summary: The evolution of strategic management research: Recent trends and current directions-Luis Ángel Guerras- Martína∗,Anoop Madhok,Ángeles Montoro-Sánchez

The evolution of strategic
management research: recent
trends and current directions
Inhoudsopgave
Abstract..................................................................................................................................................1
1 Introduction: trends in strategic management research.....................................................................1
2 The evolution of strategic management research: the dual pendulum...............................................2
3 The tension between a firm’s interior and its environment................................................................3
4 The tension between macro and micro levels.....................................................................................4
5 About the monograph.........................................................................................................................6
6 Conclusion and final reflections...........................................................................................................8

Abstract
 Strategic management
o Youthful discipline
o Matured over the last 50 years
 Different theories and approaches addressing different research topics have been developed to
explain the reasons for competitive advantage and success
 Two pendulums (= slingers) in constant motion reflect
o the tension that existed between focus on internal firm factors and external
environmental attributes
o + tension between macro level of analysis (ex: firm and its environment) and a more
micro level one (ex: individuals and their relations within the firm)
 Frontier of research is shaped by the simultaneous movement of both pendulums (slingers)

1 Introduction: trends in strategic management
research
 Origins: 1960’s
 Roots: Chandler, Ansoff, Andrews

Progress accompanied by several factors

 Increase range of topics addressed
o Study ‘best practices’= study varied topics
 Internationalisation, cooperation, competition, leadership,…
 Growth range of research methods, became more sophisticated
o Case studies  quantitative tools based on techniques, analysis. They are adapted and
combo of qualitative and quantitative techniques.
 Increasing consensus regarding basic notions (= begrippen)
o Ex: definition/ concept of strategic management/ strategy

, o This has been building up and spread over time
o Diversity of definition is a common feature
o Major aspects of strategy/ strategic management are very similar in two studies
conducted in different contexts + differing methodologies
o 7 key components of concept ‘strategy ‘ ‘and strategic management’
 Performance
 Firms
 Strategic initiatives
 Environment
 Internal organisation
 Managers/owners and resources
 Academic community interested in strategy research is growing
o Number of scholars dedicated to this field
 + International nature + linkages (= koppelingen)
o Cooperation increase scholars inter-institutional + international
o Strategic management society: 3000 members, 80 + countries



Strategic management has accumulated large corpus of knowledge

 Theoretical
 Empirical
 Methodological

Need: define discipline’s state-of-the-art (hoogste niveau van ontwikkeling) + direction at that
moment. Reflected in 3 different ways:

 Numerous works that have reflected upon the discipline itself
o Books, papers, journals, handbooks
 Upsurge (opkomst) of dedicated issues of journals that explored the frontiers + links to other
disciplines
 Emerge line of research that uses scientometric techniques to discover / analyse the intellectual
structure of strategic management and its evolution
o These techniques complement other work, more objective
o Permit the discovery of relationships

Objective paper: analyse past and current trends in strategic management research, a field
characterised by assorted and manifold aspects of relevance

2 The evolution of strategic management research: the
dual pendulum
Strategic management

 Fundamental issue that explains success/ failure of firms
o Discovering why firms are successful or not
 = identifying the factors of success
o Path to success= not so clear but the goal for all researchers
 Because eclectic (selective) / multidisciplinary nature of it attracts researches
form different disciplines (economic, psychology,…)