Practicing Strategy: Text and Cases

*Shortlisted for the CMI Management Book of the Year* Practicing Strategy is a groundbreaking new textbook focusing on the strategy-as-practice approach, which considers strategy not only as something an organisation has but something which its members do. Practicing Strategy is a groundbreaking new textbook focusing on the strategy-as-practice approach, which considers strategy not only as something an organisation has but something which its members do. is a groundbreaking new textbook focusing on the strategy-as-practice approach, which considers strategy not only as something an organisation has but something which its members do. By bringing together a number of distinctive investigations of strategy practice, this book will enrich your understanding of the dynamic process through which organizational strategies are created and executed. Key features: The first textbook to be based on insights from the strategy-as-practice perspective, making it an ideal core text for related modules Packed with real-life mini case studies and a final section containing longer cases from Apple, Centrica, Marconi, Lafarge and Wikimedia, relating theory to practice Chapters include learning objectives, summaries, discussion questions and further readings and a Companion Website contains additional online readings, to consolidate your learning and encourage in-depth analysis. Practicing strategy is an invaluable text for undergraduate and postgraduate students of advanced strategy modules. Electronic Inspection Copy available for instructors here Visit the Companion Website at www.sagepub.co.uk/paroutis  

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Practicing Strategy: Foundations and Importance PART TWO: STRATEGY PRACTITIONERS Chief Strategy Officers (CSOs) Strategy Teams Strategy Consultants PART THREE: INFLUENCING STRATEGY PRACTICE Influencing Strategy through Discourse Strategy Meaning in Action PART FOUR: PRACTICING STRATEGY IN CONTEXT Practicing Strategy in Mergers and Aquisitions Practicing Strategy in Complex Firms PART FIVE: CASE STUDIES Apple Centrica Marconi Lafarge v. Blue Circle Wikimedia

About the Author :
Sotirios Paroutis is Professor of Strategic Management and Head of the Strategy and International Business Group at the Warwick Business School. His research interests lie at the intersections of strategy practices and processes in complex organizational settings in the UK and globally. He uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the discursive, cognitive and visual activities organizational actors employ when dealing with strategic tensions.  Loizos Heracleous is a professor of strategy and organization at Warwick Business School. He earned a PhD from the University of Cambridge and a higher doctorate for lifetime contributions to his field from the University of Warwick. His research has been published in over 70 articles and nine books. His areas of interest include organizational change and development, organizational discourse, and corporate governance. Duncan Angwin is the Sir Roland Smith Professor in Strategic Management at Lancaster University. He earned his PhD from the University of Warwick. He researches strategic practices in M&A and has recently completed a major EU-funded research project on European M&A. He holds a major research award at Said Business School, Oxford University, to study M&A communications practices. Duncan sits on the Advisory Boards of the M&A research centre, Cass Business School and a Grand Ecole business school, Paris and is senior judge for the Management Consulting Association. Duncan has published eight books and fifty journal articles on strategy and M&A. More information can be found at www.duncanangwin.com Duncan can be reached at d.n.angwin@lancaster.ac.uk

Review :
′ A very interesting, absorbing and well-considered book that explores a subject often overlooked: that strategy must be executed and thus evolves in practice.′ ′This book makes an important contribution by adopting a new stance of strategy as practice. It has a good mix of theory and practice and an excellent range of case studies.′ ′This is a first: an academically rigorous textbook on the practicalities of strategizing. It will be a vital resource to all teachers and students interested in Strategy-as-Practice′ Richard Wittington, Professor of Strategy and Millmann Fellow University of Oxford ′Over the last decade, Strategy-as-Practice has emerged as a distinctive approach to studying strategy. By treating strategy as something that people do rather than something that firms in their markets have, it has revolutionized our understanding of this important area of management. With this textbook we now have an important resource that will help teaching this approach in the classroom. The book provides a step-by-step introduction to Strategy-as-Practice, a discussion of its main components and several exciting case studies. I am sure that both students and teachers will find the book of great value′ Professor David Seidl Chair of Organization and Management, University of Zurich ′This is an outstanding strategy text that takes strategists and their work seriously. Students, practitioners and scholars who seek to understand the micro-levels of strategy including practitioners, practices and praxis will find this an invaluable reading′ Patrick Regnér Associate Professor, Stockholm School of Economics ′This book is a welcome addition to the field of Strategic management. The case studies are original and really help to render the Strategy as Practice perspective accessible to practitioners and students alike′ Veronique Ambrosini Professor of Management, Monash University, Australia ′The authors of this book have distilled the core messages of strategy-as-practice into a series of easy-to-read and easy-to-apply chapters. It has done well to retain sufficient sophistication for an academic audience, drawing on recent studies and explaining theoretical ideas, while also ensuring accessibility by presenting them in a format that is comprehensible for practitioners and students without prior knowledge in this area′