Strategy: Theory and Practice

Get 12 months FREE access to an interactive eBook when purchasing the paperback* Updated to bring the material in line with the topical and contemporary ideas and debates on or about strategy and catering to students and their diverse learning styles, the second edition is an easy to use tool allowing students to switch from web resources to the print text and back again, opening windows on the world of strategy through cases that are vibrant and engaged, digital links that allow them to explore topics in more detail and video and other media that encourage relating theory to practice. Providing a fresh perspective on strategy from an organizational perspective through a discursive approach featuring key theoretic tenets, this text is also pragmatic and emphasizes the practices of strategy to encourage the reader to be open to a wider set of ideas, with a little more relevance, and with a cooler attitude towards the affordances of the digital world and the possibilities for strategy’s futures. The key areas of Strategy take a critical stance in the new edition, and also include areas less evident in conventional strategy texts such as not-for-profit organizations, process theories, globalization, organizational politics and decision-making as well as the futures of strategy. The new edition comes packed with features that encourage readers to engage and relate theory to practice and is complemented by a free Interactive e-book* featuring videos, cases and other relevant links, allowing access on the go and encouraging learning and retention whatever the reading or learning style.  Suitable as core reading for undergraduate and postgraduate business management students of strategy and strategic management.   *Interactivity only available through Vitalsource eBook included as part of paperback product (ISBN 9781473938458). Access not guaranteed on second-hand copies (as access code may have previously been redeemed).

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Strategy: Theory & Practice – An Introduction Chapter 2: Strategy, Competitive Forces and Positioning Chapter 3: Strategy, Resources and Capabilities Chapter 4: Strategy and Innovation Chapter 5: Strategy: Make or Buy? Chapter 6: Strategy and Alliances Chapter 7: Strategy: Going Global Chapter 8: Strategy and Corporate Governance Chapter 9: Strategy as Process Chapter 10: Strategy as Practice Chapter 11: Strategy and Organizational Politics Chapter 12: Strategy and Strategic Change Chapter 13: The Futures of Strategic Management

About the Author :
Stewart Clegg is Professor in the School of Project Management and the John Grill Institute for Leadership at the University of Sydney as well as Emeritus Professor of Management and Organization Studies at the University of Technology Sydney. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Stavanger, Norway and Universidade Nova School of Business and Economics. He is widely published in the management, organizations and politics literatures in many of the leading journals and is widely acknowledged as one of the most significant contemporary theorists of power relations as well as being one of the most influential contributors to organization studies. He is an EGOS Honorary Member, a Distinguished Fellow of EURAM and ANZAM as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Management and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Jochen Schweitzer is an Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Trained as both an engineer and a social scientist, his research on issues of strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation with a particular interest in design thinking and emerging technologies. Jochen also serves as the Faculty Director of UTS’s Executive MBA and Bachelor in Entrepreneurship (Honours) programs. He was Visiting Scholar at Stanford University and Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) School of Design Thinking at Potsdam University. Jochen is a winner of the Strategic Management Societies’ Best Paper Award, and he received Honourable Mention by the Strategic Management Division of the Academy of Management. Jochen is a passionate educator who has taught at universities in the UK, Japan, China, the US, Germany, Netherlands and New Zealand. Before becoming an academic, Jochen was Principal at PwC’s European Strategy Consulting practice. Andrea Whittle is Professor of Management at Newcastle University Business School. Andrea’s academic interest in strategy started without any plan or intention, like many strategies also emerge. First, in her doctoral research, she became fascinated with the social, political, material and discursive practices through which the group of management consultants she was studying sought to influence the strategic direction of the firm. Since then, she has conducted research on strategic change in a number of organizational settings as well as studying how the strategies of firms are scrutinized by the media and politicians. The common theme in her research is the role of discourse in shaping how people and societies make sense of organizations and the strategies they pursue. Christos Pitelis is Head of Department of International Business, Professor of International Business and Sustainable Competitiveness, University of Leeds and Life Fellow, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge.  He is co-editor of the Cambridge Journal of Economics, a member of the Cambridge Political Economy Society and the literary executor of the collected papers of Edith Penrose. He has also coordinated projects, taught, consulted, trained, and designed policies for international organizations, national governments and regions, NGOs and businesses. He was International Expect of the European Commission Networking for Innovation (NETWIN) program on innovation clusters.  

Review :
I love that this book reflects what students want. It is very readable and approachable, and makes complex topics simple to understand. 'We chose Strategy: Theory and Practice because it offers a ‘softer’, more sociological approach to strategy and addresses the issue of corporate scandals in a holistic approach when it comes to decision making' Unravels the neatness of traditional economics-based views of strategy and replaces them with much needed social, political and organizational lenses. The authors have produced a refreshing book which rightly establishes organization theory at the centre of strategic analysis and practice. The authors have produced a text that offers a critical overview of strategy in a global context that illuminates the flows of value, not merely over-emphasizing the economic dimension but linking to sociological and bio-medical issues, throughout the world in the context of the enframing social processes that structure and maintain them. Its style is accessible and its detail is authoritative, current and precise so students, professors and general readers will enjoy it. For many university and business school courses it will quickly become the preferred introduction. A timely book, impressive in its scope, authoritative in its analysis, and wonderfully written. An extremely enjoyable intellectual journey into many of the intricate aspects of strategy. A must read for all serious students of strategy. This is an excellent textbook that manages to translate the latest strategy knowledge into a form and language that is accessible to students and practitioners alike. A refreshing alternative to the traditional, economics-based strategy textbook!