Shaping Strategy as a Structuration Process

Dr Paula Jarzabkowski
Reader in Strategic Management and AIM Ghoshal Fellow Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) and Aston Business School

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Thursday 9 November
12.00 - 2.00 p.m.
Room U201, Tower One

Existing research on the strategizing behavior of top managers tends to focus either on their role in shaping the structural context or on their role in shaping the interpretations of organizational members, leading to highly focused but partial explanations of the strategy process. This paper proposes a structuration theory framework for integrating these explanations and investigating patterns of top managers’ strategizing behavior in shaping strategy as a socially dynamic process. The paper is based upon a qualitative analysis of top managers shaping strategy over a seven-year period in three universities. The findings show two patterns of managerial strategizing behavior; a sequential pattern of shaping strategy in the action realm followed by the institutional realm; and a simultaneous pattern of shaping strategy in both realms at the same time. Both the sequential strategizing pattern and the simultaneous strategizing pattern are found to be successful for shaping strategy in weakly institutionalized strategy contexts, whereas the simultaneous strategizing pattern is more successful than the sequential pattern at shaping strategy in strongly institutionalized strategy contexts.

Paula Jarzabkowski is a Reader in strategic management at Aston Business School and an Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) Ghoshal Fellow. Her research interests focus on the dynamics of strategizing as a social practice, particularly in pluralistic contexts. She has published refereed articles on this topic as well as the first book in this field, ‘Strategy as Practice: An Activity-Based Approach’ with Sage in 2005. She also co-hosts the website

This is part of the series of seminars to be hosted by the Department of Management.

All welcome! PhD and MPhil students are particularly encouraged to attend.

For any further queries regarding this event or to request information about future events please contact Maha Shaikh, IS Group Research Coordinator

Page last updated 08 March 2007

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