City Research Online

Abstract

In response to critiques of strategy tools as unhelpful or potentially dangerous for organizations, we suggest casting a sociological eye on how tools are actually mobilized by strategy makers. In conceptualizing strategy tools as tools-in-use, we offer a framework for examining the ways that the affordances of strategy tools and the agency of strategy makers interact to shape how and when tools are selected and applied. Further, rather than evaluating the ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’ use of tools, we highlight the variety of outcomes that result, not just for organizations but also for the tools and the individuals who use them. We illustrate this framework with a vignette and propose an agenda and methodological approaches for further scholarship on the use of strategy tools.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is the accepted version of the following article: Jarzabkowski, P. and Kaplan, S. (2015), Strategy tools-in-use: A framework for understanding “technologies of rationality” in practice. Strat. Mgmt. J., 36: 537–558., which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.2270
Publisher Keywords:	strategy tools, strategy-as-practice, technologies-in-use, practice theory, strategy process
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Departments:	Bayes Business School > Management

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