Re‐framing strategy: power, politics and accounting

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the rise and institutionalization of the discourse of strategic management. It seeks to advance an agenda for studying strategy from a sociologically informed perspective. Moreover, it aims to make a case for a critically informed, interdisciplinary approach to studying strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides an overview to studying strategy critically. It is a theoretically informed paper.

Findings

The findings can be summarised as: first, strategy emerged as a major discipline in the 1970s; second, as a body of knowledge strategy has remained close to its industrial economics origins; and third, an agenda for the sociological study of strategy revolving around concerns of performativity and power is outlined.

Originality/value

The paper offers a sociologically informed account of strategy.

Citation

Carter, C., Clegg, S. and Kornberger, M. (2010), "Re‐framing strategy: power, politics and accounting", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 573-594. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513571011054891