Strategy and Organization

"Ideal for MBA students, researchers, and the more thoughtful practitioner." The Bookseller

"Rarely has a book offered such an effective bridge between two distinct discourses as this one. Dr Heracleous opens the wide vista of strategic management to the large numbers of theorists of organization who view it as a foreign country, showing how current thinking on strategy grows organically out of insights on the nature of organizations, leadership, environment, politics and culture. A remarkably erudite book which is going to become a standard reference for many years to come." Yiannis Gabriel, Professor of Organizational Theory, Imperial College, London

"For a consultant and practitioner in strategy implementation and the management of organisation change, this book provides valuable challenges to some aspects of conventional thinking, and fascinating insights into the reality of strategic management. It provides a holistic and integrative route through the complexity and confusion of diverse academic thinking on the subject matter. The second and third sections, with their case studies and examination of highly topical issues, demonstrate the richness, excitement and problematic nature of working in this area. This book has motivated me to redouble my efforts to understand the what, why and how managers do what they do, and given me further clues about how they can increase their chances of strategic success." Brian Langham, Hay Group

"It is rare to see a book on strategy that engages so well with the field of organization studies. By integrating strategy with a wider understanding of the organizational literature, such as culture, leadership and organizational development, the book succeeds in providing a more substantive basis for strategy making, which enriches our understanding of the practicalities of strategic change, as well as linking strategy to some of the broader debates in organization studies. It should prove a rewarding read for researchers, students and practitioners alike." Cynthia Hardy, Professor, Department of Management, University of Melbourne, Director of the International Centre for Research in Organizational Discourse, Strategy and Change.

"This book is a timely and relevant look at the links between organizational behavior, corporate governance and business strategy, and offers material both for 'experts' and the generalist alike. The researcher or academician will find value in the comprehensive review and elucidation of the theoretical and practical implications of organizational theory in considering strategy, a new frontier of management. Heracleous then applies his theory to several areas of emerging business importance. As a scholar writing in Asia, his choice of 'applications' is timely indeed, as the regionas companies search for the paths and structures that will provide business growth and sustainability for the coming years." Pamela C.M. Mar, Associate Director - China, World Economic Forum

"Heracleous employs an accessible style in his book and brings a remarkable range of sources in social theory and organization studies to his argument for a new organization actiona view of strategic management. Highly original and inspirational, this book will be of invaluable interest to researchers, postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in the fields of strategy and management, organization theory, and organizational behaviour." Andrew Chan, Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong

"Strategy is a serious business and this is one of those rare books that treats it in a fittingly serious way. Heracleous provides an authoritative overview of a lively and central discipline. His book will be valued by all serious students of strategy and by teachers and researchers wanting to understand where the discipline has come from and where it is going today." Richard Whittington, Professor of Strategic Management, Said Business School, University of Oxford

"In this fine textbook Loizos Heracleous goes further: by making agency and discourse the central organizing principles of his argument he tackles strategy from a performative, as opposed to a representationalist, point of view. He analysis is well embedded in the fine tradition of hermeneutrical organization theory and, furthermore, Heracleous usefully extends his theoretical excursions in social theory, searching for better ways of making sense of strategy. This book has all the things I admire in good organizational scholarship: it is grounded in a process epistemology, it explicitly focuses on agency and praxis, and adopts a dynamic view of how organizations behave and strategies are made." Haridimos Tsoukas, The George D. Mavros Research Professor of Organization and Management, Athens Laboratory of Business Administration (ALBA), Greece Professor of Organization Theory and Behaviour, University of Strathclyde Editor-in-Chief of Organization Studies

"Strategy and Organization is a theoretically-rigorous examination of current issues and debates in Strategy. Dr Heracleous does an excellent job in combining organization theory with existing theories on strategy to develop a new perspective on strategy and produce a very readable and useful book." Constantinos Markides, Robert P Bauman Professor of Strategic Leadership, London Business School