A narrative approach to strategy-as-practice

Abstract

The strategy-as-practice project would benefit from greater consideration of narratological concerns. Narratorship, the formulation and performance of narratives, is an important strategy practice; narratives (stories) are key tools of strategists; and narratological perspectives generally may usefully inform strategy research, leading to less scientistic and more reflexive scholarship. Five specific ways in which attention to narratology can assist the strategy-as-practice agenda are considered: humanising strategy research, dealing with equivocality, accounting adequately for polyphony, understanding outcomes, and sensitivity to issues of power. While storytelling approaches have considerable strengths, they also have limitations, and are offered as a supplement to, not replacement of, existing perspectives.