Artefact-Based Replication: A Comparison of Intended and Emergent Effects

Abstract

The activities by which strategies are put into action remain under researched. This paper explores a particular context of strategy implementation: business format replication. In order to facilitate the implementation of replication strategies, organizations often use a variety of artefacts such as manuals and handbooks. Existing research on artefacts within the replication literature focuses on the extent to which knowledge can be represented by artefacts. This body of literature has made significant contributions to our understanding of the role of replication, but has plateaued at highlighting key challenges involved in the codification of situated and embedded knowledge. Drawing on practice theory as a theoretical lens, shifts focus from the representation of knowledge within artefacts to how organizational artefacts are actually used in practice. Based on data from a large franchise organization, we show the enabling effects (scoping, sensemaking, reinforcing) as well as important emerging constraining effects (prescribing, differentiating, resisting) of artefact use on the implementation of replication strategies. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on replication strategies, the recent debate on artefacts and socio-materiality in strategy-as practice-research as well as research on strategy implementation in general. Our findings also provide important insights for practitioners.