Constructing ‘the history of strategic management’: A critical analysis of the academic discourse

Abstract

The development of the strategic management field has been outlined in many ‘histories’ in recent years. This article analyses a sample of those histories using a Critical Discourse Analysis framework in order to understand how they are constructed, what common textual features they exhibit and what effects they may have on the future development of the field. Our analysis shows a neglect of historiographic method in the construction of the histories and a tendency to present the field as progressing in a teleological, evolutionary fashion. We suggest that the histories are constructed in order to support the continuing development of the field and to secure its demarcation from other fields, and that this may demonstrate a degree of self-interest on the part of strategy scholars.