The management of strategic change is extraordinarily difficult and the ways in which it goes wrong, even for the most capable managers, are endlessly fascinating. Rather than provide new prescriptions for success (which always fail) my focus here has been on getting a deeper understanding of the processes and practices of strategy from a sociological perspective. Some related teaching and study resources can be found under Teaching Resources.

 

A Very Elite Practice: Corporate CEOs and the Practice of Strategy
SSRN 2029287 (2012)
Strategic Decision Making, Discourse, and Strategy as Social Practice
Journal of Management Studies 37: 955–978 (2000). Reprinted in P.Olk, ed., Strategy Process. Edward Elgar, 2010. 300+ cites
The Structure and Significance of Strategic Episodes: Social Systems Theory and the Routine Practices of Strategic Change
Journal of Management Studies 40: 175-196 (2003) (with David Seidl) 200+ cites
Culture, Community and Networks: The Hidden Costs of Outsourcing
European Management Journal 13: 193-200 (1995) 150+ cites
Corporate Culture Change: Is it Still Relevant for Organisations in the 1990s?
Human Resource Management Journal 5: 61-73 (1995) (with Veronica Hope)
Process Re-engineering and the Dynamic Balance of the Organisation
European Management Journal 13: 52-57 (1995)
Cultural Change and Competitive Performance
European Management Journal 12: 401-406 (1994) (with Veronica Hope)
Competing Strategy Programmes
Journal of General Management 21 (2):31-39 (1995)
Rational Planning in a Non-rational World. Strategy Formation and the Policy Context
Journal of General Management 20 (4): 54-64 (1994)
The Problem with Porter’s Generic Strategies
European Management Journal 8: 443-450 (1990)
Strategic Thinking: Leadership and Management of Change
Wiley, 1993No longer in print from the publisher, but still widely available new and secondhand, a collection of thought-provoking essays from the heyday of strategic change research.

European Cases in Strategic Management
Thomson, 1992No longer in print from the publisher and now mainly of historic interest. The first European casebook in strategy, using cases from Cambridge, LBS, Insead and IMD.

Business Strategy and Business History: a Framework for Development
Advances in Strategic Management 8: 207-225 (1992)
Barriers to Excellence and the Politics of Innovation
Journal of General Management 15 (2): 20-31 (1990)