The period foregrounded strategy as a dynamic, process-driven activity shaped by managerial cognition and governance structures. The upper echelons perspective highlighted how top managers' backgrounds influence strategic choices and organizational performance, while the pattern in strategy formation reframed strategy as a continuous flow of decisions—balancing deliberate planning with emergent actions. Meanwhile, the design school's critiques and the growing attention to middle management involvement emphasized design logic and the need to align external threats with internal capabilities, driving process-based approaches to strategy development and execution.