Micro Strategy and Strategizing: Towards an Activity‐Based View

TLDR

The paper introduces the origins, themes, and papers of the Special Issue on Micro Strategy and Strategizing. The authors argue that strategy research must shift from macro to micro‑level phenomena, and they outline the benefits and challenges of an activity‑based view. The authors develop an activity‑based view by integrating resource‑based, institutional, and process traditions, and by drawing on empirical work on corporate diversification and structure. The paper highlights the benefits and challenges of the activity‑based view and concludes by presenting the Special Issue papers.

Abstract

abstract This introductory paper provides a background to the origins, themes and papers of this Special Issue on Micro Strategy and Strategizing. Our overarching argument is that, while the field of strategy has traditionally concentrated on the macro‐level of organizations, it needs now to attend to much more micro‐level phenomena. We propose an activity‐based view of strategy that focuses on the detailed processes and practices which constitute the day‐to‐day activities of organizational life and which relate to strategic outcomes. The paper develops this view by considering two bodies of theory, those of the resource based view and institutionalism; two bodies of empirical work, those on corporate diversification and structure; and finally the process tradition of strategy research. The paper identifies the benefits of the activity‐based view and introduces some challenges for further research. It concludes by introducing the papers in this Special Issue.