On the Problem of Participation in Strategy: A Critical Discursive Perspective

We still know little of why strategy processes often involve participation problems. In this paper, we argue that this crucial issue is linked to fundamental assumptions concerning the nature of strategy work. Hence, we need to examine how strategy processes are typically made sense of and what roles are assigned to specific organizational members. For this purpose, we adopt a critical discursive perspective that allows us to uncover how specific conceptions of strategy work are reproduced and legitimated in organizational strategizing. Our empirical analysis is based on an extensive research project on strategy work in 12 organizations. As a result of our analysis, we identify three central discourses that seem to be systematically associated with non-participatory approaches to strategy work: `mystification', `disciplining', and `technologization'. However, we also distinguish three strategy discourses that promote participation: `self-actualization', `dialogizat...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: ORGSCI
• Authors: Saku Mantere, Eero Vaara
• Keywords: Critical Discursive Perspective, ORGSCI 2008, Participation Problems, Strategy