Introduction

Strategy as Practice is a good place to be working. Chapter 1 has established it as a new domain, one with plenty of empirical opportunities. This chapter will introduce some of the abundant theoretical resources and models for research available to pursue these opportunities. Many of these resources and models come from outside the strategy discipline itself, for the perspective taken by Strategy as Practice research is already integral to a much wider turn towards practice within contemporary thinking (Schatzki, Knorr-Cetina and Von Savigny 2001; Egginton and Sandbothe 2004). Across the disciplines, people's ordinary practical activities are taking a central place in meta-theoretical discourse. Moreover, this meta-theoretical discourse is helping to drive parallel advances in more focused areas of theory, each with potential relevance for Strategy as Practice research. From studies of learning to research into science and technology, middle-range theorizing and empirical work are being done with direct relevance to Strategy as Practice. As they develop their new domain, researchers on Strategy as Practice can be sure both that they are participating in a broader shift in contemporary thought and that they have robust models from other disciplines to guide them as they pursue their own new directions.

This chapter, therefore, introduces some of the parallel traditions on which Strategy as Practice researchers might draw. It is a large-scale map intended to provide a general orientation. Its aim is not to give a detailed discussion of particular theories or a definitive account of what is ‘in’ or ‘out’ for Strategy as Practice research. Rather, it aims to help readers see how the field fits broadly together and the range of theoretical resources that are available to them.