8/7/2019 refc5b2

1/2

The Strategist

The role of the strategist in the strategy process has been implied in terms of craftingstrategy (Ericsson et al, 2001). The passivity ascribed to the strategist is evidenced in

leading strategy textbooks which do not explicitly address the strategist formation, role,

skills and motivation, let alone their activities. This neglect of the strategist is somewhat paradoxical, in spite of rational and analytical capabilities emphasised as crucial

contributions to strategy formation the role is often theorised out of existence. To further

the confusion the literature uses terms such as CEO, president, manager, top leaders,strategic thinkers as a proxy for strategists (Ericson et al, 2001; Mintzberg, 1991). In

essence the strategist is silent partner or invisible being in the strategy literature.

In terms of searching for the strategist Whittington states that there are three fundamentalissues regarding strategists, or strategy practitioners, who they are, how they get there

and the skills they need (2002:3). While research exists which gives some insight into

the formation of more senior executives at director level (Hambrick, 1987, Pettigrew,

1992), there has been an apparent lack of research into participants lower down themanagement level as opposed to these managerial elites, participants such as professional

strategy staff and strategy consultants (Whittington, 2002). Some question whether thereis actually a primary function within organisation involving a role consisting principally

with management of the company strategy. Furthermore external agents are fundamental

in forming the parameters that shape strategy action in a micro-context, while internally

sources of strategy are diverse and may come from varying levels within the organisation(Hamel, 1996; Markides, 2000; Nonaka 1988).

Some authors have attempted to deal with the role of strategist through the lens ofstrategic thinking, which encapsulates some of the strategists skills. Ohmae (1982)

emphasises the importance of analytical thinking, intuition leading to local optimisationas well as more transformative reconfigurations. Similarly others note the necessity ofchallenging conventional wisdom and the visionary aspects of strategic thinking (Boar,

1997; Lorenz, 1995; Mintzberg, 1991; Robert. 1998; Stacey, 1994). Boar (1997) argues

that cardinality and synthesis, rather than analytical decomposition, lies at the heart ofstrategic management. Thinking processes, however, are often muted by externalities and

consumed by operational minutiae. Evidently there is also a dearth of research with

respect to the skills strategists use. While Chandler (1962) attempted to carry out research

on the multidivisional as a training ground for top management, we still know little aboutstrategists skills and how these are developed and deployed. (Liedtka, 1998;

Whittington, 2002). The nature of the role of the strategist is also somewhat ambiguous.

Garratt (1991) describes the role of the strategist as: managing the conjunction of thepolitical world or polity, with the more day-to-day routines of tactics and trying to keep

them sufficiently in balance without allowing ossification. The fragmented and

underdeveloped basis of the literature suggests the imperative of exploratory work in thisarea. Johnson captures this succinctly if the worlds of practice and academic research

demand a more micro perspective than the task is one of empirical investigation (et al.,

2003:5). To rise to this challenge the strategy field needs to understand and explore who

the strategist is in different organisational settings.

8/7/2019 refc5b2

2/2

This track invites papers, theoretical, empirical, case based papers which examines thestrategist in terms of their roles, activities, responsibilities in various organizational

settings.

Strategists; Strategy; Roles; Activities; Responsibilities

Dr. James CunninghamDepartment of Management

National University of Ireland, Galway,

Galway

IrelandTel: + 353 91 493472

Email: james.cunningham@nuigalway.ie