Historicism in narrative reviews of strategic management research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of methodological issues that accompany the articles reviewing past research in strategic management. Design/methodology/approach – The topic of the philosophical underpinnings and implications of historicism in strategy reviews is examined by contrasting and explaining deterministic, indeterministic, and underdeterministic views of strategy's intellectual history. Findings – Three diverse philosophical approaches to historicist interpretation are found to be embedded in key review articles in the field of strategic management. Practical implications – This paper indicates the need to develop and teach an accepted methodology of systematically reviewing and interpreting available knowledge in strategic management. Originality/value – The unique contribution of this paper is that it indicates new paths that are important not only for the development of an alternative way to construct a shared history of the subject but also for the development of common norms for review articles that could help to advance strategic management scholarship.