Strategy in the time of pandemics, climate change and the Kurzweil Singularity

Purpose: The business environment is increasingly fraught with societal disruptions—caused by factors such as pandemics, climate change and the probability of sentient machines—that are fundamentally different than the industry disruptions that firms have experienced and determined how to overcome. Societal disruptions create chaotic ambiguity and unknowable futures. This paper offers an approach to strategic management in the context of societal disruptions, employing purpose-driven “smart power” to harmonize the organization and the environment and promote both economic and social sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: The paper integrates the construct of smart power that blends hard and soft power, the concepts of purpose and identity that define what is core, aspirational, enduring and distinctive about the organization and the techniques of taming wicked problems in order to design processes and structures that can function in the context of social disruptions. Findings: The paper offers a strategic management approach that employs purpose-driven smart power to overcome the challenge and thrive in the context of chaotic ambiguity. Practical implications: The approach offers practical guidelines for designing processes and structures that can guide strategic decision making in organizations challenged by societal disruptions. Originality/value: The distinctive and daunting challenge posed by societal disruptions is delineated, and constructs and frameworks from multiple disciplines are uniquely integrated to potentially tame the chaotic ambiguity and unknowable futures created by these disruptions.