Talk, Text and Tools in the Practice of Strategy

So far, SAP scholars have explored the question of what strategists “do”, providing at least three different types of answers to this question: strategists talk, they write texts and they use various kinds of tools—models, methodologies, etc. The pervasiveness of ethnographic research in the area has led to a predominance of studies dealing with strategic talk and agency. There is still realtively little research on the production and use of texts and tools; we believe that there is a need to bring to the fore the textual, intertextual and material aspects of strategy as practice. In addition, research on the connections between talk, texts and tools would be very welcome: how do managers talk about texts and tools? How are texts and material objects mobilized during the flow of conversations? How do strategists “textualize” their conversations and their use of tools? How are the choice and usage of tools related to other aspects of the practice of strategy? And finally, what are the best methodologies for answering these questions?