The SMS Annual International Conference is one of the hotbeds where scholars discuss current trends in strategy research and practice, and share their thoughts and ideas about how strategy-making is done. Scholars and practitioners interested in strategy-making practices can count on an interest group called “Strategy Practice” that holds the same status as other strong groups of strategy scholars at the Strategic Management Society”, such as Strategy Process, Behavioral Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, etc.

At this year’s SMS, which will take place from September 22 to 25 in Paris, the Strategy Practice IG will provide an exciting program.

Saturday, September 22

Strategy Process and Practice Research Workshop (9am-12pm, Paris Marriott Rive Gauche – Forum G-J)

This workshop is organized by Shenghui Ma and Frances Fabian and consists of two parts. In Part I (no pre-registration required), the panelists Shaz Ansari, Steve Floyd, Loizos Heracleous, David Obstfeld, Patrick Regnér, and Richard Whittington stake out opportunities for dialogue between research on strategy process and strategy as practice. In Part II (for registered participants only), scholars will receive feedback on their research projects in interactive roundtable discussions.

Sunday, September 23

Open Strategy: Current Status and Future Directions for Research and Practice (8am-9.15pm, Forum A)

In this session, panelists from research and practice will discuss open strategy as a promising field in strategy as practice. This session is organized by Julia Hautz and includes Loizos Heracleous, Kurt Matzler, Luciano Oviedo, Christian Stadler, and Richard Whittington as panelists (read more).

Researching Strategy Practices: A Dialogue between Academics, Consultants, and Business People (11.15am-12.30pm, Forum B)

This panel session is organized by Lionel Garreau and engages academics, business people, and consultants in a constructive dialogue on strategy as practice in terms of its methodological challenges, practical relevance, and prospects for collaboration. The panelists will be Stephanie Dameron, Polydefkis Loukopoulos, Olivier Sibony, Violetta Splitter, and Richard Whittington (read more).

Collaborative Strategy-making: Participation, Inclusion, and Influencing (4pm-5.15pm, Studio D)

This paper session combines presentations of papers with a common interest in collaborative strategy-making. The presented papers broach this broad theme by exploring topics such as the role of resources, orchestrating online communities, inter-organizational dynamics, and CEO post-succession (read more).

Monday, September 24

Skillful Use of Strategy Tools, Practices, and Discourses (3.30pm-4.45pm, Forum I+J)

The papers presented in this paper session approach the practice of strategy-making from different angles. Specifically, the papers include themes such as staged performances, technologies-in-use, sensegiving, and political dynamics (read more).

Purpose Driven Strategizing: Competing Through Sustainability Oriented Values (5.15pm-6.30pm, Scene DEF)

This panel session is organized by Timo Santalainen and Thomas Wunder and discusses the drivers, values, and purposes in and for contemporary strategizing with an orientation toward sustainability. The panel includes both researchers and practitioners, namely, Bettina Maisch, Alex Meyer zum Felde, Jean Stead, and Geanne Van Arkel (read more).

Tuesday, September 25

Business Model Innovation (8am-9.15am, Studio G+H)

This common-ground session generates feedback on projects that relate to business model innovation. Some of the themes of these projects include routines, communicative practices, firm performance, sustainable strategy, and complex systems (read more).

Patterns of Digital Disruption: Insights from the Financial Sector (8am-9.15am, Loft G)

This panel session is organized by Krsto Pandza and Youngjin Yoo and brings together a panel of researchers and practitioners who are interested in or manage the disruptive potentials of digital innovation, especially in the financial sector. The panelists are Jesper Enggard, Jannis Kallinikos, Tobias Kretschmer, and Rashik Parmar (read more).

Contradictions and Ambiguities in the Practice of Strategy (11am-12.15pm, Studio A)

This paper session relates to the tensions and contradictions that are produced and re-created through strategy-making. Specifically, the presented papers include topics such as ambidexterity, dualities, dilemmas, and agility (read more).

Strategy Formulation and Implementation: A Practice Perspective  (5.30pm-6.45pm, Studio E)

This common-ground session showcases different projects that explore the practices through which strategy formulation and implementation occur. The discussed papers include topics such as strategy development, inter-organizational dynamics, dynamic capabilities, institutional work, corporate branding, and M&A (read more).