NANDAN CHOUDHURYt c-Strategy researchers are preoccupied with the study of existing strategy systems and processes, with the result that they do not question situations where a strategy is expected to exist but does not. The investigation of such voids is likely to enhance greatly the understanding of the nature of organizational strategy, both in its presence and in its absence. The perspective offered in this paper is that strategy absence is a legitimate phenomenon of interest to business management scholars. Beginning with Hofer's (1975) contingency theory article, strategy researchers have devoted considerable attention to the identification and classification of competitive strategies. An underlying assumption of this work is that all organizations have a strategy. Porter, for example, stated, 'every firm competing in an industry has a strategy, whether explicit or implicit ' (1980: xiii). From an empirical perspective, the notion of an implicit strategy raises many questions. Researchers in the strategy field tend to sidestep this issue by adopting classification schemes that presume explicit, measurable phenomena.This paper takes the perspective that strategy in organizations is not all-pervasive. While theories of organizational strategy have become increasingly sophisticated, beginning with historical analyses (Chandler, 1962) and more recently involving a renewed focus on resource-based and firm capabilities approaches, limited attention has been directed towards cases of strategy +In the early stages of this paper's development, Nandan Choudhury passed away. This paper is dedicated to Nandan and his creative insights, which provided the foundation for this paper.Key words: strategy absence; patterns of decision making; constructive ambiguity absence, that is, where strategy is expected but is not. Such a focus would seek to establish the conditions in which particular forms of strategy do not exist, and subsequently, the reasons why strategy does or does not make the transition from nonbeing to being. Rather than assuming that all firms must have a strategy, it may be necessary to ask: Why is there no strategy here? What are the characteristics of the strategy-less organization? The analysis involved in answering these two questions proceeds on three levels. The first level of analysis seeks to establish the conditions that preclude or do not encourage the presence of strategy. The second level of analysis concerns itself with the researcher's ideological framework that may interfere with the recognition of strategy voids. The third level evaluates organizational and environmental contextual factors associated with strategy absence.
THE SUBSTANCE AND ELUSIVENESS OF ABSENCEStrategy researchers appear to be preoccupied with strategy presence. The literature is replete with 'discoveries' of strategy: normative discoveries of strategic solutions to problems, positive
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