A realistic approach to strategic thinking and acting

Abstract

Coming from a split between thinking and acting, the trend of strategy as a practice seeks to connect micro/macro dimensions and link structure to agency. Due to this issue, it is argued that the trend may receive contributions from critical realism. Thus, this theoretical essay aims to establish a relation between thinking and acting in the field of research on strategy, by means of critical realism. Analyzing the reasons to separate schools, the first finding of this study was clarifying the use of discursive strategies in the field, obvious due to prioritization of moments when concepts of thinking and acting are used by each school. Moreover, a solenoid model was proposed, with cyclical connections among practice, practitioner, and praxis. However, besides the proposal, the strategy field may advance through a detailed view of structures/practices and agency/praxis, since the model has, at its core, the practitioner.