Handbook of Strategy and Management

New in Paperback: Publishing February 2006!

`If you had to read only one book to understand the roots and branches of the study of strategy & organization, this would be it. Pettigrew, Thomas and Whittington have gathered an impressive array of contributions, which provide a comprehensive guide to the current state of the art. It′s a book that reflects a maturing field, offering thought-provoking discussions of the major issues in strategy, reflections on how they have been tackled in the last three decades, and identifying the themes, promises and challenges that lie ahead. Useful for a novice and an accomplished scholar alike, this is a remarkable effort that shows how far the Strategy field has come′ - Michael G. Jacobides, London Business School

`This is an interesting, insightful and thought provoking collection. It not only comprehensively maps the field of strategic management but also offers a critical reflection on past and present work. The rich mix of contributors criticize, entice and provoke, while also scoping a future research agenda. The authors have accomplished a major and important contribution to our understanding of the history and development of strategy and research in strategy′ - David Asch, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, De Montfort University.

`The publication of the Handbook of Strategy and Management is a major event. The Handbook not only brings together the World′s leading strategy and management scholars; it is also remarkably well-organized and future-oriented, having the right balance between focus and diversity. By critically taking stock of the field and by discussing future paths of strategy, this Handbook will serve as an important stimulus for intellectual development for years to come′- Nicolai Foss, Copenhagen Business School

`Finally! We have a comprehensive, reflective and critical overview of the field of strategy in the new Handbook of Strategy and Management. The strategy literature has come of age with this "mapping of the terrain" by Andrew Pettigrew, Howard Thomas and Richard Whittington. The Handbook provides an useful overview of different streams of thought with contributions by leading scholars and researchers. Equally importantly, this Handbook provides us with reflections on the past and insights into the future of the field. Such a critique is an important aid in understanding and researching strategy for newcomers and experienced scholars alike′ - Cynthia Hardy, Head of Department of Management, University of Melbourne

The Handbook presents a major retrospective and prospective overview of the strategic management field and will be an important benchmark volume for management scholars worldwide. The Handbook frames, assesses and synthesizes the work in the field and helps to define and shape its current and future development. The editors combine focus with diversity in the material and approaches covered, thus providing a powerful critical analysis and synthesis of diverse disciplinary contributions to this rapidly growing body of knowledge.

Each of the four parts of this book concentrates on a specific area of strategy and management. Within these parts, leading international scholars provide historical overviews of the key strands delineating the `topography′ of their particular themes, address the central problems and approaches which have characterized these, critically assess the state and quality of current theory and knowledge, and set out agendas for future theoretical and empirical development.

The resulting volume is a unique overview of the inputs and dynamics that shape the core ideas and practices of strategy and management.

Andrew Pettigrew is Professor of Strategy and Organisation at the Saïd Business School and Senior Golding Fellow at Brasenose College, both at the University of Oxford. He is a leading expert on strategy and change in both the public and private sectors. He launched his career with a highly-regarded ten-year study of chemical company ICI, connecting economic business research with a broader sociological approach. He has revolutionised the study of organisational development by combining historical, political and social contextual information with statistical and quantitative data. Professor Pettigrew’s current research interests include the management of strategic change processes within organisations and the relationship between leadership, change and performance. Professor Pettigrew’s background in sociology and anthropology, where contextual and historical study are vital, informs his research methodology. Pettigrew believes that his work is to ‘catch reality in flight’ and to ‘give time to time’, encouraging researchers to emulate historians and ‘reconstruct past contexts, processes, and decisions’. Alongside his pure research, Pettigrew is concerned with practice and has been engaged internationally in consulting and advisory roles, from consulting on strategic change and management in the NHS to working with the boards of top corporations. He is Chairman of the Academic Sounding Board for McKinsey’s worldwide organisation practice. Pettigrew also studies the processes, practices and performance of collaborative academic research, addressing the ways business schools and researchers themselves deal with decision-making, innovation and strategic change management. He works with both the European Foundation for Management Development (EMFD) and the UK’s Economics and Social Research Council (ESRC) to understand and improve research in the social sciences and management. Pettigrew is author or co-author of 15 books and over 100 journal articles. He is recognised within the management community as one of the foremost researchers and practitioners in strategy and change management. In 2003 Pettigrew became only the third business school professor to be made a Fellow of the British Academy. He is a Fellow of both the British Academy of Management, and the US Academy of Management. He is also the only non-North American to be named a Distinguished Scholar of the US Academy of Management. He is the recipient of a Richard Whipp Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Academy of Management, and in 2009 he was awarded an OBE for services to higher education. Pettigrew has a degree in sociology at Liverpool University, and a PhD in industry sociology from Manchester Business School. Pettigrew lectured at Yale before returning to the UK, where he launched the Centre for Corporate Strategy and Change at Warwick University in 1985 and served as Dean of the University of Bath’s School of Management until he joined the Saïd Business School in 2008. Pettigrew has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Linkoping in Sweden (1989), University of Liverpool (2010) and Copenhagen Business School (2010).

Prof Howard Thomas has developed a global career in business and management education spanning almost 50 years.  He began his career as a Graduate Tutor and Assistant Lecturer in the London School of Economics in 1964.   His teaching and research interests include Business Policy and Strategic Management and he is a distinguished Professor of Strategic Management.

Richard Whittington teaches strategy at the Saïd Business School and New College, where he is Millman Fellow in Management