Open AccessStrategy as an Unfolding Network of Associations
Author(s) -
HOY TOM,
ROWLEY TOM
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
ethnographic praxis in industry conference proceedings
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1559-8918
pISSN - 1559-890X
DOI - 10.1111/1559-8918.2016.01102
Subject(s) - studio , ethnography , tacit knowledge , set (abstract data type) , process (computing) , point (geometry) , relation (database) , knowledge management , sociology , strategic management , public relations , psychology , business , process management , computer science , marketing , political science , telecommunications , geometry , mathematics , database , anthropology , programming language , operating system
This case explores a business strategy development project run by Stripe Partners for a London‐based online healthcare company, Dr Ed. The first part lays out the details of the process: an intense four‐day ethnographic research programme called the ‘Studio’ involving the Dr Ed senior management team. The second half reflects on the outcomes of the process one year on through a series of management interviews, and evaluates the contribution the Studio made in relation to the new business strategy. The evidence from the case suggests that the concept of strategy can be reappraised. From strategy as a static set of choices made at a specific point in time to strategy as an unfolding network of people, shared experiences and artefacts that is constantly being remade. The primary benefit of the Studio approach is its capacity to initiate, align and catalyse a ‘strategy network’. Studios are effective because they combine ethnographic encounters with collective problem solving to produce rich, tacit forms of knowledge that engender shared commitment and understanding.