Open AccessTowards the very nature of corporate strategy
Author(s) -
Dominik Heil,
Tudor Maxwell,
Louise Whittaker
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
south african journal of business management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.179
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 2078-5976
pISSN - 2078-5585
DOI - 10.4102/sajbm.v34i1.673
Subject(s) - corporation , business , order (exchange) , process (computing) , corporate governance , stakeholder , control (management) , strategic management , value (mathematics) , corporate security , corporate communication , public relations , political science , management , marketing , computer science , economics , machine learning , operating system , finance
Current approaches to corporate strategy are overwhelmingly based on a metaphorical – and mostly unarticulated – understanding of the essential nature of corporations. In this paper we argue that in order to understand corporate strategy it is critical to understand the very nature of the entity called ‘corporation’. We then present an understanding of corporations as works; those entities that create and sustain the world in which humans live. In describing the characteristics of works and the way in which they create and sustain a world, we elucidate the very nature of corporate strategy. We conclude by proposing a process to enable leaders of corporations to engage in corporate strategy as creating and sustaining a world.