Strategy is Structure. A Systems Theory-Based Definition of Strategy

Abstract Hardly any other management concept sounds as hackneyed as strategy, and at the same time hardly any other concept in organizational science is as vaguely defined. As a means of escaping the conceptual tangle, this article suggests a systems theory-based definition which allows us to sort out the various threads of the strategy discussion. Strategy, according to this interpretation, entails programs that search for the means to achieve previously defined goals. This makes it possible to systematically link classical notions of strategy to discussions concerning organizational theory. Casting the concept of strategy in terms of systems theory enables us to resolve the artificial contradiction between strategy and structure, clarify the relationship between end and means, determine the relationship between a plan and its practical implementation, relativize the importance of strategies, and explain the surprising limitation of the strategy discussion to businesses.