Strategic practices as enablers and disablers of championing activity

Abstract

Research into the practice of organizational strategy is centered on the work of individual strategists. Strategic champions, individuals going beyond their operative responsibilities in strategic issues, are key stakeholders in research into strategy-as-practice. In this article, interview accounts of 158 champions from 12 organizations are analyzed for how strate gic practices enable and disable strategic champions in their work. A tension is discovered between recursive practices contributing to ontological security, achieved through pre dictability, and adaptive practices contributing to individual ownership of strategy, achieved through personal interpretation. © 2005, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.