The Development of Strategy Research: Evolution of Topics and Article Characteristics

Abstract

We analyze how the strategy field evolved between 1980-2004 by examining the topics of influential articles published in two of the field’s most prominent journals, Long Range Planning (LRP) and the Strategic Management Journal (SMJ). Our findings describe the field's development, including declines in the traditional "content" and "process" categories, and increasing interest in topics related to firm resources and organizational issues. We also discuss changes in article characteristics – authorship, length and references – and reflect on how the strategy field has evolved over this early period in its development.