Strategy and business history rejoined: How and why strategic management concepts took over business history

Abstract

Scholars at the intersection of business history and strategic management have argued for the relevance and importance of historical methods in the study of strategic management of organizations. We flip this argument and ask about the role of strategic management concepts in the study of business history. We analyze volumes of Business History and Business History Review and a representative sample of business history books using a comprehensive set of keywords, each related to a specific sub-discourse in strategic management. Our results show that as scientific communities, business history and strategic management have become increasingly similar in their conceptual overlap. This study contributes further nuance to the understanding of intellectual change across scientific communities, and the role of business history in the rise of management and organizational history.