Strategy tools as boundary objects

The strategy literature has generated an array of strategy ‘tools’, such as core competences and scenario planning. While these are used extensively in strategy teaching and in strategic planning processes, we have few insights on how they are used in practice or of their consequences. Our thinking on tools is shaped by the growing strategy-as-practice perspective, which views strategy as a type of work that people do, not just a property of organizations (Whittington, 2003). Thus, we shift our attention to what actually happens when individuals use a strategy tool, rather than simply assuming their usage. So far, current research has only focused on the intended ‘textbook’ purposes of strategy tools. We argue that we need to know much more about how these tools are used and for what purposes. Focusing upon actual use will offer insights into users’ intentions and the implications of using tools for specific interactions. In particular, different users may employ the same tool not only in different ways but for different reasons. Practitioners may thus be less concerned about the ‘proper’ or ‘improper’ use of a strategy tool than with applying it in particular situations that appear to be appropriate. However, strategy tool use may also lead to unintended consequences. While the language implicit in a particular tool shapes its results, such as a report, the report’s content may not be understood by individuals who are unfamiliar with that specific language. Hence, the use of strategy tools may constrain effective communication across organizational boundaries. There is a literature on boundary objects, which examines how tools and artefacts span work boundaries within organizations (e.g. Bechky, 2003a, 2003b; Carlile, 2002, 2004; Henderson, 1991; Star and Greisemer, 1989), that has not been incorporated into the strategy literature. We aim to build from this literature in order to better understand how strategy tools enable or con strain interaction across intra-organizational boundaries. The boundary objects literature is relevant to strategic organization because it helps us to STRATEGIC ORGANIZATION Vol 7(2): 223–232 DOI: 10.1177/1476127009102674 Copyright ©2009 Sage Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC) http://so.sagepub.com