Strategy Formation as Narrative-Driven Performative Praxis

This paper seeks to research the performative dimension of strategizing at the individual level in the context of strategy-as-practice. The study focuses on narrative-driven praxis being formed by practitioners involved in strategic discursive practices. The interconnections within strategy discourse lead to interdiscursivity that influences strategic decision-making. Revealing interdiscursivity is crucial as it is the key to understanding the praxis of strategy formation. This is action research that involved 16 practitioners from 13 countries around the globe. Critical discourse analysis is applied to data collected through purposive sampling during online coaching sessions. The author acted as an executive coach. The theoretical and practical implications of this paper are presented as a non-normative model that describes strategy formation as narrative-driven performative praxis. The constructed model can be used as a theoretical basis for individual coaching sessions on strategy formation.