Strategy and what it means to be strategic: redefining strategic, operational, and tactical decisions
Journal of Strategy and Management
ISSN: 1755-425X
Article publication date: 2 April 2021
Issue publication date: 20 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The confusion over what counts as “strategic” is widely acknowledged to be a problem for both research and practice. The paper aims to develop a robust definition of “strategic decisions” and a classifying tool that distinguishes them from grand tactical, tactical, and other organizational decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review focused on the leading journals is carried out. Articles having “strategic decision” in the abstract are retrieved from EBSCO Host and ProQuest One Academic databases. Definitions of “strategic decisions” are critically assessed and classified to form the trigger and basis of the development of new definition.
Findings
The literature review identifies five approaches by which strategic decisions are defined, and their limitations are exposed. The proposed definitions of “strategic,” grand tactical, and tactical decisions, and the novel classification tree, used to distinguish those decisions, are shown to be more accurate and robust than those previously offered in the literature.
Originality/value
New definitions of “strategic,” grand tactical, and tactical decisions are offered; and a new classifying tool is developed.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Citation
Khalifa, A.S. (2021), "Strategy and what it means to be strategic: redefining strategic, operational, and tactical decisions", Journal of Strategy and Management, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 381-396. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-12-2020-0357
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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