Johan Roos and Georg von Krogh go beyond contemporary theories of firms' competitive advantages to point out that most firms compete on competencies, and therefore possession of competence is the key to success. Competence itself is simply the synthesis of a firm's particular task and knowledge systems. The authors explore the nature of these systems and argue that skilfully combining them gives a firm its 'competence configuration' which represents the time potential of the organization. © 1992.

This article discusses two concepts in an emerging theory of knowledge development in globalizing firms. The concept of "language games" is developed to shed light on the role of language in globalizing organizations. The concept of "self-similarity" enables discussions of changes in routines, processes, and structures as firms evolve from national to global organizations. © 1995.

Despite decades of efforts to promote gender equality, most leadership positions in business, politics, education, and even NGOs are occupied by men, and most people still work in occupations dominated by one sex. This book argues that gender imbalances in leadership and occupations are not simply a moral issue or an economic issue, but a governance issue. Gender imbalances persist in large part because the very people with the authority and influence to do something about them know very little about gender and how it works in their organizations and in society at large. Gender imbalanced governance is an expression of entrenched ideas about masculinity and femininity that lead to poor decision making. Improving the quality of governance requires action to counteract the main justifications for the status quo. Based on interviews and conversations with leaders and managers in Europe and the United States, the book presents seven of the most common explanations for persistent gender imbalances and shows how they are based on common stereotypes and myths about men's and women's abilities and preferences. This book provides a guided tour of current research about gender from a multi-disciplinary perspective. It challenges commonly held assumptions and offers alternative explanations and corresponding principles to guide individual decisions, action, and behaviour toward achieving gender balance.

The concept of analogical reasoning refers to the successful transfer of structural similarities from a source to a target domain of knowledge. Organizational research focused exclusively on the cognitive aspects of analogical reasoning remains limited however, in its capacity to describe the function and effects of analogical reasoning within the organizational contexts where it occurs. This paper extends existing theory of analogical reasoning by drawing on the concept of practice as it has been developed by strategy-as-practice researchers. In particular, we suggest that in addition to cognition, analogical reasoning involves social structuration and embodied performance. By re-framing analogical reasoning as a strategic practice, we provide the emerging field of strategy-as-practice research with a new analytical lens through which to view the micro-level activities associated with strategizing. The paper includes an empirical case to illustrate the suggested contribution to theory, and it closes with a discussion of implications for future strategy-as-practice theory and research. © 2008.

Analogical reasoning refers to the successful transfer of structural similarities from a source to a target domain. In strategic management research, this concept has materialized in approaches such as strategic mapping. Yet, the concept and its application seem to have emphasized primarily the cognitive aspects of analogical reasoning. Bourdieu's concept of practice allows us to explore analogical reasoning in a more integral manner, i.e., by presenting embodied aspects of analogical reasoning as complementary to the cognitive aspects, and equally relevant for strategic organizational development processes. Thus, we conceptualize analogical reasoning as a practice of strategy and illustrate this concept with an empirical case.

If we presume an organizational ontology of complex, dynamic change, then what role remains for strategic intent? If managerial action is said to consist of adaptive responsiveness, then what are the foundations of value on the basis of which strategic decisions can be made? In this essay, we respond to these questions and extend the existing strategy process literature by turning to the Aristotelian concept of prudence, or practical wisdom. According to Aristotle, practical wisdom involves the virtuous capacity to make decisions and take actions that promote the "good life" for the "polis". We explore contemporary interpretations of this concept in literature streams adjacent to strategy and determine that practical wisdom can be developed by engaging in interpretative dialogue and aesthetically-rich experience. With these elements in view, we re-frame strategy processes as occasions to develop the human capacity for practical wisdom.

This book identifies, illustrates and reflects over the role of practical wisdom in organizations for organizations' preparedness. As the need for preparedness stretches the limits of what is thinkable and possible for organizations, the importance of value judgements, i,e, ethics, becomes increasingly clear, which challenges conventional strategy practice. The ancient concept of practical wisdom provides a framework that can guide managers as they balance ethical demands with demands for practical effectiveness. Practical wisdom can be developed through 'playful' activities such as storytelling, reflective dialogue and aesthetic experience. By cultivating practical wisdom, the authors argue, people in organizations can develop the 'everyday strategic preparedness' needed to deal with a complex and uncertain world.

Although the idea that competencies are underlying sustainable competitive advantages is central, there has been no thorough investigation into the very nature of competencies in the strategic management literature. Theories on the sociology of knowledge are used to advance the resource-based perspective of the firm into a coherent perspective of competencies. The implications on sustainable competitive advantages are discussed, by focusing on the processes of imitation of competencies in different social contexts. It is proposed that the emergent competence-based perspective of the firm has several important implications for management research and theory building.

Building on the work of Prahalad and Bettis (1986, 1995), the objective of this article is to generate dialogue for further understanding of the concept of dominant logic. Our focus is on the level of basic assumptions. First, we demonstrate the conceptual plasticity of 'dominant logic. ' Then, we retrofit two relatively unknown concepts - self-reference and scale-with the concept of dominant logic, with its 1995 meaning. Finally, we discuss three implications of our venture.

Companies communicate internally through their own phrases and concepts - their own language. The local meaning of that language is very difficult to transpose into another company's language and culture. Georg von Krogh and Johan Roos point out that many businesses are careless in their use of language and internal conversations - yet nothing is of more importance to the company's strategy. These authors urge managers to develop their own internal company lexicon of language since language and knowledge development are interdependent. Most companies have mastery of operational conversations, but not of strategic conversations. This article sets out guidelines for managing and developing strategic conversations which are directed towards the future of the company. © 1995.

The objective of this essay is to contribute to a new perspective of strategic management by developing a new theory of organizational knowledge. The article focuses on how managers can understand and guide knowledge development processes in organizations. Our epistemology broadens strategic management to also include the advancement activities of the organization. In addition to discussing development of organizational knowledge, the essay also emphasises fundamental consequences for research methodology.