TY - CHAP

T1 - Multimodality in Strategy-as-Practice Research

AU - Knight, Eric

AU - Wenzel, Matthias

PY - 2025/3/11

Y1 - 2025/3/11

N2 - Eric Knight and Matthias Wenzel examine the multimodality of strategizing. Drawing parallels to research in other domains of organization studies, they show that the enactment of strategic practices involves, amongst others, discursive modes (i.e., written or oral texts such as speech acts, emails, documents or newspaper articles), bodily modes (i.e., bodily movements such as gestures, gazes, nodding or pointing) and material modes (i.e., objects and artefacts such as tables, chairs, rooms or tools). As the concept of multimodality signals, these different modes are typically interrelated. That is, one typically finds a constellation of different modes involved in strategy work. The authors review existing strategy as practice research in terms of how they have conceptualized and captured the multimodality of strategy work. They distinguish three different conceptualizations, which they label ‘multimodality as representation’ (treating different modes as reflected in each other), ‘multimodality as co-creation’ (treating different modes as recursively shaping each other) and ‘multimodality as intertwinement’ (treating different modes as amalgamated). They discuss how each view of multimodality allows for different types of insights to be gained on the doing of strategy.

AB - Eric Knight and Matthias Wenzel examine the multimodality of strategizing. Drawing parallels to research in other domains of organization studies, they show that the enactment of strategic practices involves, amongst others, discursive modes (i.e., written or oral texts such as speech acts, emails, documents or newspaper articles), bodily modes (i.e., bodily movements such as gestures, gazes, nodding or pointing) and material modes (i.e., objects and artefacts such as tables, chairs, rooms or tools). As the concept of multimodality signals, these different modes are typically interrelated. That is, one typically finds a constellation of different modes involved in strategy work. The authors review existing strategy as practice research in terms of how they have conceptualized and captured the multimodality of strategy work. They distinguish three different conceptualizations, which they label ‘multimodality as representation’ (treating different modes as reflected in each other), ‘multimodality as co-creation’ (treating different modes as recursively shaping each other) and ‘multimodality as intertwinement’ (treating different modes as amalgamated). They discuss how each view of multimodality allows for different types of insights to be gained on the doing of strategy.

KW - Management studies

UR - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-strategy-as-practice/25D931561CA99D9BAF3524DC064E8F87#fndtn-information

U2 - 10.1017/9781009216067.042

DO - 10.1017/9781009216067.042

M3 - Chapter

SN - 978-1-009-21607-4

SP - 729

EP - 739

BT - Cambridge Handbook of Strategy as Practice

A2 - Golsorkhi, Damon

A2 - Rouleau, Linda

A2 - Seidl, David

A2 - Vaara, Eero

PB - Cambridge University Press

CY - Cambridge

ER -