Charles Booth Charles.Booth@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Strategy and Organisation
Does history matter in strategy? The possibilities and problems of counterfactual analysis
Booth, Charles
Authors
Abstract
Does history matter in strategy? The lack of attention given to historical perspectives in the mainstream literature suggests that it does not. Recently, however, authors have argued that historical forces do affect the strategic management of organizations, and have highlighted their importance through the concept of “path dependence”. I review the literature on path dependence and argue that a conception of the complexities of historical understanding is required in a dynamic understanding of organizations. To highlight these complexities, I review an important theme in twentieth century historiography: the possibilities and problems presented by counterfactual analysis. Despite some serious objections to counterfactual thinking, this method may yield benefits for both managers and theorists. I conclude that to do justice to the importance of history in organizations, we must follow Collingwood in engaging, not with the question “Shall I be a historian or not?”, but rather with the question, “How good a historian shall I be?”. © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Citation
Booth, C. (2003). Does history matter in strategy? The possibilities and problems of counterfactual analysis. Management Decision, 41(1), 96-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740310445545
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Feb 1, 2003 |
Journal | Management Decision |
Print ISSN | 0025-1747 |
Publisher | Emerald |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 41 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | 96-104 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740310445545 |
Keywords | history, counterfactual analysis |
Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1072481 |
Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00251740310445545 |
Related Public URLs | http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/00251740310445545 |
You might also like
?????? ?? ????: A fractional biography
of failure
(2013)
Journal Article
Post-modernity and the exceptionalism of the present in dark tourism
(2012)
Journal Article
Social remembering and organizational memory
(2010)
Journal Article
Scenarios and counterfactuals as modal narratives
(2009)
Journal Article