Approaches and the evolution of schools in strategic management

Abstract

In the area of planning and strategic management, experts and scholars expressed different views about the formation and the type of strategic planning. Nowadays, such ideas are put forth in the framework of paradigm and schools. Today each of them is called a paradigm or school. Each of these ideas has got some advocates or opponents and lots of views have been expressed about the matter so far. Such remarks and statements do not offer any clear understanding of strategic planning and formation. However, these approaches and attitudes were categorized and expressed in some more general frameworks. Some groups regard strategic formation as clear, predictable, analyzable and logical processes while others regard it as being contingent. Studying the evolution of strategic schools and approaches of strategic planning can help us get a better understanding of strategic planning. In this article, in addition to studying the evolution of strategic schools, we will also explore the latest approaches to strategic planning, evaluate the characteristics and theoretical basis of each of them, and finally suggest the models related to them.