Business is War: Military Literature and Strategic Management’s Future

Abstract

Orthodox theorists often unwittingly invoke military language when writing about business-related phenomena. For example, in the world of commerce, the definition of the term strategy evokes competition between enemies: it can lead to victory or defeat. While most scholars agree that business literature from the 20th century borrows concepts from the military, there has been little attempt to appreciate the extent to which business literature of the digital age is influenced by military parlance and theorizing. This paper has two objectives. First, it demonstrates that the military and business literatures have somewhat similar historical trajectories and discontinuities. The second objective is to provide three lessons from military philosophers for those speculating about managerial issues in the digital era. Awareness of the relationship between business and military language can provide managers with a new perspective with which to view the challenges of the digital age.

Keywords: strategic management, leadership