Chance, Choice and Determinism in Strategy

U. of Cambridge, Judge Institute of Management Working Paper No. 05/2004

35 Pages Posted: 21 Aug 2004

See all articles by Mark de Rond

Mark de Rond

Judge Institute of Management

Raymond-Alain Thietart

Université Paris IX Dauphine

Date Written: April 2004

Abstract

Experience suggests that strategy entails some interplay of choice, chance, and determinism as causal elements. Specifically, strategy is predicated on causality, or the principle that strategic choices have causes as well as consequences. Yet our discipline lacks a fundamental theory of causation, one that integrates strategic choice and deterministic perspectives and leaves room for chance. In reply, we venture beyond strategy and the organization sciences into intellectual history and complexity theory. Not only does each tradition have a long and respected track record in confronting causation, but when combined they allow us to address epistemological and ontological issues alike. We conclude with three propositions on the nature of causation in strategy, and examine their epistemological and methodological consequences.

Keywords: Strategy, causation, intellectual history, complexity theory, philosophy

JEL Classification: M10, D23, L20

Suggested Citation

de Rond, Mark and Thietart, Raymond-Alain, Chance, Choice and Determinism in Strategy (April 2004). U. of Cambridge, Judge Institute of Management Working Paper No. 05/2004, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=545984 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.545984

Mark De Rond (Contact Author)

Judge Institute of Management ( email )

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Raymond-Alain Thietart

Université Paris IX Dauphine ( email )

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Paris, 75775
France