Creating Strategic Momentum: Strategic Management with an Action Focus Instead of a Plan Focus

The classical writers on corporate strategy used a formulation implementation dichotomy: top management formulated new strategy and implemented it by passing the new strategic plan on to middle management to carry it out. This dichotomy is still present in many writings on strategic management. It can also be found in practice, leading to an overemphasis on the strategic plan at the expense of the creation of strategic action. One may say that both theory and practice tend to use a plan focus. This plan focus has come under attack by various writers. However, as yet this has not resulted in a clear alternative model. In this conceptual article we present a framework for strategic management based on an action focus, to be used for understanding and researching strategic management processes as well as to drive such processes in actual practice. The key concept in this framework is strategic momentum, i.e. perseverance in the pursuit of certain strategic objectives. It is through this strategic momentum, rather than through the strategic plan, that business results are realized. We discuss the background of the concept of strategic momentum and we discuss the use of our framework in research and in actual strategic management.