Counterfactuals

Brad MacKay

Chapter 3.5 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Strategy as Practice, 2025, pp 301-303 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The practice turn in strategy research has redirected attention towards the practitioners involved in strategizing, the practices that are employed and disseminated, and the praxis, or activities comprising strategy-making. At its heart, however, strategy involves making choices, at times taken consciously and deliberately in pursuit of specific objectives, and at other times emergent choices taken unconsciously to cope with quickly changing and uncertain environments. Strategy, as a field of both practice and study, often delves into alternative outcomes and hypothetical scenarios. Counterfactuals, or asking ‘what if’ questions, thus play a significant role in understanding the ebb and flow of strategy dynamics. How they are used as historical, philosophical, and psychological modes of understanding, however, differs. This article explores three different disciplinary approaches to counterfactual thinking, and their relevance for strategy-as-practice.

Keywords: Counterfactuals; Strategy-as-Practice; Interdisciplinary perspectives; Practitioners; Strategizing; Practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035315956
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