The Behavioral Foundations of Strategic Management

This book argues that assumptions of rationality and market equilibrium are inconsistent with rigorous strategic management research and that strategic management should adopt behavioral assumptions. The author suggests that most scholars in strategic management implicitly adopt a behavioral view by assuming firms can make better or worse decisions, and then trying to understand the characteristics of these decisions. He outlines the basics of a behavioral approach to strategic management: he examines assumptions of rationality and equilibrium and the problems they create: and he considers how a behavioral approach relates to several major strains of strategic management scholarship. Relevant methodological issues are also explored. The book as a whole argues persuasively that a behavioral perspective offers the best foundation for strategic management scholarship.

Author Biography

Philip Bromiley holds the Curtis L. Carlson Chair in Strategic Management and chairs the Department of Strategic Management and Organization at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.