A developing framework for strategic thinking

The topic of strategic thinking is important because it represents a significant challenge for executives and is increasingly prevalent in the literature. This research develops a framework for strategic thinking that is grounded in both academic literature and practitioner interpretations through a number of phases, each with an orientation towards either literature or empirical data. In empirical phases data was generated from interviews with executives in the UK NHS. Conceptually oriented phases evaluated the conceptions of strategy and strategic thinking, and synthesised the discrete themes of goals, issues and actions in the strategy literature. The framework of goals, issues and actions, and their interrelationships, represents a set of conceptual handles that bridge the conceptual and empirical worlds. The framework offers guidance for strategic thinking practice that is relevant to different settings. Employing the framework involves three processes; constructing, refining and appraising. The framework indicates "about what to think", is complemented by characteristics of strategic thinking that indicate "how to think" and these three processes indicate how to employ the "about what to think" and "how to think" aspects of strategic thinking in practice. This combination provides a comprehensive guidance for strategic thinking practice. This research also offers guidance on management education to develop strategic thinking. The framework addresses the challenge of integrating experiential, contextualised knowledge with academic, generalised knowledge by using categories that have meaning for practitioners that are connected to central themes in the strategy literature. It is argued that the appropriate educational process is an inductive one that avoids an overly analytical and compartmentalised approach but preserves the integrated nature of the framework that reflects the nature of strategic thinking. The integrated nature of the framework may indicate that it represents a threshold concept that leads to a transformed understanding and way of thinking that integrates other concepts.The topic of strategic thinking is important because it represents a significant challenge for executives and is increasingly prevalent in the literature. This research develops a framework for strategic thinking that is grounded in both academic literature and practitioner interpretations through a number of phases, each with an orientation towards either literature or empirical data. In empirical phases data was generated from interviews with executives in the UK NHS. Conceptually oriented phases evaluated the conceptions of strategy and strategic thinking, and synthesised the discrete themes of goals, issues and actions in the strategy literature. The framework of goals, issues and actions, and their interrelationships, represents a set of conceptual handles that bridge the conceptual and empirical worlds. The framework offers guidance for strategic thinking practice that is relevant to different settings. Employing the framework involves three processes; constructing, refining and appraising. The framework indicates "about what to think", is complemented by characteristics of strategic thinking that indicate "how to think" and these three processes indicate how to employ the "about what to think" and "how to think" aspects of strategic thinking in practice. This combination provides a comprehensive guidance for strategic thinking practice. This research also offers guidance on management education to develop strategic thinking. The framework addresses the challenge of integrating experiential, contextualised knowledge with academic, generalised knowledge by using categories that have meaning for practitioners that are connected to central themes in the strategy literature. It is argued that the appropriate educational process is an inductive one that avoids an overly analytical and compartmentalised approach but preserves the integrated nature of the framework that reflects the nature of strategic thinking. The integrated nature of the framework may indicate that it represents a threshold concept that leads to a transformed understanding and way of thinking that integrates other concepts