The River Metaphor of Strategic Management

Abstract

This article introduces a new metaphor for strategic management, namely that of the strategy river. In comparison with the frequently used concept of path dependency, the strategy river emphasizes time and timing, co-evolutionary interplay between strategies and institutional environments, strategic momentum and the systemic nature of decision-making. Based on the scrutiny of its theoretical underpinnings, we argue that the strategy river metaphor is based on an alternative paradigm of organizational evolution. Furthermore, the river metaphor is perceived to respect many realities of managerial decision-making.