Has Strategic Management Shed the Normal Science Straightjacket?: Revisiting Bettis' (1991) Critiques

The purpose of strategic management research is to learn why some organizations outperform others and then convey this knowledge to managers (Rumelt et al., 1994; Summer et al., 1990). Although strategic management traces its roots to the early twentieth century (e.g., Barnard, 1938), many scholars credit Chandler's (1962) study of strategy and structure as the inquiry that launched strategic management as a field of study. Three decades later, broad critiques of organizational science research and the volume of published strategic management research prompted scholarly assessments of the field (e.g., Bettis, 1991; Daft and Buenger, 1990; Daft and Lewin, 1990; Meyer, 1991; Mintzberg, 1990; Summer et al., 1990). Daft and Lewin (1990) outlined broad critiques of the organizational sciences in general. That same year, Mintzberg offered important but narrower critiques centered on the design school of strategy. The scope of Bettis' (1991) assessment lay in between these pieces. More specifically, of the assessments offered in the early 1990s, the one offered by Bettis (1991) is notable for deriving specific critiques of the state of strategic management research. Bettis' overarching concern was that the field had become ensnared in a normal science "straightjacket" similar to that constraining the organizational sciences in general (Daft and Lewin, 1990). A field that relies mainly on normal science (Kuhn, 1962) is limited to taking narrow approaches to well-defined issues, constraining creativity and intellectual development (Daft and Lewin, 1990). Bettis (1991) expressed concern that this was true of strategic management research, inhibiting researchers' abilities to explain why some firms outperform others and, thus, deterring the development of valuable knowledge for researchers and managers. Over a decade has passed since Bettis' admonitions were offered, and if researchers have not addressed these concerns, it might call the field's direction into question. This suggests that an assessment of the field's current state is timely and warranted. Given this, our article's purpose is to assess how much progress has been made concerning the five critiques offered by Bettis (1991). In chronicling the progress made, we also identify remaining challenges for the field. More broadly, our objective parallels Bettis' objective--to "help stimulate further reflective thinking in the field" (1991: 315). CRITIQUES FOR STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Bettis (1991) offered five specific critiques about strategic management research. Taken together, these critiques lend support for his contention that strategic management research was stuck in a normal science "straightjacket." We document each critique below. Critique 1--Dated Concepts/Lack of Relevance Bettis' (1991) first critique was that strategic management research suffered from the use of dated concepts, such as the study of irrelevant organizational structures. In particular, he questioned the relevance of many studies in the 1980s that focused on obsolete organizational forms, such as the M-Form organization described by Chandler in 1962, the use of diversification typologies developed in the early 1970s (Rumelt, 1974; Wrigley, 1970), and over-studied firms such as the Fortune 500. He argued that researchers needed to focus on more relevant topics, and that it is troubling that researchers make broad generalizations when much of the data used to make such generalizations were from Fortune 500 organizations. Thus, he cited the need for progressive research that applied directly to business and government contexts. Critique 2--Ethnocentric Focus Bettis' (1991) second critique was that the bulk of strategic management research was ethnocentric. His argument was based on two key points. First, he argued that commerce often extends beyond U.S. borders but most research does not. Second, he posited that firms from different countries have different structures, cultures, and problems than the U. …