Tools for Strategy: A Starter Kit for Academics and Practitioners

This Element discusses the concept and applications of strategy tools.
Strategy tools are frameworks, techniques, and methods that help
individuals and organizations to create their strategies. After a brief
overview of different ideas on strategy and strategic thinking, we move
on to define and discuss what strategy tools are and elaborate on the
promise and perils of using them to implement strategic management. We
review the most commonly used, classic tools and techniques, but also
less well-known tools of the strategy trade, as proposed by scholars
writing in the leading strategy journals. We conclude by offering
suggestions on how to improve strategic design and the effectiveness of
the resultant strategy through the selective use of the most appropriate
tools. Overall, this Element provides a quick overview of the tools
that are available to those tasked with creating organizational
strategies and making strategic decisions.