• describe the view of strategy-as-a-practice and illustrate it with examples
• explain contributions of IM (e.g. in the context of information resource management, knowledge management, organizational learning, innovation management, social media management) for organizational strategizing and strategic decision making
• apply concepts to analyze the challenges of strategic IM in a case setting
• explain empirical findings and practical problems with regards to the role IM for organizational strategizing
• compare and contrast fundamental assumptions, possibilities and limitations of theories and concepts
• assess and criticize the scope of theories and concepts as well as their relevance for practice

In the course we explore recent alternative viewpoints on strategy, building on Mintzberg's seminal categorization of strategy as deliberate, emergent and realized. In particular, we unfold how strategy can also be conceived as a practice – something that organizations do rather than have.
The concept of praxis emphasizes a concern for activity, what people actually do in their work to strategize: they continually identify opportunities, implement change and use information. In this context, we discuss how micro-level information practices link to higher-level strategic (and political) intentions in the organization. We hence address the question: How do Information Managers contribute to modern organizational strategizing?
There are several domains where important contributions of IM can be identified:

We start by discussing how data and information can be considered as a resource and used for resource-based enterprise strategies to yield competitive advantage. We focus on strategic aspects of information audits and analysis of information flows. Then we reflect on political influences on the interpretation of data in the context of business intelligence, strategic decision making, and organizational governance.

The specific conceptualization of knowledge in the organization defies a simply resource perspective but is also leading to the important strategic question of how to manage intangible resources and strategic organizational learning.

Related to this is the notion of organizationalambidexterity, i.e., the capability to simultaneously explore knowledge to identify new innovative opportunities and to exploit knowledge, to capitalize on firms’ existing capabilities.

Information Management can further contribute in important ways to the customer interface of an organization. We aim at extending our knowledge on computer-mediated communication to strategic social media management.

Participants of the course will analyze a self-selected case organization with the objective to empirically analyze the discussed role of information practices for strategizing. The approach and the results are documented as a project report and are submitted before or at the specified deadline to form a basis for an individual oral examination with a duration of 20 minutes.

Mintzberg, Henry, and Alexandra McHugh. "Strategy formation in an adhocracy." Administrative science quarterly (1985): 160-197.

Huang, Jimmy, João Baptista, and Robert D. Galliers. "Reconceptualizing rhetorical practices in organizations: The impact of social media on internal communications." Information & Management 50.2 (2013): 112-124.

Choudhury, V. and Sampler, J.L. (1997). “Information Specificity and Environmental Scanning: An Economic Perspective,” MIS Quarterly, 21(1), 25-53.

Ciborra, C. U. and R. Andreu (2002). Knowledge across Boundaries: Managing Knowledge in Distributed Organizations. The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge. Edited by C. W. Choo and N. Bontis. Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp. 575-586.