| Sumario: | The entries in this set of volumes are the result of our work with Palgrave Macmillan in creating an encyclopedia for a dedicated field of study - an idea inspired by The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. We thought this would be a timely task for a field (strategic management) that was (and still is) emerging and has loosely defined concepts and boundaries, core definitions, intellectual foundations, founding fathers, applications and new avenues for research. We probably underestimated the time and effort it would take not only to define the right headwords, but in commissioning articles, finding the most relevant authors and trying to stay on track time-wise. And we could have not done this without an outstanding team of associate editors (Jay Barney, Alfonso Gambardella, Connie Helfat, Thorbjørn Knudsen, Dan Lovallo, Will Mitchell, Gary Pisano, Christos Pitelis and Miguel Villas-Boas). We are very grateful for their time and help. Moreover, we are grateful to Alison Jones, David Bull and Ruth Lefèvre for their outstanding lead and support in making this project not just begin but also come to completion. Especially Ruth; without her tireless efforts, this would have not come to publication. Now, a short note on content. When trying to determine the words and concepts that define the field, we ended up with nearly 800 entries. Some of our contributions are brief and only a signpost (cross-reference) or a definition; others are quite long articles, providing a general introduction to a concept, central figure or the field of strategic management. In addition to biographical entries, the Encyclopedia is concerned with theories within the field of strategic management as well as some practical applications and examples from the practice of strategy. That said, like The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, and all scholarly encyclopedias, it is more theory than practice - more doctrine than applications. For a field that is emerging, it is important to focus on developing the intellectual framework (i.e. theories and concepts) that is consistent with dates and other evidence. We hope that scholars and practitioners of strategic management will find this a useful resource, not only within the field of strategic management but also in the theories of (and practical approaches to) general management, leadership and organizational behaviour. Much of strategic management theory is not restricted to business organizations but is quite general, applicable outside the for-profit sector. Moreover, students and academics interested in issues within the field of management education will find this a useful resource to understand a field critical to the professionalization of management. The development of the field of strategic management cannot be fully understood without an appreciation of its origins and its interdisciplinary nature. Today, the field is well established and is taught by most (if not all) business schools around the world; it has its own journals and professional societies, and it is gaining some general acceptance from other disciplines. The main journal in the field (the Strategic Management Journal) is highly ranked and has a high impact factor. But this was not always so. Much of this accomplishment is recent. Just a few decades ago, the field appeared to be moving in many different directions. There's still a tendency towards fragmentation; but such pluralism, we believe, is an important part of the scientific progress of any field. By putting together an encyclopedia of the field, we hope that we can help shape it and its literature and make it more accessible to both academics and practitioners. Defining keywords, explaining core terms and mechanisms are all small steps towards a better understanding of the field. We have tried to cover many of the important traditions and themes, as well as identify the intellectual founding fathers, current topics and key terms. Our selection is neither perfect nor exhaustive; but we hope it will nevertheless give the reader a flavour of the field and its past and current (and possibly future) content.
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