Tomasz Kafel, Guest Editor, Cracow University of Economics, Poland
Bernard Ziębicki, Guest Editor, Cracow University of Economics, Poland

Strategic management has been developing in theory and business practice for over 50 years. Currently, it is the key area of research in management science and this is evidenced by the number of researchers grappling with these issues as well as the volume of publications. The main focus of research in strategic management is the organization's strategy (Grant, 2015, p. 15). The concepts of strategy and strategic management have evolved over the years and are the outcome of searching for more effective solutions that could meet the emerging functional challenges of enterprises and non-profit organizations. As a result, many different schools and approaches to formulating strategies have been established. They indicate various factors that make strategic management successful, such as: setting long-term goals, selecting programs and plans for goal implementation (planning school); connecting the enterprise with the environment (environmental school); focusing on competitive advantage and achieved results (positioning school), relying on own resources and competences (resource school), seizing opportunities and creating innovation (school of simple rules); choosing the best option and orientation in business management (school of real options); and taking eclectic approaches that integrate all these theories (Ronda-Pupo & Guerras-Martin, 2012).

The concept of strategic management is still under development and is being expanded in two dimensions. The first dimension is related to the emergence of new concepts of strategic management, which often refer to earlier schools and approaches. The second dimension of development concerns the operationalization and adaptation of existing concepts to changing conditions. Both have specific consequences for the strategic management process and future research areas of the strategic management concept (Kafel, 2013).

Contemporary determinants of the organization's functioning create new challenges for strategic management like: dynamic abilities in strategy building (Segal-Horn, 2004; Teece, 2007; Krzakiewicz & Cyfert, 2014), relational strategies (Zakrzewska-Bielawska, 2017), network organization (Krzakiewicz & Cyfert, 2013, Czakon, 2016), technology development and automation of processes (Schwab, 2016), and global strategies (Porter, 1986; Gupta, Govindarajan, & Wang, 2008). These challenges are often referred to as neostrategic management (Vrdoljak-Raguž, Jelenc, & Podrug, 2016).

The aim of this publication is to present the results of research on new concepts and challenges in strategic management, which are still in the phase of recognition and popularization. We invite all authors dealing with the analysis of such trends and challenges to participate in the publication. We hope that the presented problems will enrich the current knowledge on the development of strategic management and that they will also be an inspiration for other researchers and management practitioners.

Submission guidelines:

Submission deadline: 30th November 2020.
Papers reviewed: 30th December 2020.
Revised papers reviewed and accepted: 30th January 2021.
Final versions of accepted papers delivered: 20th February 2021.
Papers published: 2021.

Paper submission

Papers should be submitted to JEMI before the end of 30th November 2020 at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and the Guest Editor at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The papers will undergo a double-blind review. Submissions must be in English, should be 8000 words or more, and follow the submission requirements posted on the JEMI website at http://jemi.edu.pl/submission-and-policy

References

  • Czakon, W. (2016). Network strategies logic. Problemy Zarządzania. 14/4 (64), 17-30.
  • Eisenhardt, K., & Sull, D.N. (2001). Strategy as simple rules. Harvard Business Review, 79(1), 106-119.
  • Grant, R.M. (2015). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
  • Gupta, A.K., Govindarajan V., & Wang H. (2008). The Quest for Global Dominance: Transforming Global Presence into Global Competitive Advantage. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • Kafel, T. (2013). The direction of research in the field of strategic management in the face of contemporary challenges. Cracow Review of Economics and Management, 922, 83-102.
  • Krzakiewicz, K., & Cyfert, Sz. (2013). The network concept of strategic management and its limitations. Management, 17(1), 20-31.
  • Krzakiewicz, K., & Cyfert, Sz. (2014). The strategic dimension of the dynamic capabilities of enterprises. Management, 18(2), 7-18.
  • Porter, M., (Ed.) (1986). Competition in Global Industries. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
  • Ronda-Pupo, G.A., & Guerras-Martin, L.A. (2012). Dynamics of the evolution of the strategy concept 1962 - 2008: A co-word analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 33(2), 162-188.
  • Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. New York: Crown Business.
  • Segal-Horn, S. (2004). The modern roots of strategic management. European Business Journal, 16(4), 133-142.
  • Teece, D. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: The nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319-1350.
  • Vrdoljak-Raguž, I., Jelenc, L., & Podrug, N. (2016). Neostrategic Management - An International Perspective on Trends and Challenges. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
  • Zakrzewska-Bielawska, A. (2017). Seeking the content of the relational strategy: Conceptual framework. International Journal of Management and Applied Science, 3(4), 67-74.