Behavioral strategy in evolution: A review and conceptual framework

Behavioral strategy integrates psychology with strategic management theory and practice, offering realistic insights into human cognition, emotions, and social behavior in strategic management. Yet behavioral strategy's antecedents, mechanisms, consequences, and moderators and their interconnectedness and future directions remain unclear. We explore this field's development and current state based on a systematic literature review of 241 articles. We develop a conceptual framework using a coevolutionary perspective and a socially situated cognition approach, which captures essential behavioral strategy elements and dynamics. We advance the field by emphasizing multilevel coevolving dynamics and the interplay of cognition and emotions in shaping strategic behavior. Furthermore, our framework situates cognition within social contexts. We propose an expanded research agenda for the field that highlights artificial intelligence's potential role in enhancing behavioral strategy and the connection between heuristics and nudge frameworks. • Behavioral strategy integrates cognitive and social psychology with strategic management. • We identify antecedents, mechanisms, moderators, and outcomes of behavioral strategy and their interconnectedness. • We develop a conceptual framework using a co-evolutionary perspective and socially situated cognition approach. • We emphasize multilevel dynamics and cognition-emotion interplay in strategic behavior. • The research agenda highlights AI's role and the connection between heuristics and nudges.