Re‐thinking the foundations of the strategic business process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a coherent model of several schools of strategic ideas while utilising and building on the models extant in the literature, but also considering a change of epistemological and systemic paradigms. Design/methodology/approach An extensive review of the literature was undertaken. Findings The result of the analysis of the literature is that a seven‐school model is postulated. The seven schools being grouped within three categories. The first category is labelled the Classical Schools and includes the Design School, the Planning School and the Positioning School. The second category is labelled the Neo‐classical Schools and includes the Contingency School and the Resource School. The third category is labelled the Post‐Classical Schools and includes the Learning School and the Emergence School. Practical implications The concept of strategic emergence, a characteristic of a complex self‐adapting system, is developed. Originality/value Very little work, especially in strategy has been done outside the Modernist paradigm. This paper explores the possibility of incorporating open system ideas into a strategic methodology.