The Layered Materiality of Strategizing: Epistemic Objects and the Interplay between Material Artefacts in the Exploration of Strategic Topics

In this paper we examine the role of different material artefacts in the exploration of novel strategic topics. We conceptualize strategic topics as epistemic objects that become instantiated in multiple material artefacts, i.e. partial objects, which not only represent the epistemic object but also energize and direct the exploration process. Based on a longitudinal case study of a company that (in collaboration with other companies) explored the strategic topic of ‘flexible production’, we develop a new typology of material artefacts in terms of their relation to the strategic topic. We describe the layered nature of materiality, differentiating between different types of objectual and non‐objectual material artefacts, and show how their interplay shapes the dynamics of the strategizing process. In particular, we explain how the constellation of material artefacts can lead to a shift of the strategic topic itself. We offer a conceptual model that captures the mechanisms in the dynamic interplay of different types of material artefacts and their effect on the process of exploration.