Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Strategic Management Journal

History-informed Strategy Research: The Promise of History and Historical Research Methods in Advancing Strategy Scholarship

By: Nicholas Argyres, Alfredo De Massis, Nicolai J. Foss, Federico Frattini, Geoffrey Jones and Brian Silverman
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increasing interest in the use of history and historical research methods in strategy research. This article discusses how and why history and historical research methods can enrich theoretical explanations of strategy phenomena. The article also introduces the notions of "history-informed strategy research" distinguishing between the dimensions of "history to theory" and "history in theory" and discussing under-utilized methods that may further work on history-informed strategy research. The article discusses how contemporary research contributes to history-informed research within the strategy field, examines key methodological and empirical challenges associated with such research, and develops an agenda for future research.

Keywords

Methodology; Strategy; Business History; Research; History

Citation

Argyres, Nicholas, Alfredo De Massis, Nicolai J. Foss, Federico Frattini, Geoffrey Jones, and Brian Silverman. "History-informed Strategy Research: The Promise of History and Historical Research Methods in Advancing Strategy Scholarship." Strategic Management Journal 41, no. 3 (March 2020): 343–368.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Geoffrey G. Jones

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2025
    • Faculty Research

    An Appraisal on 'Teaching the Early History of IB at Harvard Business School'

    By: Geoffrey Jones
    • 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change

    By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Geoffrey Jones
    • February 2025
    • Asian Business & Management

    Deep Responsibility, SDGs, and Asia: A Historical Perspective

    By: Geoffrey Jones
More from the Authors
  • An Appraisal on 'Teaching the Early History of IB at Harvard Business School' By: Geoffrey Jones
  • Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Geoffrey Jones
  • Deep Responsibility, SDGs, and Asia: A Historical Perspective By: Geoffrey Jones
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.