UC Irvine

We theorize why and how strategists develop different types of theories when confronted with different types of problems by combining knowledge and imagination in different ways. We propose that strategists’ epistemic stances affect how they combine knowledge and imagination and whether they develop either analytic theories, or constructive theories of two types: reconfigurative and projective. We theorize how imagination complements knowledge in theory development to generate distinctive strategies and strategic advantages. We argue that analytic theories enable conjectural anticipation, which contributes to early timing of strategic actions; that reconfigurative theories posit novel value dimensions and enable industry shaping; and that projective theories articulate novel possibilities to shape desired and desirable futures. Our ideas advance research on how imagination is leveraged in theory development, future-oriented strategizing, and shaping strategies.