 In this paper we draw on Niklas Luhmann's social systems theory, and in particular his concept of an 'episode', to guide research into strategic practice and its relationship to the operating routines of an organization. Episodes, in Luhmann's theory, provide a mechanism by which a system can suspend its routine structures and so initiate a reflection on and change of these structures. Applying this theory to the organizational process of strategic change, we draw attention to the routine nature of strategic episodes and to their organizational role as the effective locus of strategic practice and the interaction between strategic and operating routines. We continue to develop a framework for the systematic analysis of different kinds of episode in terms of key aspects of their initiation, conduct and termination.

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In this paper we argue that the existing conceptualizations of strategic decision making, while each affording valuable insights, offer only partial and disconnected perspectives of the strategy process that leave important questions un-addressed. To overcome this problem we develop an empirically grounded conceptualization of strategic decisions as elements of a strategic discourse, operating at both the structural level of social reproduction and the instrumental level of intentional communication, and constituting the medium through which choices are discussed and recorded, interpretations developed and expressed, and strategic actions initiated, authorized and acknowledged. This conceptualization opens up a number of research questions concerning the role of strategic decision making in the overall strategy process and leads to a fruitful conceptualization of strategy itself as a technological and appropriative social practice. The executive committee of a company decides, after a strategic review, to launch a new strategy and reposition their products in the market. The strategy involves a range of commitments, including investment in new plant, the recruitment of new staff in sales, marketing and operations, and some significant closures and redundancies. In fact, some of the most important commitments have already been made, either in anticipation of the decision or in reactive response to market pressures. Others are made shortly after the decision is announced while others follow months or even years later. Many of the commitments agreed upon get modified along the way, and at least one major part of the strategy is never implemented at all. At the end of the day the strategy of the company has clearly changed, and this change is reflected both in management thinking and in the company's actions and behaviour; but it is not immediately clear what part the strategic decision making has played in the overall strategic change process.Observations of this kind raise a number of interesting questions concerning the relationships between strategic decision making, strategic thinking and strategic action. Just what part do strategic decisions play in the ongoing interaction

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