Introduction

In this chapter, I explore the potential contribution of Ludwig Wittgenstein to Strategy as Practice scholarship. Wittgenstein is probably the best-known philosopher of the twentieth century. His realization that the only satisfactory way to understanding language was to understand the social contexts in which it was used provided a basis for what was to become the practice turn in social sciences. His work informs a diverse set of social theorists from Giddens (1984) to Bourdieu (1977) and Lyotard (1986), all of whom build on Wittgenstein's elaborate inquiry into the ontology of language as a social phenomenon that is rooted in practice. Like these theorists, I shall focus on the concept language game, which is perhaps the core concept in what are known as the ‘late and middle periods’ in Wittgenstein's thought. I will argue that the language game is a useful concept in making sense of strategy practice in both a theoretical and a methodological sense.

While Wittgenstein's work has not been utilized to a great extent within the extant body of work on Strategy as Practice, at least two groups of scholars have used his concepts in their work within management and strategic management scholarship. The first group has found Wittgenstein's work on language games useful in studying the methodology, philosophy and ideology of the management sciences. A particular area of interest is the relationship between management scholars and practitioners (Astley and Zammuto 1992; Beyer 1992; Donaldson 1995).