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Values and the foundations of strategic management

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of values in strategic management. We discuss recent criticisms of the concept of strategy and argue that the concept of value helps reconcile these criticisms with traditional models of strategy. We show that Andrews' model of corporate strategy rightly takes morally significant values to be essential to effective management. We show how the notion of value can be clarified and used in research into various conceptions of corporate morality.

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R. Edward Freeman is Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration, The Darden School, University of Virginia. Daniel R. Gilbert, Jr., is Assistant Professor of Management, Bucknell University. Edwin M. Hartman is Assistant Professor of Management, Rutgers University.

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Freeman, R.E., Gilbert, D.R. & Hartman, E. Values and the foundations of strategic management. J Bus Ethics 7, 821–834 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00383045

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