Meetings in the strategy process: toward an integrative framework

Abstract

During the last three decades, scholars from communication studies, political science, sociology, cultural anthropology and management science have studied the characteristics and dynamics of meetings from different perspectives. This has resulted in a large, though very fragmented, body of knowledge about meetings and their different functions in the organization. So far, however, this knowledge has not been systematically related to the strategy process. The purpose of this review is to organize the different literatures by identifying the meeting functions (coordination, cognitive, political, symbolic and social) as well as the meeting practices (initiation, conduct and termination practices) and by outlining the impact of meetings on the strategy process. This results in an integrative framework which synthesizes the literature and which serves as a guide for future research.