Global perspectives on strategic change: unpacking the managerial cognition

Purpose This paper aims to comprehensively review the extant research on the cognitive perspective in strategic change on a global scale. In doing so, this research aims to contribute to managers working in the international management and business context. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology. Articles incorporated in the study were selected based on relevant keywords from the Dimension.ai database. Findings The study findings show the variety of strategic change measures, definitions and the array of theoretical frameworks adopted in strategic change research. The SLR further reveals that most research appears on the TMT (top management) level of analysis, while research on the team and organizational level of analysis is scarce. The review identified several recurring research themes, illustrating the complex and multifaceted nature of cognitive perspective to strategic change: strategic change as an end result, cognitive triggers for strategic change, barriers to strategic change, the process of strategic change, and macro, meso and micro context of strategic change. Several research gaps were identified and translated into future research areas. Originality/value This SLR thoroughly overviews prior research on the cognitive perspective in strategic change, investigating 85 articles from 2010 to 2023. The study is one of the few to attempt to explore strategic change, providing a comprehensive mapping of individual cognitive capabilities and traits involved in the strategic change process and structuring the variety of strategic change measures and definitions. The authors present a qualitative concept map of the research agenda.