Purpose and progress in the theory of strategy: comments on Gavetti

This article comments on the behavioral theory of strategy advanced in Gavetti [Gavetti, G. 2012. Toward a behavioral theory of strategy. Organ. Sci. 23(1) 267–285]. His proposal offers valuable insights into the cognitive aspects of strategy when leaders are trying for big wins. It provides less guidance for understanding the actual achievement of success, partly because it underestimates the role of serendipity and of contextual factors illuminated by prior strategy research.