This action research study draws on the interpretive approach to organizational learning as a socially constructed organizational reality. It is grounded in the philosophy of strategy as a social practice that views strategizing as interactions of multiple organizational actors. As middle managers become increasingly involved in change, their strategic thinking capabilities and leadership competencies become more critical. However, management education remains largely detached from organizational strategy making process. Organizational literature offers limited empirical data on the dynamics of strategizing process, strategic discourse, and effectiveness of strategic tools used for guiding strategizing activities.

In this study, I explore the potential of Activity Theory for facilitating collaborative strategizing activities and advancing managers' strategic knowledge and decision-making capabilities. A strategic tool based on Activity Theory principles—an activity-based tool—was designed and evaluated in the context of a strategic episode at a global pharmaceutical company. In contrast to conventional approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of strategic tools that concentrate primarily on the outcomes of a strategizing action, I examine the application of activity-based tool in the context of social interactions of organizational members who collaboratively construct new business processes thus progressively building their strategizing expertise. Strategic learning in this context manifests itself not only through specific outcomes of a strategizing action, but, most importantly, in the very process of collaborative analysis of organizational issues and negotiation of strategic decisions for addressing those issues. The study's focus is on several, equally important aspects of strategizing process: analysis and redesign of current business processes, strategic discourse of collaborating organizational members, and strategic learning outcomes. The effectiveness of the activity-based tool is evaluated in relation to these aspects using mixed methods of data collection and analysis.

This dissertation research contributes to advancing our understanding of the application of Activity Theory in organizational strategic development and provides organizational strategists and human resource development professionals with a systematic approach to engaging managers in strategizing practice.