Choice, chance, and inevitability in strategy

We propose a theory to manage the uneasy relation between strategic choice, chalice, and determinism (or inevitability). To do so, we locate arguments in intellectual history that have a clear bearing oil this relation. We introduce and defend four conjectures that outline the relationship between each of them and their comparative significance. The paper thus aims at achieving three objectives: (a) to articulate a philosophically sustainable theory of strategic choice that corroborates experience (without being induced by it); (b) to synthesize what remains one of the most sustained debates in strategy, namely the nature, role, and relation of choice, chalice and determinism; and (c) to contribute to developing afioundationfor multilevel research. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.