Resumo

The movement towards strategic openness has been frequent in studies within the field of strategy. The dilemma between opening and closing the strategy, and how this movement occurs, requires further examination to minimize risks and meet the expectations of all stakeholders. Strategic and digital tools, due to the transformation and acceleration in the use of technology, have been keeping pace with the phenomenon of strategic openness to address the significant challenges presented in contemporary era.

Considering the practices of open strategizing in the digitization of strategic tools, we aim to understand the tensions, leverage forces, and identify how to minimize risks arising from grand challenges, mainly the artificial intelligence in this process. Our research question is: How does open strategizing with strategic tools occur in the face of digital transformation? To answer this, we have developed a theoretical essay using a reflective approach, which enables the identification of new research agendas.

Strategy as practice is a perspective that converges practice, praxis, and practitioners, studying strategy as it unfolds in practice, recognized as strategizing. The process of opening up to include practitioners in the activities and practices of strategy, or open strategizing, has adopted strategic tools to address the grand challenges present in the global environment. One of the challenges that has gained prominence is digital transformation, which pressures stakeholders to adapt to digital strategic tools – with the use of AI.

We distinguish that traditional strategy limits the process of open strategizing, such that tools previously used are now analyzed from a different perspective, incorporating all actors and ensuring transparency of information. These practices have been crucial in addressing grand challenges, such as digital transformation, through the integration of digital strategic tools into the daily operations of organizations. This process has been particularly accelerated by COVID-19, which introduced a new way of engaging with these tools and the approach of Artificial Intelligence in practice.

We emphasize that open strategizing practices are essential in the context of digitizing strategic tools to address grand challenges, particularly with respect to the use of AI in strategic activities. The need to integrate the movement towards openness with the context of digital transformation is justified by the fact that practices of inclusion and transparency allow for the integration of human knowledge with the use of digital tools, thereby mitigating potential gaps left by the complete automation of strategic tools.

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