Strategic Issue Selling conceptualization and development: literature review and future agenda

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.26978

Keywords:

proactive behavior, issue selling, strategic influence, attention-based view

Abstract

Objective: Proactive behavior is one of the main tools for influencing strategy. However, when this influence comes from lower-level individuals in organizations, it tends to be underestimated, requiring better structuring to be effective. The issue selling theory proposed by Dutton and Ashford (1993) addresses this topic. This study aimed to review the literature to demonstrate the current state of the art and create a map of its development.

Methodology: This research conducted a structured literature review from the seminal publication (1993) to 2025 using the TCCM (Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Method) framework to breakdown the concepts and systematic literature review to understand its evolution, propose a future research agenda, and make propositions for the theory's development regardless of the field.

Originality/Relevance: Since the release of the seminal article, its evolution has been sporadic over time and dispersed across various lines of study, hindering a clear consolidation of the state of the art of this literature, which helps to understand the effects of proactive manager behavior, thus demonstrating the need for this research.

Main Results: The results show that fundamental theories (theoretical building blocks) were crucial for the rapid practical development of issue selling theory, but standardization is still needed. I also propose a framework for a processual view of issue selling, suggesting the Attention-Based View as a fourth fundamental theory for understanding issue selling.

Theoretical/Methodological Contributions: This research resumes the discussion of issue selling, a theory that helps understand the effects of proactive behavior on business strategy, through the consolidation of its state-of-the-art.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Renato de Souza- Santos, Escola de Administração de Empresas – Fundação Getulio Vargas - FGV-EAESP, São Paulo, Brasil

Doutor e mestre em Administração de Empresas pela FGV EAESP, com bacharelado em Administração pela Faculdade Impacta. Atua na área de pesquisa em empreendedorismo, inovação e ação estratégica. Possui experiência profissional no setor financeiro, com passagem por empresas de pequeno, médio e grande porte. Desenvolve atividades acadêmicas voltadas à formação superior em negócios e tecnologia.

References

Aguinis, H., Ansari, M. A., Jayasingam, S., & Aafaqi, R. (2008). Perceived Entrepreneurial Success and Social Power. Management Research: Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, 6(2), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.2753/JMR1536-5433060204

Ahearne, M., Lam, S. K., & Kraus, F. (2014). Performance impact of middle managers’ adaptive strategy implementation: The role of social capital. Strategic Management Journal, 35(1), 68–87. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2086

Ansoff, I. (1980). Strategic issue management. Strategic Management Journal, 1(2), 131–148. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250010204

Ashford, S. J., Rothbard, N. P., Piderit, S. K., & Dutton, J. E. (1998). Out on a Limb: The Role of Context and Impression Management in Selling Gender-Equity Issues. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393590

Bansal, P. (2003). From Issues to Actions: The Importance of Individual Concerns and Organizational Values in Responding to Natural Environmental Issues. Organization Science, 14(5), 510–527. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.14.5.510.16765

Cavanagh, A., Freeman, S., Kalfadellis, P., & Cavusgil, S. T. (2017). How do subsidiaries assume autonomy? A refined application of agency theory within the subsidiary-headquarters context. Global Strategy Journal, 7(2), 172–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1152

Cialdini, R. B. (2001). The Science of Persiasion. Retrieved December 3, 2020, from Scientific American, 284(2) website: http://media.cbsm.com/uploads/1/AFocusTheoryofNormativeConduct.pdf

Conroy, K. M., & Collings, D. G. (2016). The legitimacy of subsidiary issue selling: Balancing positive & negative attention from corporate headquarters. Journal of World Business, 51(4), 612–627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2016.03.002

Crane, A. (2000). Corporate greening as amoralization. Organization Studies, 21(4), 673–696. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840600214001

Crant, J. M. (2000). Proactive Behavior in Organizations. Journal of Management, 26(3), 435–462. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600304

Cyert, R. M., & March, J. G. (1963). A behavioral theory of the firm. In Organizational Behavorial 2: Essential Theories of Process and Structure (Vol. 2nd, pp. 169–187). Englewood Cliffs.

Dörrenbächer, C., & Gammelgaard, J. (2016). Subsidiary Initiative Taking in Multinational Corporations: The Relationship between Power and Issue Selling. Organization Studies, 37(9), 1249–1270. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840616634130

Dörrenbächer, C., & Geppert, M. (2009). A micro-political perspective on subsidiary initiative-taking: Evidence from German-owned subsidiaries in France. European Management Journal, 27(2), 100–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2008.06.004

Dutton, J. E., & Ashford, S. J. (1993). Selling issues to top management. Academy of Management Review, 18(3), 397–428. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1993.9309035145

Dutton, J. E., Ashford, S. J., Lawrence, K. A., & Miner-Rubino, K. (2002). Red Light, Green Light: Making Sense of the Organizational Context for Issue Selling. Organization Science, 13(4), 355–369. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.13.4.355.2949

Dutton, J. E., Ashford, S. J., O’ Neill, R. M., Hayes, E., & Wierba, E. E. (1997). Reading the wind: how middle managers assess the context for selling issues to top managers. Strategic Management Journal, 18(5), 407–423. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199705)18:5<407::AID-SMJ881>3.0.CO;2-J

Dutton, J. E., Ashford, S. J., O’Neill, R. M., & Lawrence, K. A. (2001). Moves that Matter: Issue Selling and Organizational Change. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4), 716–736. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069412

Dutton, J. E., & Duncan, R. B. (1987). The creation of momentum for change through the process of strategic issue diagnosis. Strategic Management Journal, 8(3), 279–295. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250080306

Dutton, J. E., & Jackson, S. E. (1987). Categorizing Strategic Issues: Links to Organizational Action. Academy of Management Review, 12(1), 76–90. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1987.4306483

Dutton, J. E., & Ottensmeyer, E. (1987). Strategic Issue Management Systems: Forms, Functions, and Contexts. Academy of Management Review, 12(2), 355–365. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1987.4307971

Gorgijevski, A., Holmström Lind, C., & Lagerström, K. (2019). Does proactivity matter? the importance of initiative selling tactics for headquarters acceptance of subsidiary initiatives. Journal of International Management, (April), 100673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2019.04.004

Grant, A. M., Parker, S., & Collins, C. (2009). Getting Credit for Proactive Behavior: Supervisor Reactions Depend on What You Value and How You Feel. Personnel Psychology, 62(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.01128.x

Guth, W. D., & Macmillan, I. C. (1986). Strategy implementation versus middle management self-interest. Strategic Management Journal, 7(4), 313–327. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250070403

Henisz, W. J., & Williamson, O. E. (1999). Comparative Economic Organization—Within and Between Countries. Business and Politics, 1(3), 261–277. https://doi.org/10.1515/bap.1999.1.3.261

Howard-Grenville, J. A. (2007). Developing Issue-Selling Effectiveness over Time: Issue Selling as Resourcing. Organization Science, 18(4), 560–577. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1070.0266

Jackson, S. E., & Dutton, J. E. (1988). Discerning Threats and Opportunities. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33(3), 370. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392714

Jarzabkowski, P., Balogun, J., & Seidl, D. (2007). Strategizing: The challenges of a practice perspective. Human Relations, 60(1), 5–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726707075703

Langley, A. (1999). Strategies for Theorizing from Process Data. The Academy of Management Review, 24(4), 691. https://doi.org/10.2307/259349

Lin, T. C., Chen, H. J., & Chang, P. H. (2008). Issue placement affecting factors for Knowledge Management Systems initiaition. International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 5(2), 186. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJIL.2008.016764

Ling, Y., Floyd, S. W., & Baldridge, D. C. (2005). Toward a model of issue-selling by subsidiary managers in multinational organizations. Journal of International Business Studies, 36(6), 637–654. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400166

Lu, S., Bartol, K. M., Venkataramani, V., Zheng, X., & Liu, X. (2019). Pitching Novel Ideas to the Boss: The Interactive Effects of Employees’ Idea Enactment and Influence Tactics on Creativity Assessment and Implementation. Academy of Management Journal, 62(2), 579–606. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.0942

Luo, B., Wang, Q., Lu, Y., & Liang, L. (2015). How to win the attention of top executives. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(6), 970–992. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-01-2014-0002

Mayer, D. M., Ong, M., Sonenshein, S., & Ashford, S. J. (2019). The money or the morals? When moral language is more effective for selling social issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(8), 1058–1076. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000388

Miller, K. D., & Lin, S.-J. (2015). Analogical reasoning for diagnosing strategic issues in dynamic and complex environments. Strategic Management Journal, 36(13), 2000–2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2335

Mudambi, R., Pedersen, T., & Andersson, U. (2014). How subsidiaries gain power in multinational corporations. Journal of World Business, 49(1), 101–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2013.02.001

Nickerson, J., Yen, C. J., & Mahoney, J. T. (2012). Exploring the Problem-Finding and Problem-Solving Approach for Designing Organizations. Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(1), 52–72. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2011.0106

Ocasio, W. (1997). Towards an Attention‐Based View of the Firm. Strategic Management Journal, 18(S1), 187–206. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199707)18:1+<187::aid-smj936>3.3.co;2-b

Ocasio, W., Laamanen, T., & Vaara, E. (2018). Communication and attention dynamics: An attention-based view of strategic change. Strategic Management Journal, 39(1), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2702

Paul, J., & Criado, A. R. (2020). The art of writing literature review: What do we know and what do we need to know? International Business Review, 29(4), 101717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101717

Paul, J., & Rosado-Serrano, A. (2019). Gradual Internationalization vs Born-Global/International new venture models: A review and research agenda. International Marketing Review, 36(6), 830–858. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-10-2018-0280

Piderit, S. K., & Ashford, S. J. (2003). Breaking Silence: Tactical Choices Women Managers Make in Speaking Up About Gender-Equity Issues*. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1477–1502. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00388

Podsakoff, P. M., Mackenzie, S. B., Bachrach, D. G., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2005). The influence of management journals in the 1980s and 1990s. Strategic Management Journal, 26(5), 473–488. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.454

Randel, A. E., Jaussi, K. S., & Wu, A. (2019). Observed Issue Selling: The Effects of Role Models, Willingness to Issue Sell, and Inclusion in Decision Making. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 55(3), 352–368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886319838629

Rhee, L., & Leonardi, P. M. (2018). Which pathway to good ideas? An attention‐based view of innovation in social networks. Strategic Management Journal, 39(4), 1188–1215. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2755

Rialp, A., Rialp, J., & Knight, G. A. (2005). The phenomenon of early internationalizing firms: what do we know after a decade (1993–2003) of scientific inquiry? International Business Review, 14(2), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2004.04.006

Rouleau, L., & Balogun, J. (2011). Middle Managers, Strategic Sensemaking, and Discursive Competence. Journal of Management Studies, 48(5), 953–983. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00941.x

Schendel, D., & Hofer, C. (1979). Strategic Management: A New View of Business Policy and Planning. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

Schlenker, B. R. (1980). Impression Management (1st ed.). Monterey: CA: Brooks/Cole.

Schneider, J. W. (1985). Social Problems Theory: The Constructionist View. Annual Review of Sociology, 11(1), 209–229. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.11.080185.001233

Smith, M. J. (1982). Persuasion and human action: A review and critique of social influence theories. Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Sonenshein, S. (2006). Crafting Social Issues at Work. Academy of Management Journal, 49(6), 1158–1172. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2006.23478243

Srivastava, S., Singh, S., & Dhir, S. (2020). Culture and International business research: A review and research agenda. International Business Review, 29(4), 101709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101709

Steensen, E. F. (2014). Five types of organizational strategy. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 30(3), 266–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2013.10.003

Webber, S. S., Bishop, K., & O’Neill, R. (2012). Trust repair: the impact of perceived organisational support and issue‐selling. Journal of Management Development, 31(7), 724–737. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621711211243917

Webster, J., & Watson, R. T. (2002). Analyzing the Past To Prepare for the Future : Writing a Review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), xiii-xxiii/June 2002. https://doi.org/10.1.1.104.6570

Whetten, D. a. (1989). What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution? Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 490–495. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1989.4308371

Wooldridge, B., & Floyd, S. W. (1990). The strategy process, middle management involvement, and organizational performance. Strategic Management Journal, 11(3), 231–241. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250110305

Published

30.06.2025

How to Cite

Souza- Santos, R. de. (2025). Strategic Issue Selling conceptualization and development: literature review and future agenda. Revista Ibero-Americana De Estratégia, 24(3), e26978. https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.26978
Views
  • Abstract 72
  • pdf 20
  • pdf (Português (Brasil)) 11