JOURNEYS IN A DECLINING INDUSTRY - STORIES OF FOOTWEAR MANUFACTURING

Represents an experiment in style and methodology, Presents stories of managing decline in a rapidly deregulating environment Collected data from managers in the New Zealand footwear manufacturing industry in f ace-to-face interviews with the intention of giving an insider view of strategic change. Highlights the stories of the managers, both visual ly and structurally, and places the academic discourse of theory and m ethod in diversity of the journeys taken in an attempt to manage decli ne in one industry. Suggests that, hom the manager's perspective, dest ination is determined by (and after) the journey, and not vice versa a s suggested in the classical strategic management literature.