The public value approach to strategic management

Abstract

In an environment of resource constraints and constant change, the museum manager's role is as a strategist, managing and adapting the assets of the organization toward maximum value creation. Mark Moore's public value model, the Strategic Triangle, provides the most comprehensive framework for strategic management in the public and nonprofit sectors. According to Moore, bad strategy or strategic failure in the public sector results when the organization's goals do not mirror the community's desires, the organization is unable to produce the desired good or service, or what is produced has no long-term public value. The authors demonstrate the use of the Strategic Triangle as an adaptive strategy framework that museum managers and other public and nonprofit executives can use to continuously position and reposition their organizations in a changing environment. The model accounts for the unique characteristics of museums and other public organizations, and can provide a useful framework as leaders strive to better articulate their goals and contributions and measure the value the patrons place on their experiences.

Keywords:

• museum management
• public value
• strategy
• Strategic Triangle
• strategic planning
• change management
• relevance

Acknowledgements

The authors are extremely grateful to and would like to acknowledge Bev Jones of ClearWays Consulting and Merry Foresta of the Smithsonian Photography Initiative for their reviews, edits, helpful comments and additions to this article. Their work added great value, as they have insights and experiences in managing cultural institutions, as well as a deep understanding of the public value framework. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their careful read of the first draft and insightful suggestions for improvement. Any errors, omissions or mischaracterizations are the authors’ sole responsibility.

Notes

1. See, Gaylen Williams and Mark H. Moore, 2005, Creating public value through state arts agencies, Arts Midwest and the Wallace Foundation.

2. Holden (2004, 43--5) identifies steps in the public value creation progress based on Moore (1995) as mission, legitimacy, strategy, organization and processes, accountability.

3. For a discussion of the multiple definitions of public value in cultural institutions see, Holden 2004, Capturing cultural value: How culture has become a tool of government policy, DEMOS, London; and 2006, Cultural value and the crisis of legitimacy: Why culture needs a democratic mandate.

4. For a summary of the critiques of public value see, Alford and Flynn (2009) Making sense of public value: Concepts, critiques and emergent meanings.

5. Spano's (2009) article is one of the few to date to examine how public value is systematically linked to management and management control systems.

6. Kaplan and Norton's new book, The execution premium: Linking strategy to operations for competitive advantage, discusses the importance of linking strategy to operations for successful implementation.

7. A critique of adaptive strategy mentioned earlier was the idea of strategy based on core competencies, the ability to drive the market. Moore addresses this issue in Moore and Khagram (2004).