The strategy process as a result of learning, questioning, and performing in a city organization

Abstract

This article analyzes a strategy-drafting process, using it to illustrate what can happen in a strategy process that affects a city organization but is invisible in the final strategy document. In the ethnographically inspired method, a city organization and its strategy-formulating work were followed for two years. Observations and interviews were the main data-collection methods. The article builds on a framework from the strategy and public management literature. The article concludes that strategy formulation in public organizations is a means of learning new practices, questioning ongoing development, and enhancing performance.

Acknowledgment

The author is grateful for the insightful comments of the reviewers and the editor of this journal.

Additional information

Funding

The author acknowledges the Mistra Urban Future and the City of Gothenburg for supporting this research.

Notes on contributors

Sara Brorström

Sara Brorström ([email protected]) is an Associate Professor in Management and Organization at the Department for Business Administration, School of Business Economics and Law, Gothenburg University. Her research is on public sector strategic management, collaborative organizations, city planning, and sustainability.