TOWARD A THEORY OF PUBLIC STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

In US government and other similar political systems, the public policy and strategic management disciplines have each successfully defined a robust process model of change. The once-neglected study of implementation in both fields has emerged with a bounty of scholarship; though there is little overlap in these bodies of research. This conceptual article examines the treatment of implementation in strategic management and public policy theory; exposing a gaping hole when it comes to the micro-organizational implementation of strategic initiatives. Next, the author constructs an expanded strategic management framework that clarifies commonly confused strategic concepts and establishes the domain of public strategic implementation within it. The article concludes by reviewing the potential of various theoretical contributors to a new public strategic implementation research discipline, ultimately endorsing its creation.