Champion, Citizen, Cynic?
Social Positions in the Strategy Process
Saku Mantere
Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science in Technology to be presented
with due permission for public examination and debate in Spektri/Duo, Luna
Auditorium at Helsinki University of Technology (Metsänneidonkuja 6, Espoo,
Finland), on the
7th of February, 2003, at 12 noon.
Dissertation in PDF format (ISBN 951-22-6329-7) [4236 KB]
Dissertation is also available in print (ISBN 951-22-6284-3)
Abstract
This study is focused on the social positions of individual organizational
members in organizational strategy processes. Strategy is a social practice
existent in a wide variety of different organizations, influencing, either
directly or indirectly, a large number of organizational members. Strategy
research has, however, largely neglected the individuals, whose actions and
practices make up the strategy process, concentrating on organizations as
seemingly homogenous entities. There is even less research exploring the
contributions of middle managers and employees acting as strategic agents.
The objective of this study is to understand and illuminate the variety of
social positions assumed by organizational members from the CEO to the
operative employee level in organizational strategy processes. The research is
built around a set of 301 qualitative interview texts from 12 organizations.
The interviewees are treated as knowledgeable agents capable of reflecting
their social positions and roles in the strategy process.
The data is analyzed in a grounded theory -setting. The data analysis consists
of three 'encounters' with the interview texts. In the first encounter, a
three-dimensional schema is created for analyzing the social positions. In the
second encounter, 20 social positions are identified and explored under the
categories of champion, citizen and cynic. In the third encounter, the 20
positions are divided into three performance categories: role-players,
role-seekers and bystanders. Roles performed and reasons for not performing a
desired role are traced and discussed.
The research contributes to strategy research a viewpoint on the role that the
social practice of strategy plays in the work of various organizational
members. Through the exposition of social positions and performance
categories, it deepens the understanding on why strategies succeed or fail in
being enacted by individual organizational members. Furthermore, it allows a
large group of organizational members to use voice in the discussion on
strategy. The practical contribution of the research is associated with such
issues as the communication of strategy, participation in the strategy process,
as well as dissent and cynicism in the strategy process.
Keywords:
strategy process, role theory, strategy implementation
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© 2003 Helsinki University of Technology
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