Strategy Formulation Process and Interorganizational Collaboration

• In Event: Collaboration and Networks in the City and State

Abstract

The study examines how two major strategy formulation approaches – rational planning and logical incrementalism – influence the decision of city governments to collaborate with for-profit, non-profit, and other public organizations. Collaboration with governmental and non-governmental actors gives rise to varying levels of risks, and the choice of which type of organization to collaborate with is influenced by how distinct strategy formulation processes can help governments address those risks. Using data from a national survey of cities, we find that the strategy-making process – a long-neglected factor in studies of inter-organizational collaboration – can spur or hinder collaborative undertakings. Specifically, the results of the regression analysis indicate that rational planning catalyzes cross-sectoral collaboration but is not associated with government-to-government collaboration. Logical incrementalism, in contrast, has a consistently negative relationship with collaboration regardless of sector. Collaborations have been promoted as a means for governments to address complex public policy and service delivery issues, access previously untapped resources, expand administrative capacity, benefit from joint learning, reduce redundancy, and achieve economies of scale. The findings indicate that collaboration can be limited by city governments’ capacity to undertake rational planning and their propensity to engage in incrementalist decision-making.

Authors

• Benedict S. Jimenez, Georgia State University

• Minji Hong, Georgia State University