Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
387
The used technique for data analysis is plan should also be aligned with the long-term
Explanation Building which is a type of Pattern strategic plan of the university which has already
Matching for exploratory case studies. This method is been developed and covers nine strategies, four of
based on identification of a set of casual links to which are related to the learning and teaching area.
explain a phenomenon. This process will start with an
initial theoretical statement and continues with 4.1. Problem identification
comparing the findings with that and then revising
the first statement [41]. In the current study, this
process has been built on a theoretical foundation Multiple sources of information identified the
about possible effects of inclusion and transparency problem in the current research: First of all, as
on strategy process. Then the retrieved research data explained before, various publications in different
have been refined based on the comparison with contexts emphasized the positive effect of increasing
theoretical basis. Table 2 maps components of participation on strategic planning effectiveness. This
research design for case study to the current research. formed the initial proposition and a theoretical
background which helped the research team to
Table 2 Mapping the components of research convince the managers of the case to participate in
design for case studies with the current study the project.
Component of The current study Moreover, in the primarily discussions between
research design the research team and the top and middle managers,
1 Study questions Which challenges will be faced they expressed their need for using an IT-enabled
when implementing open solution in long-term planning for their organization
strategy principles? and increasing participation in the planning process.
2 Unit of analysis Academic unit in Australian These technologies are expected to facilitate
university participation of people in various locations (i.e.:
3 Criteria for Use of explanation building
university campuses) and lead to time and cost saving
interpreting the techniques for the data which for the organization (i.e.: through avoiding time-
findings have been retrieved from consuming brainstorming sessions).
physical artefact, direct
observation, archival records, 4.2. Conceptual design of the planning
and documentation
platform
388
Project Ref. Activities with different authority. Online tools and Web 2.0
technologies are suggested as appropriate tools for
synthesizing, and disseminating conduction of organizational surveys as they result in
the results benefits such as time and cost saving, better access to
Creative [37] Explaining, Defining, Versioning populations, and ease of use [47, 48]. For this reason
Commons the project continued by development of a planning
Strategic Plan platform which facilitated idea submission and idea
refinement activities.
Based on the synthesis of the activities in similar
cases, we identified four general activities which are:
pre-planning, idea submission, idea refinement, and
4.4. Idea submission activities
plan development. Then based on the specific context
of the current study and discussion with the sponsors The idea submission activities officially started
of the project, those phases have been broken down with a video message from Dean of learning and
to a set of activities. A conceptual design for the teaching (the head of the academic department) in
planning system is illustrated in Figure 1. Details on which he invited academic staff to submit their ideas
each set of activities and the results of performing for future directions of the group. Prior to the official
them are described in upcoming sub-sections. launch, the planning approach and basics about the
planning platform were presented to potential
participants in a series of workshops.
4.3. Pre-planning activities
Kaufmann, Schulze and Veit [49] introduced two
The pre-planning activities started with an analysis of categories of motivators for participation in
similar plans in the context of our case and crowdsourcing activities. In the current study, both
identification of related content and processes which categories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have
had been the subject of attention in similar plans. been used to increase the motivation of participants
The review of the plans in the same context for idea submission. The motivation mechanism in
helped the research team to identify what has been the current study covers:
explained in similar plans. This will then be x Social contact (participation in the future of the
presented to top managers. academic group)
In this phase we reviewed learning and teaching x Social payoff (recognition as a participant in final
plans in 15 Australian universities and extracted plan)
information with regards to: the planning process and x Delayed payoff (chance to enter a prize draw)
the content of each plan. Participants had the option to enter their identity
Furthermore, we performed theme analysis on information to enter the prize draw and being
those plans in order to identify which topics have acknowledged, or enter their idea anonymously.
been subject of attention for learning and teaching in After that they were asked to provide their ideas in
the Australian universities. We found 35 major accordance to the four identified areas of
themes (including: course development, improvement which were retrieved from the
communication, and blended learning) in those plans. universitys strategic plan (the governing plan of the
The results of this benchmarking as well as the current learning and teaching plan). These areas of
conceptual plan for strategic planning were then improvement are: (i) Improving student retention; (ii)
proposed to the managers for their comments and Improving the student experience (of our courses
approval. Confirming those content / process and and/or programs); (iii) Improving teaching quality;
selected stakeholders by top managers, helped the (iv) Improving graduate success and graduate
research to align the plan (in all levels) with other outcomes.
strategies or long-term plans in the firm as well as Then, participants are asked to enter any idea that
gaining support of top management which is they believe will assist reaching this goal (objectives)
specified in the literature as an important success and how they think the idea could be implemented
factor for strategic planning [45, 46]. (strategy). These three questions which have been
The confirmation of the content and participating developed in accordance with the benchmark of best
stakeholders led to development of a general matrix practices in Australian universities, governing plans
which was used as a conceptual basis for technical in the context of study, and discussions with the
development of the portal. This portal enabled projects sponsors, helped the final plan to be aligned
authorized stakeholders to submit their ideas and then with the governing plans, and stay in line with the
these ideas were refined in the same portal by users specified hierarchy of objectives.
389
Figure 1 Conceptual design for the planning system
x Is the idea applicable in the academic groups in
two years (planning horizon)?
4.5. Idea refinement activities
x Is it possible to use the idea in all schools and
The call for idea submission resulted in 27 unique discipline?
ideas over the period of 2 months. Figure 2 shows These experts were asked to provide their score
percentage of submitted ideas with regards to the area for each idea in a 1 to 5 Likert scale. These scores
of improvement they relate to. As could be observed helped top managers to better filter the ideas in the
in the figure, almost half of the submitted ideas next step where the same criteria were used to label
addressed the student retention area and only few of the ideas as accept, reject, or revise. Ideas which
them addressed the topic of graduate outcomes. were marked as revise were sent to another member
of the community for revision.
390
answers to the third question (their recommendation did not feel that they were in a position to contribute
for implementation of the idea). to the plan [51]. The same reasons as well as
specific structure of the academic group could cause
this problem in this study. These challenges are
5. Results
expected to decrease in future implementations of the
open strategy approach in the university.
Finally the strategic plan was developed after four Another challenge which was encountered during
months of online and in person discussion with the planning process was inconsistency of idea levels
stakeholders and executives. The plan contained on submissions. According to the pre-developed
strategic directions of the learning and teaching structure of the plan in the current study and the
department in next 2 years and contained 15 developed form of idea submission, it was intended
objectives and 31 strategies for achieving the to derive objectives (second level of the strategic
specified goals (areas of improvement). plan) from the crowds response to the first question
In the planning process 27 ideas from four (what is your idea?) and strategies (third level of the
different schools were submitted which showed strategic plan) from the crowds response the second
participation rate of about 13%. Table 4 contrasts the question (how do you think the idea could be
participation rate in the current study with some implemented?).
similar practices. As can be implied from this table, Despite this conceptual design, in practice, many
organizational structure is an influential factor to the participants entered different levels of strategy in
incremental participation in strategy process. their response to various questions. For example in
the final submitted ideas there were general ideas
Table 4 Participation in the current study and such as: A comprehensive survey and analysis of the
similar practices current student experience and detailed ideas such
The
The library as: Ensure that in-school assistance/staff is/are
The Wikimedia available for administrative, blended learning, and
DialogeT of San
current Strategic
study plan
age Jose computer related tasks associated with teaching.
Project State There were various instants in which participants
Uni
entered details on how to implement the idea
Percentage 13% 0.004% 58% 100%
(strategy in the current classification) as part of their
Communicat Email / Advertisem Worksho Unknow ideas (objectives in the current classification). In the
ion tool(s) Worksho ent ps n
ps current study this issue was simply resolved by
Participants Academi Volunteers Employee Libraria
revising the ideas but in future practices, more
role c staff s ns / information and guidelines about these concepts as
Employ well as examples for each, may help the participants
ees / to better align their ideas with the identified template.
Manager
s Lack of strategicness in some ideas was another
Organizatio Professio Virtual Functiona Function challenge in the planning process. This happened for
nal structure nal network l structure al participants who provided ideas which had less
bureaucra structure strategic value and could be considered as short-term
cy
improvements in the work environment. Ideas like:
Incentive Social Social Social Unknow upgrading the technological facilities for staff or
contact / payoff payoff n
Social accelerating the improvement in marking system
payoff / can be categorized in this group. On the other hand, it
Delayed should be noted that evaluation of the ideas in this
payoff regard is a subjective and context based matter which
should happen in the idea ranking phase. Moreover,
The first and most important challenge which the brief workshops and training materials on the
current study encountered was the participation rate concepts such as: the concept of strategy and long
which was below that anticipated by the research term planning may help future practices to avoid this
team and similar practices. This challenge could be challenge.
found in some other case studies in which personnel Some ideas were also submitted during the idea
were asked to participate in the planning process. submission phase which indicated lack of awareness
These studies mentioned reasons such as inadequate of the participant about the ongoing practices inside
self-confidence and shyness of staff [30, 50]. Another the academic group or the university. Examples were
study mentioned that people who had not participated suggesting new systems or technologies which have
391
already been developed and used. Better information 6. Discussion
on current (strategic) systems and projects could help
the future practices to avoid this challenge and The open strategy concept (like open innovation)
increase the efficiency of such projects. has been introduced as a continuum (and not a binary
During the idea submission phase, many ideas phenomenon) in the literature, and for this reason
were submitted in the planning platform which was developing the open strategy in its pure form (with
related to a specific domain and/or discipline (for inclusion of every possible stakeholder and complete
instance, improvements on teaching technologies transparency) could be less achievable for most
which were applicable to only one specific program). organizations. Moreover, a number of challenges
These ideas were also sent for revision in next phases may hinder the implementation of the open strategy
and were transformed to more general topics. concept. This includes conventional perception about
Other than above mentioned challenges which are the strategy and the central role of managers in its
mainly occurred during the idea submission phase, development.
another challenge was faced during the idea ranking Increasing the power of crowd in an organization
and idea filtering phases: It is widely accepted that by giving them the strategic planning role, is an
the main benefit for the open strategy approach is approach for improving the involvement of staff in
taking more strategic ideas into consideration, on the the organization. This case study, however, provides
other hand the disappointment or dissatisfaction of a realistic and pragmatic point of view for
participants have also been reported in similar case implementing an open strategy approach which
studies when their ideas have not been incorporated attempts to consider managerial authority along with
in the final strategic plan [51-53]. But these facts participation of stakeholders in the planning process.
should not affect the decision of people who rank or This planning process involves a set of primary
filter ideas resulting in a tolerance of low quality activities which create a basis for future activities.
ideas which was observed in some instances during These activities resulted in agreement about the
the current case study. Table 5 summarizes the strategic planning project and its scope in the
challenges in the current study. university and provided better support from various
groups of stakeholders.
Table 5 Challenges of implementing open The project continued with idea submission and
strategy approach in the current case study refinement by the crowd. The result of this study
How to avoid / validates the relevance of a crowdsourcing model for
Challenge Possible roots
deal with
high level activities and decisions in an organization.
Lower than Lack of self- Increase Moreover, the relatively acceptable response from the
expected confidence in awareness crowd indicates that this model is applicable in the
participation rate participants context of higher education institutes. However,
Inconsistency of Lack of Guidelines and some areas of consideration are highlighted in the
ideas with consistent examples following sections for improved implementation of
identified perception about this approach in future practices.
structure strategy levels
Lack of Unawareness Workshops and
strategicness about the training material 6.1. Implications for practice
concept of
strategy Unlike what is stated by Whittington, Cailluet and
Lack of - Increase Yakis-Douglas [34], the open strategy approach is
awareness on organizational not expected to destabilize the strategic planners and
current practices awareness about consultation profession. This approach is even
on-going strategic expected to provide opportunities for consultants to
projects / systems shift their services to pre-planning activities
Discipline based - Revise the ideas (especially platform development) and develop a
ideas and arrive to more wider market in small and mid-size enterprises which
general ideas can start their strategic planning initiatives with the
Tolerance on Tendency to Better criteria for open strategy approach.
ranking and include more ranking and Practitioners who plan to use open strategy
filtering the ideas idea filtering approach should consider different ways of
increasing participation in the planning process.
Contrasting the participation rate in this study and
392
other similar cases could additionally imply the effect firstly, by providing the first detailed and step-by-
of face to face communications inside the firm: step process of open strategic planning, and a detailed
Although in all of the cases an online tool have been study of possible challenges. Second, it contributes to
utilized for strategic planning, the role of the crowdsourcing literature by suggesting a new
communication between stakeholders (which is application of the model.
expected to be less in an academic group with four In terms of inclusion, about 13% of targeted
different campuses) still seems to be important for stakeholders participated in the planning process
motivating the participants. which is less than expected participation rate for the
The role of incentives (especially monetary and current study. While the participation rate in strategic
payoff incentive) have also been questioned in this planning has been mentioned in the literature as a
study: Although three different types of incentive success factor for strategic planning [15-18] and it
mechanisms have been considered in this case, more has been introduced as a principle for open strategy
than half of the ideas have been submitted [34], approaches to improve this factor should be
anonymously which indicates the unwillingness of considered in future research as well.
the participants to enter the prize draw or even to be In comparison with the participation rate in
considered as participant in the final plan. similar cases the following points could be implied.
Practitioners can also benefit from the challenges First of all, the organizational structure of the firm
which this case study faced and try to avoid and/or should be considered in this regard: because there are
deal with them by using the recommended solutions. higher levels of motivation for people in traditional
The main two lessons learned through this case study structure to participate in the strategic decision
are the significant role of increasing awareness process compared to employees in flat organizations
(through: meetings, workshops, trainings, and online who have already experienced types of participation
material) and providing better criteria for ranking and in the high level decision making (for example
filtering strategic ideas. Based on this various areas participation of academic staff in school committees).
of improvement have been identified at the end of Moreover, some of the stakeholders in traditional
this project which could be implemented in future structure could be persuaded to participate by their
practices: Firstly, in order to increase transparency in managers, which is impossible in flat organizations.
future practices, the rank ideas and revise ideas Considering the specific dimensions of open
activities could be performed by crowd (other than strategic planning, future research should revisit
selected crowd). Other than that, increasing the various topics in accordance with this specific
openness of the strategy process may result in context. Future research in open strategy should
increasing participants engagement for future specifically address the evaluation area and attempt
practices and encourage more stakeholders to adopt the literature to specific dimensions of open
(especially those who are less likely to trigger a strategy. To do this, context of planning should be
strategic idea) to participate. considered for public sector or flat organizational
Moreover, communication with potential structure in which financial and monetary factors are
participants should be modified in future. In the less effective for planning evaluation and factors like
current practice, communication with the potential better involvement, satisfaction, and implementation
participants was through part of a general academic are more highlighted.
workshop and a video message from the projects The current study could have also implications for
sponsor. In future practices, other ways of future research in the crowdsourcing area. While the
communication such as exclusive workshops and basic model in this study was the crowdsourcing
social networks could be used which can potentially model, the participation and motivation trends could
increase the participation in the strategy process. be studied in future research. This will perhaps end in
Finally, incentive mechanisms should also be identification of a new factor in the crowdsourcing
reviewed for the future practices of this approach. literature which could be task type or strategic
The result of the current study indicates that level of the task.
monetary and delayed payoff mechanism is less
effective in increasing the motivation for high level 7. Conclusion
tasks like strategic idea submission.
A case study on the use of the crowdsourcing
6.2. Implications for research model to implement open strategy has been reported
in this paper. Crowdsourcing is one of the four online
This paper contributes to the literature on techniques which could be used for open strategy and
strategic planning and open strategy in two ways: expected to increase external inclusion of the
393
planning process [34]. Based on the collected data [14] A. P. Spee, and P. Jarzabkowski, Strategic planning
during implementation of the open strategy approach, as communicative process, Organization Studies, vol. 32,
this study suggests crowdsourcing approach as an no. 9, pp. 1217-1245, 2011.
appropriate tool for implementation of transparency
and inclusion in the planning process. [15] J. Kargar, Strategic planning system characteristics
and planning effectiveness in small mature firms,
Midatlantic Journal of Business, vol. 32, pp. 19-34, 1996.
8. References
[16] P. A. Phillips, and L. Moutinho, Measuring strategic
[1] P. F. Drucker, "The practice of management," Harper & planning effectiveness in hotels, International Journal of
Brothers, New York, NY, 1954. Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 11, no. 7, pp.
349-358, 1999.
[2] S. Philip, Leadership in administration: a sociological
interpretation, Row, Peterson and company, 1957. [17] P. A. Phillips, and L. Moutinho, The strategic
planning index: a tool for measuring strategic planning
[3] R. Andrews Kenneth, The concept of corporate effectiveness, Journal of Travel Research, vol. 38, no. 4,
strategy, 1971. pp. 369-379, 2000.
[4] H. I. Ansoff, Corporate strategy: business policy for [18] J. Aldehayyat, and A. Al Khattab, Strategic Planning
growth and expansion: McGraw-Hill Book, 1965. and Organisational Effectiveness in Jordanian Hotels,
International Journal of Business and Management, vol. 8,
[5] M. E. Porter, Competitive strategies, New York, 1980. no. 1, pp. 11-25, 2012.
[6] M. Porter, "How competitive forces shape strategy. [19] H. Mintzberg, Rethinking strategic planning part II:
harvard business review. March," April, 1979. new roles for planners, Long Range Planning, vol. 27, no.
3, pp. 22-30, 1994.
[7] J. S. Armstrong, The value of formal planning for
strategic decisions: Review of empirical research, [20] R. M. Grant, Strategic planning in a turbulent
Strategic management journal, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 197-211, environment: evidence from the oil majors, Strategic
1982. management journal, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 491-517, 2003.
[8] C. Wolf, and S. W. Floyd, Strategic Planning Research [21] W. Ocasio, and J. Joseph, Rise and fall-or
Toward a Theory-Driven Agenda, Journal of transformation?: The evolution of strategic planning at the
Management, 2013. General Electric Company, 19402006, Long Range
Planning, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 248-272, 2008.
[9] J. M. Bryson, Strategic planning for public and
nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and [22] H. W. Chesbrough, and M. M. Appleyard, Open
sustaining organizational achievement: John Wiley & innovation and strategy, California Management Review,
Sons, 2011. vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 57-76, 2007.
[10] H. Mintzberg, The fall and rise of strategic planning, [23] S. Haefliger, E. Monteiro, D. Foray et al., Social
Harvard Business Review, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 107-114, software and strategy, Long Range Planning, vol. 44, no.
1994. 5, pp. 297-316, 2011.
[11] H. Mintzberg, Rethinking strategic planning part I: [24] L. Dobusch, "Strategy as a Practice of Thousands: The
pitfalls and fallacies, Long Range Planning, vol. 27, no. 3, Case of Wikimedia." pp. 1-1.
pp. 12-21, 1994.
[25] D. Stieger, K. Matzler, S. Chatterjee et al.,
[12] B. Wooldridge, T. Schmid, and S. W. Floyd, The Democratizing Strategy: How Crowdsourcing Can be
middle management perspective on strategy process: Used for Strategy Dialogues, California Management
contributions, synthesis, and future research, Journal of Review, vol. 54, no. 4, 2012.
Management, vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 1190-1221, 2008.
[26] A. Amrollahi, A. Ghapanchi, and A. Talaei-Khoei,
[13] P. Jarzabkowski, and J. Balogun, The practice and "Using Crowdsourcing Tools for Implementing Open
process of delivering integration through strategic Strategy: A Case Study in Education." pp. 1-7.
planning, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 46, no. 8,
pp. 1255-1288, 2009. [27] B. L. Ranard, Y. P. Ha, Z. F. Meisel et al.,
Crowdsourcingharnessing the masses to advance health
394
and medicine, a systematic review, Journal of general [42] K. Peffers, T. Tuunanen, M. A. Rothenberger et al.,
internal medicine, pp. 1-17, 2013. A design science research methodology for information
systems research, Journal of Management Information
[28] A. Tarrell, N. Tahmasbi, D. Kocsis et al., Systems, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 45-77, 2007.
Crowdsourcing: A Snapshot of Published Research, in
Nineteenth Americas Conference on Information Systems, [43] W. Kuechler, and V. Vaishnavi, A framework for
Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2013. theory development in design science research: Multiple
perspectives, Journal of the Association for Information
[29] J. Howe, The rise of crowdsourcing, Wired Systems, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 3, 2012.
magazine, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 1-4, 2006.
[44] H. Mintzberg, The structuring of organizations: A
[30] I. I. Mitroff, V. P. Barabba, and R. H. Kilmann, The synthesis of the research, University of Illinois at Urbana-
application of behavioral and philosophical technologies to Champaign's Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership
strategic planning: A case study of a large federal agency, Historical Research Reference in Entrepreneurship, 1979.
Management Science, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 44-58, 1977.
[45] S. Elbanna, Determinants of strategic planning
[31] S. Palmisano, Leading Change When Business Is effectiveness: extension of earlier work, Journal of
Good, HBRs 10 Must Reads on Change, vol. 82, no. 12, Strategy and Management, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 175-187, 2009.
pp. 60-70, 2004.
[46] B. Suklev, and S. Debarliev, Strategic planning
[32] O. M. Bjelland, and R. C. Wood, An Inside View of effectiveness comparative analysis of the Macedonian
IBM's' Innovation Jam', MIT Sloan management review, context, Economic and Business Review, vol. 14, no. 1,
vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 32-40, 2008. 2012.
[33] Wikimedia, Wikimedia Strategic Plan February 2011: [47] K. B. Wright, Researching Internet-based
A collaborative vision for the movement through 2015, populations: Advantages and disadvantages of online
2011. survey research, online questionnaire authoring software
packages, and web survey services, Journal of Computer-
[34] R. Whittington, L. Cailluet, and B. Yakis-Douglas, Mediated Communication, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 00-00, 2005.
Opening strategy: Evolution of a precarious profession,
British Journal of Management, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 531-544, [48] J. Sandars, and S. Schroter, Web 2.0 technologies for
2011. undergraduate and postgraduate medical education: an
online survey, Postgraduate medical journal, vol. 83, no.
[35] K. Liinamaa, J. A. Nuutinen, E. Sutinen et al., 986, pp. 759-762, 2007.
Collaborative Strategic Planning On-line, PsychNology
Journal, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 242-254, 2004. [49] N. Kaufmann, T. Schulze, and D. Veit, "More than fun
and money. Worker Motivation in Crowdsourcing-A Study
[36] S. L. Kendall, M. H. Nino, and S. M. Staley, on Mechanical Turk."
Collaborative strategic planning: a wiki application,
Journal of Web Librarianship, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 3-23, 2008. [50] M. J. Eppler, and K. W. Platts, Visual strategizing:
The systematic use of visualization in the strategic-
[37] L. Dobusch, and J. Kapeller, "Open Strategy between planning process, Long Range Planning, vol. 42, no. 1, pp.
Crowd and Community: Lessons from Wikimedia and 42-74, 2009.
Creative Commons." p. 15831.
[51] C. N. Hjorts, Enhancing public participation in
[38] B. Flyvbjerg, Five misunderstandings about case- natural resource management using Soft ORan
study research, Qualitative inquiry, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 219- application of strategic option development and analysis in
245, 2006. tactical forest planning, European Journal of Operational
Research, vol. 152, no. 3, pp. 667-683, 2004.
[39] K. M. Eisenhardt, Building theories from case study
research, Academy of management review, vol. 14, no. 4, [52] A. Langley, The roles of formal strategic planning,
pp. 532-550, 1989. Long Range Planning, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 40-50, 1988.
[40] I. Benbasat, D. K. Goldstein, and M. Mead, The case [53] R. Ormerod, Putting soft OR methods to work: the
research strategy in studies of information systems, MIS case of IS strategy development for the UK Parliament,
Quarterly, pp. 369-386, 1987. Journal of the Operational Research Society, vol. 56, no.
12, pp. 1379-1398, 2005.
[41] R. K. Yin, Case study research: Design and methods:
Sage publications, 2014.
395