Strategic Management in the Public Sector

In recent years, strategic management in the public sector has shifted from an optional tool to a perceived necessity in contexts of crisis, uncertainty and rising expectations. This chapter questions the uncritical transfer of private-sector strategic models to public organizations, arguing that they rest on linear and technocratic assumptions that conflict with the political and value-laden nature of public action. Drawing on a systemic review, public organizations are conceptualised as Complex Adaptive Systems, where interdependencies and competing norms generate non-linear outcomes, undermining claims of control through rational planning. The chapter therefore advances a Public Value perspective, exemplified by Moore's Strategic Triangle, which highlights the need to align value creation, operational capacity and the authorizing environment. Public strategy is thus understood as a dynamic, politically embedded practice aimed at sustaining public value under conditions of complexity.