VERTICAL STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICE PERFORMANCE Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • We report the results of a study examining the effects of vertical strategic alignment (that is, the degree to which strategic stances are consistent across different organizational levels) on public service performance. Longitudinal multivariate analysis is undertaken on a panel of public organizations over four years. We find that alignment on a prospecting strategy leads to better performance, but that no such effect is observed for a defending strategy. We also find that high levels of prospecting alignment produce stronger positive performance effects in centralized organizations and when environmental uncertainty is high. The implications of these findings for research and practice are considered in the conclusion. 2011 The Authors. Public Administration 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

published proceedings

  • PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

author list (cited authors)

  • Andrews, R., Boyne, G. A., Meier, K. J., O'Toole, L., & Walker, R. M.

citation count

  • 57

complete list of authors

  • Andrews, Rhys||Boyne, George A||Meier, Kenneth J||O'Toole, Laurence J Jr||Walker, Richard M

publication date

  • March 2012

publisher