Organizing polyphony in strategy-making : a case study

Abstract

Despite the growing interest in participatory strategy-making, there remains a gap in understanding the role, organization and management of polyphony in the process. This thesis argues that to capture value from participative practices, they must be carefully organized to enable and encourage genuine voice expression and opinion sharing. Therefore, it is necessary to examine how strategy-making practices are typically organized and, through comparison, identify key areas requiring attention in the process. To achieve this, the thesis employs a polyphony lens, enabling an understanding of contextual factors and their impact on expressed polyphony. Consequently, it enables the production of a generalizable list of factors the managers must pay attention to while planning participative practices.

The empirical analysis is based on a single case study. By drawing on the analysis of two surveys and participant observations in a highly participative strategy-making process of an organization operating in the field of education, the thesis identified three sets of considerations that managers must pay attention to while organizing polyphonic practices. These nominated factors include situational circumstances, social conditions, and issues of framing the practices. The study argues that these details of the setting influence the sense of psychological safety, and the interest and willingness to contribute by sharing ideas, opinions, and knowledge. Hence, if the organization of the practices and the process is successful, the involved individuals contribute according to their potential, share their insights willingly, and together express genuine polyphony.

This thesis shows that the value of participative practices mainly arises from multiple voices and in maximizing the benefits from these practices, the managers hold a crucial role through organizing and managing polyphony. The findings have managerial implications since they offer a set of details in need of attention during planning a process of participative strategy making. These guidelines provided by the thesis act as a valuable base for managers. However, managers should also understand their organization and the involved individuals to create a setting for participative practices, that holds the greatest potential for polyphony in that specific context.