Strategy and narrative in higher education

In this paper we apply the idea of narrative to strategy and to the development of strategy in the higher education context. We explore how strategy is formed as an intertextual narrative in a comparative study of higher education (HE) in the UK context. Existing research suggests that competition between narratives, such as that in HE, should be problematic in strategy terms. We show that this is not necessarily the case. Unlike in other settings where new strategy narratives tend to drive out previous narratives, in HE it is the ongoing interaction between historical and new narratives that gives the content of strategy its essential voice. We show how apparently competing narratives are accommodated though appeals to emotion and values. The maintenance of strategic direction requires hope and a synthesis of societal values that maintains access to the past, the future, and multiple narrators. This approach helps us understand how universities perform the complex task of adapting the strengths of the university’s past to the challenges of external policy developments in strategy formation

Space and the Dynamic Between Openness and Closure: Open strategizing in the TV series Borgen

In this paper we examine how the use of space shapes the dynamic between openness and closure in open strategizing. To do this, we draw from research that has defined organizational space as a process that is both a social product and produces social relations. We analysed the use of space in open strategizing in the Danish TV series and political drama Borgen. In our analysis we focused on three building blocks of space: boundaries, distance and movement, that allowed us to elaborate how the dynamic between openness and closure is shaped. Drawing on our analysis, we revealed three spatial features – physical visibility, strategizing artefacts, discursive designation – that play a role in the dynamic between openness and closure in strategizing. We constructed a conceptual framework that shows how these spatial features, and their different combinations, are associated with pivots between openness and closure. Thus, our findings advance prior open strategy research by providing potential explanations of why openness turns to closure, despite the attempts to keep the strategizing process open. We argue that taking space seriously provides a more nuanced understanding to some of the contingencies and possibilities related to the dynamics of openness and closure in strategizing

Strategy as an intertextual narrative: a tale of fear and hope in the setting of higher education in the UK

This is a study about strategy. It uses the relatively underdeveloped but promising concept of narrative infrastructure to address a gap in understanding (Fenton and Langley, 2011) in how strategy as an intertextual narrative acquires stability and routine. Studies that have considered strategy as an intertextual narrative have largely been in settings in which strategy is made toward an unequivocal direction, within a relatively short time horizon (Llewellyn, 2001; Vaara et al., 2006; Riad et al., 2012). Framing to support availability and resonance of narrative building blocks, as part of the centralisation of meaning in strategy as an intertextual narrative, whilst evident (Vaara et al., 2004; Vaara et al., 2006; Riad, et al., 2012) is nonetheless underexplored. In response, this study considers strategy in the setting of higher education (HE) in the UK, where there is a greater plurivocality, in terms of multiple voices, at different levels, and a wider temporality. In a narrative enquiry in two research-intensive universities in the UK, including a review of policy documents (1992-2012), the study demonstrates how strategy achieves cohesion through powerful narrative framing, so that direction and thrust is maintained. It also provides one explanation of how strategy may unwind over time. Insight is gained because the three different facets– constitutive, manifest and ideological – of intertextuality have been considered (Riad et al., 2012). Notably, by examining manifest intertextuality, it shows that strategy is framed in a context of agitation and in an emotional register of fear and hope, extending the work of Riad et al., 2012. It also shows how in ideological intertextuality powerful framing, in which both wider plurivocality and greater temporality is apparently maintained, strategy endures

Dialogue and the micro-processes of founder meaning-making during growth

This article draws upon dialogic theory to explore how meaning is co-constructed in dialogue as founding entrepreneurs devise strategies for venture growth. Drawing from a longitudinal study of the impact of a UK University business growth programme upon such strategies, we identify ways in which dialogue influences the meanings attributed to the adoption of, or resistance to, growth strategies. ‘Productive’ dialogue emerging from a diverse range of relevant voices encouraged founders to reflect upon the meanings given to current growth initiatives whilst devising future strategies. Conversely, founders could use ‘degenerative’ dialogue to block the voices of others in order to resist change and protect existing meanings. We contribute to debate by utilising dialogic theory as a conceptual tool to illustrate how business growth programmes shape the meanings founders apply to embrace, or resist strategic change, to effect venture growt

Strategy as an intertextual narrative: a tale of fear and hope in the setting of higher education in the UK

This is a study about strategy. It uses the relatively underdeveloped but promising concept of narrative infrastructure to address a gap in understanding (Fenton and Langley, 2011) in how strategy as an intertextual narrative acquires stability and routine. Studies that have considered strategy as an intertextual narrative have largely been in settings in which strategy is made toward an unequivocal direction, within a relatively short time horizon (Llewellyn, 2001; Vaara et al., 2006; Riad et al., 2012). Framing to support availability and resonance of narrative building blocks, as part of the centralisation of meaning in strategy as an intertextual narrative, whilst evident (Vaara et al., 2004; Vaara et al., 2006; Riad, et al., 2012) is nonetheless underexplored. In response, this study considers strategy in the setting of higher education (HE) in the UK, where there is a greater plurivocality, in terms of multiple voices, at different levels, and a wider temporality. In a narrative enquiry in two research-intensive universities in the UK, including a review of policy documents (1992-2012), the study demonstrates how strategy achieves cohesion through powerful narrative framing, so that direction and thrust is maintained. It also provides one explanation of how strategy may unwind over time. Insight is gained because the three different facets– constitutive, manifest and ideological – of intertextuality have been considered (Riad et al., 2012). Notably, by examining manifest intertextuality, it shows that strategy is framed in a context of agitation and in an emotional register of fear and hope, extending the work of Riad et al., 2012. It also shows how in ideological intertextuality powerful framing, in which both wider plurivocality and greater temporality is apparently maintained, strategy endures

Participation research and open strategy

In this chapter we focus on participation in open strategy. We examine how the issue of participation has been dealt with in previous strategy literature and elaborate on how research on open strategy can be linked with and advance this body of work. We identify three main views on participation in strategy research: participation as an inherent part of the strategy process, participation as enabled or constrained by practices, and participation as an issue of subjectivity. We then elaborate three distinctively different approaches to participation that might inform our understanding of inclusion in open strategy: open strategy as limited participation, open strategy as co-creation of strategies, and open strategy as ‘deep engagement’ defining the rules of the game. Based on these approaches, we discuss their implications on open strategy research and suggest a research agenda for future studies of participation in open strategy

Space and the dynamic between openness and closure:open strategizing in the TV series Borgen

Abstract In this paper we examine how the use of space shapes the dynamic between openness and closure in open strategizing. To do this, we draw from research that has defined organizational space as a process that is both a social product and produces social relations. We analysed the use of space in open strategizing in the Danish TV series and political drama Borgen. In our analysis we focused on three building blocks of space: boundaries, distance and movement, that allowed us to elaborate how the dynamic between openness and closure is shaped. Drawing on our analysis, we revealed three spatial features — physical visibility, strategizing artefacts, discursive designation — that play a role in the dynamic between openness and closure in strategizing. We constructed a conceptual framework that shows how these spatial features, and their different combinations, are associated with pivots between openness and closure. Thus, our findings advance prior open strategy research by providing potential explanations of why openness turns to closure, despite the attempts to keep the strategizing process open. We argue that taking space seriously provides a more nuanced understanding to some of the contingencies and possibilities related to the dynamics of openness and closure in strategizing

The historical shifts of in/formality of learning within craft skills ecosystems in the United Kingdom

In this paper, we address the debate on local skills ecosystems and informal learning. We use the social ecosystem model as a tool to help us analyse the role played by various actors in learning and skills ecosystems and highlight the role of informal learning in vocational education and training. We draw on the case of craft pottery to discuss the historical shifts and transformations of ecosystems, including the centrality of informal learning occurring in different spaces and times, and subsequent transformation of the learning ecosystem. Our paper contributes in two ways. First, we add the lens of temporality to understanding of how learning and skills ecosystems are maintained and developed, in the absence of supportive government policy. Second, we show how multiple horizontal sectors contribute to reconstruct a learning and skills ecosystem, as an informal one, over time