STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION, CULTURE AND PERFORMANCE IN THE PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION

Abstract

It is largely accepted that effective strategy implementation, as one of the most essential phases of the strategy making process, leads to good organisational outcomes. However, there is still very little research addressing which implementation style is associated with better public service outcomes. For public sector organisations, there is a common belief that the implementation of strategies mostly fails in practice. Another important organisational characteristic, seen as an effective tool for increasing performance, is organisational culture. While there are also numerous studies in the literature investigating the relationship between organisational culture and performance in both the private and public sectors, most of this research only investigates the direct effects of culture. This research undertakes a novel approach and explores the separate and combined effects of strategy implementation style and organisational culture on performance in Turkish local government organisations. Survey data were analysed using multiple and robust moderated regression models. The results of the study confirmed the presence of a significant positive relationship between rational strategy implementation and organisational performance and consistently positive influence of hierarchy type of culture on performance. Moreover, a rational strategy implementation style appeared to strengthen the effects of a hierarchical and a market-based culture on performance, while an incremental strategy implementation style seemed to enhance the effects of a clan-oriented culture and an adhocracy culture on performance.