ABSTRACT
The chapter addresses the key issue of the impact that strategically managing a public services organisation has on its performance, i.e. whether organisational performance improves because of the ‘strategic choices’ that are made in a public service organisation, as contrasted to the situation of the absence of strategy. In other words, the chapter tackles the questions: does strategic management make a difference? And if so, how and to what extent? Based on the work of prominent scholars who have addressed this topic, including Andrews, Boyne and Walker, the chapter argues that strategy – not any strategy, but an ‘adequate’ strategy – can make a positive difference to the performance of public service organisations. Worked case studies from a range of distinguished international authors are included in boxes and shed light on important aspects of the issue of the strategy-performance link.
