ABSTRACT
This chapter examines research that approaches strategic management in the public sector without testing out concepts that are borrowed from the 'mainstream' strategic management literature. The research carrying the label 'politics of public management' escapes it as well for the reason that it appears to take an inductive approach to theory generation by generalizing from public sector case study material. The chapter concentrates on three studies of strategic management in government organizations. The first is by Philip Heymann, the second is by Mark Moore, and the third is by Whittington. Moore's called his basic framework a 'strategic triangle', which he explained in terms of three questions managers must use to check their vision of the purpose of a public sector. The rather esoteric 'strategy as practice' research, which Whittington saw as local and concerned with nitty-gritty aspects of practice, drew attention to internal matters, including the dominance of the top management team.
