Strategic Public Planning: External Orientations and Strategic Planning Team Members

Abstract

It is commonly argued that public strategic planning should be led by a small team of individuals committed to the process; however, little guidance is provided on how to construct such a team. Prior straegic management and public administration literature has examined the differentiation between internal and external managerial orientation. Building on that differentiation, this research found that those individuals who possess a greater external orientation are the most likely to be committed to planning. Therefore, externally oriented managers would be the most appropriate for building a strategic management team.