South African public sector managers’ perceptions of the use of strategy tools

Abstract

Strategic planning remains the preferred approach in public sector organisations globally, yet there is a significant gap in understanding how public sector managers perceive strategy tools in non-market contexts. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perceptions of senior and middle managers in the South African public sector regarding the usefulness and relevance of strategy tools and the influence of those perceptions on their strategising. Adopting a Strategy-as-Practice (S-a-P) lens, the research employed semi-structured interviews with 13 senior and middle managers across various public sector institutions. The S-a-P framework provided the conceptual guide for the analysis, focusing on the dynamic interplay between managers (practitioners), strategy tools (practices) and the strategising process (praxis). The study identified a reliance and active use of a hybrid set of strategy tools, notably PESTEL, SWOT, Balanced Scorecard (BSC), OKRs and mandatory public sector artifacts (DPME Framework, Strategic Plans). Crucially, the findings established a clear empirical validation of the contextual contingency, evidenced by the systematic rejection of marketcentric strategy tools (e.g. Porter’s Five Forces) deemed irrelevant to the public sector’s public value mandate. Furthermore, the research revealed practitioner knowledgeability deficit, leading to the ceremonial use of tools, thereby impeding effective utilisation of tools and consequently strategic execution. This study contributes to S-a-P scholarship by empirically establishing the conditions for a contextually contingent strategising praxis in a non-market setting. It advances the theory by demonstrating that the effectiveness of strategising (praxis) is severely constrained by the practitioner’s lack of capability, linking the competency deficit directly to organisational outcomes and providing actionable implications for training and policy reform in the public sector.