Strategy implementation barriers and remedies in public sector organisations

Abstract

Public sector organisations play a critical role in many countries. Central to the performance of these organisations is the effort of strategy implementation that enables organisations fulfil their mandates and realise goals that generally lend themselves to societal improvement. The failures of such organisations due to poor strategy implementation, therefore have far-reaching consequences for a kaleidoscope of stakeholders, not least of all, the people. Curiously, strategy implementation studies are mostly descriptive and tend to focus on how it takes place rather than on issues that encumber the task. Moreover, strategy implementation studies are predominantly conducted in the context of the private sector rather than the public sector. Departing from this norm, this study investigates strategy implementation barriers and how these are overcome in selected South African public sector organisations. A qualitative research design based on a multiple case study approach was utilised for the study while data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. The study’s findings reveal that strategy implementation barriers emanate from both the internal and external environments of organisations. Specifically, identified barriers were primarily linked to resources, structure, culture, politics, stakeholders, infrastructure and government regulations. The study bears important lessons for management practice in public sector organisations as practical remedies deployed by the studied organisations to overcome some of the identified barriers are also expounded.