Abstract

This survey-based study investigates the enactment of dialogue in digital strategizing within the Swedish public sector, focusing on the forms, forums, and actors involved. While dialogue is crucial for strategy formulation and implementation, research on its role in public sector digital strategizing remains limited. Employing consensus clustering on 59 survey responses, our findings reveal 11 distinct clusters of strategic dialogue practices, further grouped into four meta-clusters: Formalized Directive, Inclusive Interactive, Hybrid Synthesized, and Data-driven Adaptive. The results unveil a predominance of top management and specialists driving dialogue through formal, bureaucratic forms in traditional settings like meetings and workshops. However, pockets of more collaborative, data-driven, and distributed dialogue practices were also identified. This duality suggests that while public sector strategizing processes are consistent and structured, they may also be rigid and closed, potentially impeding effective digital transformation. The study contributes to the literature by offering nuanced insights into the multifaceted role of dialogue in digital strategizing, specifically within the public sector context. It highlights opportunities to foster more adaptive and inclusive dialogue practices to support successful digitalization initiatives.

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