THE IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. AN INTERNATIONAL DELPHI STUDY.

Strategic management in the public sector is a controversial issue. Both supporters and detractors coincide in the difficulties of introducing the changes that it involves. This paper analyzes the different factors involved in the implementation process of strategic management and how they affect the result of the implementation. We study twelve local governments in Australia, Spain, Sweden and the USA with acknowledged experience in strategic management. We find that, although local governments state similar objectives, they are not always consistent with the efforts carried out in the strategic management implementation process. We also show that the behavior of the personnel is a key aspect of the implementation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]