Effective Strategy in Local & Regional Development

THe r&d ManageMenT
conFerence 2014
M A N A G E M E N T O F A P P L I E D R & D
connecTing HigH value soluTions
wiTH FuTure MarkeTs
3 – 6 J U N E 2 0 1 4 | S T U T T G A R T
FraunHoFer verlag
Proceedings

Proceedings
Publisher
Fraunhofer IAO, IAT Universität Stuttgart
THE R&D Management
ConFERENCE 2014
Management of Applied R&D
Connecting high value
solutions with future
markets
3 – 6 June 2014 | Stuttgart

Imprint
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OeStrte
OPEN STRATEGY IN R&D
PPUUA
Session chair
Prof. Sabine Brunswicker, Purdue University,
United States of America I PFGAGG
Industrial partner
Prof. Johann Füller & Giordano Koch, Hyve AG,
Germany
The term “open strategy” suggests that openness does not only
relate to managing openness in an individual R&D project or
in the idea-to-launch process. Open strategizing implies a
more open approach towards managing the strategy and policy
processes in R&D. There are two key dimensions that
characterize open strategy making, namely (1) greater internal
and external transparency as well as (2) greater inclusiveness
of various actors in strategy-making, internal and external.
Information systems and digital technologies afford novel
means to engage a large number of participants in open
strategy processes.
With this special session we call for papers that tackle open
strategy in R&D and the strategic use of information systems in
open strategy in R&D from different perspectives and
theoretical lenses (e.g. network theory, micro-political
approaches, theory of affordances). We are interested in
advancing existing theory and strongly encourage empirical
contributions that span both the private as well as the public
sector.
Open Strategy in R&D
549

Effective Strategy Making in Local and
Regional Development
Scott Hutcheson, Ph.D.
hutcheson@purdue.edu
Purdue Center for Regional Development, Purdue University, 203 Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907-
1971.
This paper presents findings from a study that examined strategy making in the context of local and
regional development. There are approximately 13,000 local and regional economic development
organizations in the U.S. alone; and it is likely that at some point in the recent past or near future, a great
many of them have developed, or will develop, a strategy for growing their economy. Little research,
however, has been conducted to examine what makes one local or regional development strategy process
any better or worse than another. The purpose of this research was to fill that gap in the literature,
identifying factors that lead to effective strategy making in local and regional development and to provide
civic leaders and development practitioners with evidence-based information to help them design and
implement effective strategy-making initiatives.
This mixed-method study included both a qualitative grounded-theory component as well as a
quantitative quasi-experimental phase. The theoretical foundation for the study came from the scholarly
literature on social innovation from sociology, collaborative governance from public administration, and
strategy formation from management.
Data were gathered from over 100 strategy initiatives from around the U.S. as well as from a panel of
economic development strategy experts. The findings point to characteristics consistent with open strategy
rather than the closed models often associated with traditional strategic planning. This paper will discuss
eight specific characteristics of effective strategy making and shed new light on the application of open-
strategy in local and regional development. Although the study examined strategy in the context of local
and regional development, the findings will be of relevant to anyone interested in the development and
implementation of strategy in open networks.
1. Introduction
The prevailing local and regional economic development
paradigm over the last 30 years in the United States has
been one of industrial recruitment in which a state or
municipality incents firms to move or expand into a location
within their geographic boundary of interest (Efendiev and
Sorokin, 2013; Loveridge, 1996; Lowe, 2012). One of the
management tools used to guide economic development
during this era has been traditional strategic planning
designed for hierarchical environments in which strategy
and planning is a function of the top of the hierarchy and
execution is a function of the bottom (Blackerby and
Blackerby, 1995; Blair, 2004).
Globalization has changed the dynamics of industrial
recruitment making it much more difficult for U.S.
communities and regions to attract new industry (Osgood,
Opp, and Bernotsky, 2012). As a result, a new paradigm is
emerging that is focusing on growing local and regional
economies by encouraging growth of firms already within a
geographic area. Many U.S. states, regions, and local
communities are focusing on entrepreneurship, innovation,
research and development, and human capital as areas
where they can make put in place policies and programs to
grow their economy (Chrisinger, Fowler, & Kleit, 2012;
Feser, 2009; Nolan, Morrison, Kumar, Galloway, & Cordes,
2010; Rindermann, 2011; Wolf-Powers, 2012).
This new paradigm means that local and regional
economic development must be much more inclusive and
open than it once was, requiring networks of stakeholders
from industry, government, and the nonprofit sectors to
work together to develop and execute strategies to move
local and regional economies forward (Olberding, 2009;
Clark, Huxley, and Montford, 2010). This new paradigm
also requires a different set of policy and management tools
675

to help foster and manage economic development. One of
those tools, strategy, is still needed, just as it was in the
early years of economic development, but the command-
and-control nature of traditional strategic planning does not
work well in this more networked, open, and collaborative
environment (Morrison, 2012).
The purpose of this two-phase, sequential study was to
develop and test a new theory of strategy-making
effectiveness in the context of local and regional economic
development. The first phase was a qualitative search for the
factors associated with strategy-making effectiveness by
collecting data from a panel of experts. The findings from
this qualitative phase were then used to develop and test a
set of hypotheses about strategy-making effectiveness by
collecting and analyzing data collected from a survey of
individuals who have participated in local and regional
economic development strategy initiatives. Although the
specific setting of this study was local and regional
economic development, the finding may be of interest to
other scholars and practitioners engaged in strategy that
involves multiple organizations working together in an open
collaborative network.
2. Literature Review
The full literature review for this study looked at the
changing nature of economic development in the U.S. from
the pre-institutional era prior to World War II, the period
when local and regional economic development became
institutionalized (1950-1990), and 1990 to today when many
institutions have economic development interests. Next the
literature review examined the increasing complexity of
economic development as a phenomenon and the additional
complexity that results when multiple stakeholders are
engaged. The literature review also explored the evolution
of the management tools used in economic development
from the introduction of strategic planning adopted from
industry (Blair, 2004) to the evolution of those models
(Bryson and Roering, 1987; Hein, Cole, & Ayres, 1990) to
the recent emergence of new strategy development models
(McNamara, 2010; Merkel, 2010; Hutcheson, 2008;
Hutcheson & Morrison, 2012; Walzer & Cordes, 2012).
.
This examination of the history and evolution of
economic development in the U.S. pointed toward a need to
better understand the strategy development process, the
nature of collaboration, and the phenomenon of economic
development as social innovation. To do so, the theories of
strategy formation, collaborative governance, and social
innovation were consulted.
In weaving together the history of economic
development, the examination of the introduction, later
evolution, and recent emergence of strategic planning
models; and the consideration of the contributions from the
theories of strategy formation (Feser, 2012; Johanson, 2009;
Lindblom, 1959; Mintzberg, 1978; Parnell, 2008; Rindova,
Dalpiaz, and Ravasi, 2011; Sminia, 2012; Tapinos, Dyson,
and Meadows, 2011), collaborative governance (Ansell and
Gash, 2008; Chiclana et al., 2013; Clarke, Huxley,
Mountford, 2010; Emerson, Nabatchi, and Balogh, 2012;
Gibson, 2011; Johnston, Hicks, Nan, and Auer, 2011;
Kwon, Berry, and Feiock, 2009; Merkel, 2010; Olberding,
2009; Ospina and Saz-Carranza, 2010; Pammer, 1998;
Poister, 2010), and social innovation (Bland, Bruk, Kim,
and Lee, 2010; Bouchard, 2012); Mulgan, Ali, Tucker and
Sanders, 2007; Neumeier, 2012; Oliveira and Breda-
Vazquez, 2012), five distinct strands of observations
emerged form the literature review
2.1. Organizational Structure
One of the factors identified in the literature was the
structure used in organizing the strategy-making initiative.
Local and regional Economic development began without
much structure at all. In most communities a small group of
wealthy and powerful businessmen made decisions that
greatly impacted their economy. It was the period between
1950-1990 when institutional structure began to emerge,
evolving further into a multi-institutional structure of today.
These early inter-organizational structures were quite
hierarchical in nature and more recently network structures
have emerged. Recent scholarship pointed toward
networked organizational structures as being more effective
than hierarchical ones in developing and implementing
multi-organizational strategies.
2.2. Frameworks
Another factor that emerged in the literature was the
overall framework or orientation of strategy initiatives. In
economic development strategy two primary frameworks
are evident, those that are oriented mitigating deficits (high
unemployment rates) or building on assets (unique skills of
the workforce). The models and processes that emerged
during the evolutionary era of economic development
strategic planning indicated that the asset-based framework
is more effective than those focused on liabilities.
Scholarship from all three contributing theories, strategy
formation, collaborative governance, and social innovation,
confirm the effectiveness of this asset-based orientations
and frameworks.
2.3. Processes
Planning and implementation are two different
components of the strategy making process and two
different processes. According to the literature, a process
that integrates planning and implementation iteratively
rather than those that have a more sequential process in
which a clear planning phase is followed by a clear
implementation phase is more effective. This integrated
approach is noted in most of the emerging models of local
and regional economic development planning and
confirmed in the social innovation literature as more
effective than linear processes in which a planning phase is
followed by an implementation.
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2.4. Timeframe
Some strategy-making efforts tend to focus mostly on
longer-term goals while others stress the importance of
shorter-term wins. The scholarship of collaborative
governance points to the importance of short-term wins, and
the emerging models of local and regional economic
development also point to this approach as a priority and as
a predictor of effectiveness.
2.5. Implementation
When it comes to moving into action, the literature indicates
that strategy initiatives in which tasks are shared among a
wider group of stakeholders is a more effective approach
than when implementation tasks are held by a smaller
group. Both the pre-institutional era of economic
development as well as they early institutional period had
implementation centralized within a small group or a single
organization. Although the evolutionary models called for
more democratic participation, that broader involvement
was primarily evident in the planning phases rather than the
implementation phase. Social innovation theory urges
decentralized implementation as a key to effectiveness.
3. Methodology
These five observations from the literature review helped
form the lines of inquiry explored in the qualitative phase of
the study. In this phase semi-structured interviews were
conducted with a panel of ten economic development
strategy scholars and practitioners. Coded excerpts served as
the data from this phase and it was analyzed using the data
analysis spiral framework (Creswell, 2010, pp. 150–151).
The results of this analysis were then used to form the
basis of the second phase of the study, a quantitative, quasi-
experimental, contrasted-group survey of individuals who
had participated in economic development strategy making
efforts. In this phase participants were randomly assigned to
two contrasting groups: those who had experienced strategy
initiatives they deemed as effective and those who had been
involve with initiatives they described as ineffective. A
random sample of 300 was drawn from the mailing list of a
national economic development group’s mailing list of
9,000.
In order to widen the sample beyond just these 300, a
variation of the snowball sample (Wasserman, Pattison, &
Steinley, 2005) was also employed. Primary recipients of
the survey are invited to forward the survey onto other
individuals who meet the stated criteria (i.e., those who have
participated in a strategy development process within the
last 5 years) and who are affiliated with their own
organization or with another relevant organization. The total
number of survey respondents was 109. Spearman’s rho was
used to examine the strength of the relationships between
the variables.
Drawing on the observations from the literature, a set of
open-ended interview questions were developed. For
instance, one question asked about the optimal
organizational structures for a local or regional economic
development strategy initiative, giving hierarchies and
networks as examples. The observations from the literature
were also used to develop the following five contingent
hypotheses to be finalized after the qualitative phase.
3.1 Organizational Structure
H0: There is no correlation between strategy initiative
effectiveness and network organizational structures.
H1: There is a positive correlation between strategy
initiative effectiveness and network organizational
structures.
3.2Frameworks
effectiveness and asset-based frameworks.
initiative effectiveness and asset-based frameworks.
3.3 Processes
effectiveness and iterative-based processes.
initiative effectiveness and iterative-based processes.
3.4Timeframe
effectiveness and short-term wins.
initiative effectiveness and short-term wins.
3.5 Implementation
effectiveness and decentralized implementation.
initiative and decentralized implementation.
These hypotheses were used to develop the survey
instrument used in the quantitative phase. Questions were
phrased to give respondents a choice of two statements for
each of the eight factors of effective strategy initiatives.
677

These choices were carefully worded so that no value would
be assigned to either phrase. For instance for the question
about organizational structure respondents were asked
which statement: (1) hierarchical, with a clear top and
bottom or (2) network, with a clear hub and spokes best
described the strategy initiative they have in mind. Also, to
further measure effectiveness and ineffectiveness
respondents were asked to rate how effective (completely
effective, significantly effective, somewhat effective) and
how ineffective (somewhat ineffective, significantly
ineffective, completely ineffective) the strategy initiatives
they had in mind were.
4. Findings
The findings of the qualitative data confirmed the original
five a priori observations from the literature review. An
additional three observations emerged. The following is a
summary of the eight observations about effective strategy
initiatives.
4.1. Organizational Structure
Organizational structure was one of the a priori
observations. There was strong evidence in the literature
that the way in which a strategy initiative is organized plays
a fundamental role in whether or not the effort is effective
(Gibson, 2011, p. 5; Merkel, 2010, p. 6,519; Neumejier,
2001, pp. 54–55.) The data gathered during the qualitative
phase of the research confirmed the importance of this
factor. Two dominant structures emerged including
hierarchies and networks, specifically whether the structure
was primarily hierarchical with a clear top and bottom, or
more networked with hubs and spokes. The qualitative data
gathered about organizational structure confirmed the initial
hypothesis that networked organization structures are likely
to be more effective than hierarchical ones in the context of
economic development strategy making.
4.2. Frameworks
Frameworks was also an a priori factor identified in the
literature review. There was strong evidence in the literature
that an asset-based framework led to effective strategy
making (Merkel, 2010, p. 6519; Neumejier, 2001, pp. 54–
55.) This was confirmed in the qualitative data. In terms of
both volume of discussion and richness of content in the
interview data, this theme ranked on top with 43 excerpts
coded as contributing to this theme. Excepts related to asset-
based frameworks represented far more content than did
deficit-based The discussions about deficit-based
approaches included a warning about using that as a primary
framework, “the ones that have been less successful are the
ones that start with a ‘what’s wrong?,” indicated one of the
interviewees. The qualitative data gathered in relation to
frameworks confirms the hypothesis that asset-based
frameworks are likely to more effective in the context of
economic and development strategy making.
4.3. Processes
Processes was also an a priori factor that emerged in the
literature, specifically that iterative planning and
implementation processes were more effective than were
sequential processes in which a distinct planning phase is
than followed by a distinct implementation phase (Rindova,
Dalpiaz, & Ravasi, 2011, p. 422.) This was confirmed in the
qualitative phase of the study. The data on processes
focused on the interplay between the planning and
implementation phases of a typical economic development
strategy initiative. Twenty-six excerpts were coded as being
relative to this theme and the child code of “iterative” had a
100% co-occurrence with processes. The qualitative data
gathered related to processes supports the hypothesis that
iterative planning and implementation processes are likely
to be more effective that sequential processes in the context
of economic development.
4.4. Implementation
Implementation was an a priori theme that emerged in the
literature review and specifically the notion that to be the
most effective, the responsibilities for implementation of an
economic development strategy should be shared among
multiple organizations rather than centralized among a
single organization (Mulgan, Tucker, Ali, & Sanders 2007,
p. 10.) This notion was confirmed by the qualitative data. In
total 19 excerpts were coded as “implementation” with 17
of those were also coded as “dispersed.” Several of the
interviewees noted that role of economic development, in
general, is shared among many groups like “local
government,” “nonprofits,” and “volunteer organizations.”
The qualitative data gathered regarding implementation
support the hypothesis that implantation disseminated
among several organizations rather than centrally with one
organization is likely to be more effective.
4.5. Timeframes
Timeframes was an a priori theme that emerged out the
literature review. Specifically that short-term wins are a
predictor of effectiveness in economic development strategy
making (Gibson, 2011, p. 5; Markey, Connelly, & Roseland,
2010, p. 8). This notion was confirmed in the qualitative
analysis but the volume of discussion about timeframes of
strategies was less than the other a priori themes, there was
less unanimity among interviewees, and the relationship
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between short-term wins and longer-term goals was not
necessarily perceived as an either/or proposition. Instead,
most interviewees saw the need for both. In total, 18
excerpts were coded under the parent code of “timeframe”
with 14 also being coded as “early wins” and 4 as “longer-
term goals.” The qualitative data gathered related to
timeframes supports the hypotheses that implementation
timelines that include shorter-term small wins are likely to
more effective than those that only have longer-term goals.
4.6. Social Capital
This was not one of the a priori themes that emerged in the
literature. It was revealed, rather, in the analysis of the
qualitative data. Several different terms, phrases, and stories
were told that reflected the qualities of people, both
individually and collectively, in effective economic
development strategy initiatives. Characteristics like
“servant leadership,” “integrity,” “champion,” and “people
committed to the ‘common good’ were among the terms
used to describe individual characteristics. The collective
aspects of social capital were primarily embedded in two
terms: “trust” and “readiness for change.” In total there were
17 excerpts coded as contributing to this social capital
theme. There were very different opinions about social
capital expressed among the interviewees. One noted that,
“social capital is important but it is an abstract concept that
does not lead to action.” Another was emphatic in his
assertion that, social capital characteristics were the
“necessary component before anything else happens.”
Where agreement existed, it was primarily related to the
issues of trust and readiness for change. Although the word
“trust” was used only a few times, it was an underlying
notion of much of the discussion about social capital. One
interviewee pointed out that the need for building trust is
especially important when a strategy initiative brings
together a group of individuals with “no history” of working
together. Several other interviewees pointed out that
multiple groups have to be willing to share resources and
that this, of course, requires a certain level of trust.
The notion of “readiness for change” was expressed in a
number of ways as well. One interviewee pointed out that
not much research has been done on “community readiness
for change” and that most of the scholarship on that topic
has been related to individuals, specifically in alcohol and
drug abuse. He pointed out, “changing behavior is really,
really hard. It’s hard for you, it’s hard for me.” He saw
parallels in communities, with many people being resistant
to change. Another was very matter-of-fact in his words
about readiness for change, “some people don’t want to
change. You can either live in the past or you change. If you
don’t change, sorry”. Two additional social capital
hypotheses were constructed.
Social Capital – Trust Among Participants
effectiveness and high levels of trust among participants.
initiative effectiveness and high levels of trust among
participants
4.7. Data and Metrics
Data and metrics was not one of the a priori themes from the
literature. It emerged, rather, in the course of the data
collected in the interviews. A total of 14 excerpts were
coded as being part of this theme, including interesting
insights into the role data and metrics play in effective
economic development strategy initiatives. That role was
summed up by one of the interviewees as, “attitudes toward
metrics needs to change. Metrics become a learning tool
rather than an accountability tool. You need data to tell you
what is working because you can’t forecast this stuff.”
Another interviewee pointed out that data and metrics are
“most often associated with evaluation. I guess maybe that’s
a limited or narrow way to think about metrics.” He also
noted that, “I think data are really important for informing,
on an ongoing basis, the planning and the doing.” Still
another pointed out, “It’s not to measure whether you have
accomplished something; it’s to measure along the route to
make sure you can accomplish something.” The role of data
as a learning tool was reflected in this comment, “In many
ways, the sophistication of a group moving toward an
innovating network can be measured by how it deals with
the question of metrics. Sophisticated innovating networks
embrace metrics as a learning tool.” One additional
hypothesis was constructed related to data and metrics.
4.8 Metrics
effectiveness and data and metrics used as a learning tool.
initiative effectiveness and data and metrics used as a
learning tool
Just as the five a priori hypotheses were used to develop
survey questions for phase two, questions were also
developed for these three additional hypotheses. The survey
was sent to 300 individuals with a response of 108. Since
there was a snowball component included in the sampling
strategy a true response rate is difficult to determine. The
total n, however is 108.
Group 1, those who considered an effective economic
development strategy initiative as they answered the
questions, included an n of 57. The mean response of the
question related to the level of effectiveness for the
considered initiative was 4.95. The “significantly effective”
response was coded as a 5 with completely effective as a 6
and “somewhat effective” as a 4. The standard deviation for
this question was .666.
Seven of the eight factors represented in the other
questions had mean scores of over 7 on a scale of 1-10. One
code was between 6 and 7. Beginning with highest to
lowest, the means were 7.825 toward readiness to change,
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7.820 toward high levels of trust, 7.714 toward asset based
frameworks, 7.608 toward metrics used to learn what works,
7.526 toward network organizational structures, 7.411
toward iterative planning and implementation processes,
7.123 toward dispersed implementation, and 6.464 toward
near-term, easy-win goals. Standard Deviations ranged from
1.960 (role of metrics) to 2.612 (implementation).
The composite picture of an effective economic
development strategy initiative, based on the means, is one
that has a network organizational structure and involves a
group of actors that are ready for change and have a high
level of trust for one another. The initiative is framed
primarily around building on the community’s existing
assets, and the planning and implementation processes are
iterative. Implementation includes some short-term easy-
win goals is and the responsibilities for implementation is
centralized among multiple organization. Metrics are used
to learn what is working and to make adjustments along the
way.
Group 2, those who considered an ineffective economic
development strategy initiative, included an n of 51. The
mean response of the question related to the level of
ineffectiveness for the considered initiative was 2.12. The
“completely ineffective” response was coded as a 1 with
“significantly ineffective as a 2 and “somewhat ineffective”
as a 3. The standard deviation for this question was .785.
All eight factors represented in the other questions had
mean scores of less than 4.2 on a scale of 1-10. Beginning
with lowest to the highest, the means were 3.254 toward
metrics used for accountability, 3.520 toward readiness for
change, 3.570 for low levels of trust, 3.755 toward
sequential planning and implementation processes, 3.900
toward long-range timeframes, 4.00 toward deficit-based
frameworks, 4.02 toward centralized implementation, and
4.04 toward hierarchical organizational structures. Standard
Deviations ranged from 1.931 (role of metrics) to 2.767
(implementation).
The composite picture of an ineffective economic
development strategy initiative, based on the means, is one
that has a hierarchical organizational structure and involves
a group of actors that are not ready for change and have a
low level of trust for one another. The initiative is framed
primarily around addressing the community’s deficits and
the planning and implementation processes are sequential.
Implementation is focused mostly on long-term goals and
the responsibilities for implementation are centralized with
a single organization. Metrics are used as a mechanism for
accountability.
In this study “effectiveness of economic development
strategy initiatives,” served as the dependent variable. As
explained earlier, half the respondents were given a question
prompting them to consider an effective scenario and the
other half an in effective scenario. Each group was given
three choices to describe the level of effectiveness. When
these two three-point scales are put together, they present a
six-point continuum of effectiveness ranging from
completely effective to completely ineffective. In the
correlation analysis, effectiveness was observed as a single
six-point ordinally measured variable. In order to analyze
both groups together on a full six-point continuum the two
sets of responses were merged, allowing for correlation
coefficients to be run using this 6-point continuum of
effectiveness with an n of 108.
Correlation coefficients were calculated pairing the
effectiveness continuum with each of the eight independent
variables, measure on a 10-point scale. Spearman’s rho was
used to measure significance. The results of the correlation
analysis for this study are presented in Table 1 showing that
all eight correlations were significantly significant with the
highest level of significance between trust and effectiveness
(.745) and the lowest (yet still significant) with .473
timeframes and effectiveness. Therefore, all eight null
hypotheses were rejected.
Table 1.Effectiveness Continuum Correlation Coefficient Using
Spearman’s rho
N
Correlati
on
Coefficie
nt
Significa
nce
(2-tailed)
Effectiveness Continuum and
Organizational Structure
108 .628** .000
Frameworks
107 .635** .000
Processes
105 .723** .000
Implementation
107 .491** .000
Timeframes
106 .473** .000
Metrics
100 .717** .000
Readiness for Change
103 .660** .000
Trust
106 .745** .000
** correlation is significant at a 0.01 level
5. Discussion
The purpose of this study was to develop and test a new
theory of strategy-making effectiveness in the context of
local and regional development. Although the study did not
attempt to prove causation, the findings indicate that there is
a set of factors that, when present, are significantly
correlated to the effectiveness of economic development
strategies. The research was conducted to fill both a gap in
the scholarly literature and, by extension, the gap in
research-based information to assist individuals make
better-informed decisions and take more-confident actions
related to growing their local and regional economy. Prior to
this study, there was no scholarship related to the factors
that lead to effective strategy making in local and regional
economic development. This study not only fills that gap;
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but also offers a grounded theory that can guide other
researchers to add to the scholarship in this field.
There are several limitations of the study including the
difficulty in making generalizations from grounded theory
research, the validity and reliability of the quantitative
instrument, and the absence of a traditional means of
control. Several strategies were employed to mitigate these
limitations - member checking to address the instrument
issues, and quantitative design that included a creative
means of assigning participants to two contrasting groups.
Even though these limitations were adequately addressed
and no additional issues of limitations, generalization, and
trustworthiness arose, the study, like all studies, is not
without some lingering limitations.
Although issues of generalization of the grounded theory
approach were addressed by adding a qualitative
component, generalization or transferability of the final
results is still limited. Those who responded to the survey,
for instance, were all affiliated in some way to a single
national economic development organization since the
sampling strategy began with a random sample of 300 from
the contact database of 9,000. An affinity variation of the
snowball sampling technique was added to the sampling
strategy in an attempt to draw in other respondents who
were not directly affiliated with organization that provide
the contact list. First, there was no way of knowing if any of
the respondents actually included any of these once-
removed individuals and even if some of them were among
the respondents, the very notion of their affinity with the
first group of 300 could mean that they are all predisposed
to some common experiences and understanding related to
economic development strategy.
This study break new ground in the understanding of why
some economic development strategies are effective while
others are not. The addition of a quantitative phase lays
down the first few foundation blocks on this soil. It will take
others to add to the foundation and eventually build
something that will have significant impact on the
understanding of this phenomenon. This study can help
frame a number of new research questions. The following
are a few recommended ones that could add some of those
additional foundation bricks.
First, would the same findings result if the survey were to
be administered to another population sample with no
affiliation, either directly or once-removed, from the
organization that provided the contact list? Secondly,
knowing that these eight factors correlate with effectiveness
is helpful but is there causation? Does trust among
participating organizational representatives predict an
effective strategy process or is there something about an
effective strategy process the builds trust among the
participants? Third, just because there is now some evidence
that these factors are correlated with effective initiatives,
and even with assumptions of causation like a networked
organizational structure leads to more effective strategy
making initiatives, questions arise like what sort of
networked structures are most effective? Lastly, we are left
with questions that may be of most interest to the scholar
practitioner - how do we go about assuring that these factors
are present in a strategy making initiative? How, for
instance, would a local economic development professional
assess readiness for change? This study answers a few
question but helps surface many, many more.
The findings of this research could also help inform
public policy at the local, state, and federal levels. Perhaps
not from this one study alone, but if the findings of this
research were to be replicated and expanded upon, it could
potentially change the way in which government agencies
invest in economic development.
6. Conclusion
The findings of this research results in some specific
recommendations for the practice of economic development
and potentially for anyone engaged in open strategy.
Practitioners can test this theory, and apply its principles
wholesale or in pieces and parts. They can try positioning
themselves as a hub in a network rather than somewhere in
a hierarchy. They can see what happens when they build a
new economic growth strategy by linking and leveraging
their assets rather than starting from a perspective in which
their deficits are the organizing principle for a strategy.
They can adopt a more iterative approach to planning and
implementation and disperse the responsibilities among
multiple stakeholders. They can see if setting and achieving
a progressive series of shorter-term, easy-win goals will
eventually lead to transformation. They can use metrics to
see what works and make adjustments along the way. The
can take specific steps to build trust among partners and
assure that those partners are ready for change. They will
ultimately be the ones to prove whether or not these
approaches will lead to more effective strategies.
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