Strategic Planning Uitlization in Local Governments

What factors account for management innovations such as utilization of strategic planning in local governments? Do management innovations depend on the same explanatory factors as policy innovations? What additional factors are relevant in developing a theory of management innovation as opposed to policy innovation? Political and socioeconomic factors have been linked to innovations in government, but most evidence is based on the study of policy innovation rather than management innovation. Policy innovations studies can provide insights into what factors may influence management innovations in municipal governments and agencies. However, we argue that the study of public management innovations should also consider factors related to institutions, bureaucracy, regional competition, and professional networks as well as political and socioeconomic characteristics. Some Florida city governments and departments have no strategic planning and performance measurement despite their complex and competitive environment. This dissertation investigates utilization of strategic planning and priority strategies in Florida city governments as a municipal management innovation with predictive as well as descriptive models. The descriptive and predictive models of municipal management innovation are explained and tested with data from Florida Public Management surveys conducted in 2005 using multivariate regression and logistic regression analyses. The empirical findings of descriptive models find that half of Florida city governments and departments have used strategic planning and performance measurement and many of them have used priority strategies for policy and program decision, budget decision, e-government, and contracting-out. They also find many Florida city governments and agencies using both strategic planning and performance measurement have not linked with performance measurement to evaluate strategic plans. The empirical findings of predictive models suggest management innovations are influenced by different factors than policy innovations. Institutions, business orientation, red tape, risk-taking leadership, regional density of local government providers, and professional management networks are important factors in explaining management innovations, such as utilization of strategic planning and priority strategies, and deserve greater attention in the literature. The empirical findings provide effective use of strategic management and determinants of management innovations in local governments.