Navigating uncertainty: strategy formulation in higher education

Abstract

This exploratory interpretative study delves into the strategic formulation processes and practices at higher education institutions (HEIs) in a developing country. Drawing on Mintzberg's strategic schools and the strategy-as-practice (SAP) perspective, this research examines the actors involved, methodologies employed, and the influence of the pandemic on strategic planning within these institutions. The study utilises semi-structured interviews with key figures from both public and private universities, coupled with strategic document analysis, to investigate strategy formulation. The study highlights a general paucity of external stakeholder involvement across the HEI spectrum, with limited engagement from employers and alumni in strategic development. The findings also show that public universities in the sample remain strongly shaped by state-directed planning, prescribed performance indicators, and formal reporting requirements, while some private universities display greater use of positioning, broader strategic direction, annual review, and delegated planning. At the same time, deliberate and emergent strategies coexist across the sector, as formal plans are supplemented by situated managerial responses to changing conditions. The study contributes to strategy-as-practice and higher education strategy research by offering a context-sensitive account of how regulation, ownership, stakeholder participation, and managerial action interact in strategy formulation.