Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Strategic Management in Turkey’s Public Sector: Reforms and Application Issues

  • Published:
Public Organization Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Over the last five decades, several reforms have been undertaken in Turkey’s Public sector with the goal of achieving efficiency in service delivery. While existing studies have focused on the nature of these reforms, little attention has been drawn to the challenges facing the implementation of strategic management in the public sector. This study seeks to examine the experiences Turkey is facing in the adoption and implementation of strategic management reforms, the challenges as well as application issues that have emerged over the years. The findings help to identify some policy recommendations that Turkey and other developing countries can adopt to overcome challenges in strategic management reforms and applications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akyel, N., Korkusuz Polat, T., & Arslankay, S. (2012). Strategic planning in institutions of higher education: A case study of Sakarya University. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 58, 66–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al Ahbabi, S. A., Singh, S. K., Balasubramanian, S., & Gaur, S. S. (2019). Employee perception of impact of knowledge management processes on public sector performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 23(2), 351–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Altan, Y., Kerman, U., Aktel, M., & Öztop, S. (2013). Kamu Yönetiminde Stratejik Planlama: Büyükşehir Belediyeleri Örneği. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(3), 111–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, R., & van de Walle, S. (2012). NPM and citizens’ perceptions of local service efficiency, responsiveness, equity and effectiveness. COCOPS Working Paper 7. Available from: http://www.cocops.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2012/08/COCOPS_workingpaper_No7-.pdf. Accessed 15 September 2019.

  • Andrews, R., & Beynon, M. J. (2016). Managerial networking and stakeholder support in public service organizations. Public Organization Review, 17(2), 237–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ansoff, H. I. (1965). Corporate strategy: Business policy for growth and expansion. McGraw-Hill Book.

  • Aydın, G. (2018). Applicability of balanced scorecard in public sector: The case of ombudsman institution. Unpublish Master Thesis: Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aydin, G. (2019). The applicability of balanced scorecard in public sector: The case of ombudsman institution. Siyaset, Ekonomi ve Yönetim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 7(2).

  • Barzelay, M., & Jacobsen, A. S. (2009). Theorizing implementation of public management policy reforms: A case study of strategic planning and programming in the European Commission. Governance, 22(2), 319–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, F (2001). Using strategic planning to manage strategically in public sector, in Liou, K (2001) Handbook of Public Management Practice and Reform; Marcel Dekker, New York.

  • Berry, F. S. (1994). Innovation in public management: The adoption of strategic planning. Public Administration Review, 322–330.

  • Boyne, G. A., & Walker, R. M. (2010). Strategic management and public service performance: The way ahead. Public Administration Review, 70, s185–s192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bozeman, B and Straussman, D (1990) Public management strategies: Guidelines for managerial effectiveness. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

  • Bryson, J. M., & Roering, W. D. (1987). Applying private-sector strategic planning in the public sector. Journal of the American Planning Association, 53(1), 9–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Çetin, Z. Ö. (2015). The reflections of new public management on local government laws in Turkey. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Çevik, H. H. (2007). Türkiye'de kamu yönetimi sorunları. Seçkin Yayıncılık.

  • Chandler, A. D. (1962). Strategy and structure. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Çoban, H. (1997). Bilgi toplumuna planlı geçiş: bilgi toplumuna geçmek için stratejik planlama ve yönetim bilgi sistemi uygulanması. İnkılap Kitabevi.

  • Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (1989). Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments. Strategic Management Journal, 10(1), 75–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demirkaya, Y. (2015). Strategic planning in the Turkish public sector. Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 11(SI), 15-29.

  • Demirkaya, Y. (2016). Performance management experiences of municipalities in Turkey. New Public Management in Turkey: Local Government Reform, 207.

  • Dinçer, Ö. (1998). Stratejik yönetim ve işletme politikası (5. Baskı). İstanbul: Beta Basım Yayım Dağıtım.

    Google Scholar 

  • Du, R., Shizhong, A., & Yuqing, R. (2007). Relationship between knowledge sharing and performance: A survey in Xi’an, China. Expert Systems with Applications, 32, 38–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eadie, D. C. (1983). Putting a powerful tool to practical use: The application of strategic planning in the public sector. Public Administration Review, 43(5), 447–452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekiz, C., & Somel, A. (2005). Türkiye’de Planlama ve Planlama Anlayışının Değişimi. Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi GETA Tartışma Metinleri, 81, 1–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elbanna, S., Andrews, R., & Pollanen, R. (2016). Strategic planning and implementation success in public service organizations: Evidence from Canada. Public Management Review, 18(7), 1017–1042.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eren, E. (2005). Stratejik yönetim ve işletme politikaları, 7. Baskı, İstanbul: Beta Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erkan, V. (2008). Kamu kuruluşlarında stratejik planlama. Türkiye uygulaması ve kuruluşlarda başarıyı etkileyen faktörler. Ankara: DPT Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farazmand, A. (1999). Globalization and public administration. Public Administration Review, 509–522.

  • Ferlie, E., & Ongaro, E. (2015). Strategic Management in Public Services Organizations: Concepts. Schools and Contemporary Issues: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furrer, O., Thomas, H., & Goussevskaia, A. (2008). The structure and evolution of the strategic management field: A content analysis of 26 years of strategic management research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 10(1), 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, B., & Desmidt, S. (2018). Strategic-decision quality in public organizations: An information processing perspective. Administration & Society, 50(1), 131–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, B., Desmidt, S., & De Moyer, J. (2016). Strategic decision quality in Flemish municipalities. Public Money & Management, 36(5), 317–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, B., Desmidt, S., Nielsen, P. A., & Baekgaard, M. (2017). Rational planning and politicians’ preferences for spending and reform: Replication and extension of a survey experiment. Public Management Review, 19(9), 1251–1271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, R. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17(1), 109–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gürer, H. (2006). Stratejik Planlamanin Temelleri Ve Türk Kamu Yönetiminde Uygulanmasina Yönelik Öneriler. 125 Yüksek Denetim Dünyasindan Haberler, 91.

  • Hansen, J. R. (2011). Application of strategic management tools after an NPM-inspired reform: Strategy as practice in Danish schools. Administration & Society, 43(7), 770–806.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, J., & Ferlie, E. (2014). Applying strategic management theories in public sector organizations: Developing a typology. Public Management Review, 18(1), 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henttonen, K., Kianto, A., & Ritala, P. (2016). Knowledge sharing and individual work performance: An empirical study of a public sector organisation. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(4), 749–768.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hintea, C., & Mora, C. (2000). Strategic management in public administration. Cluj-Napoca: Publishing House Gewalt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Höglund, L. (2015). Strategic entrepreneurship: Organizing entrepreneurship in established organizations. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoskisson, R. E., Wan, W. P., Yiu, D., & Hitt, M. A. (1999). Theory and research in strategic management: Swings of a pendulum. Journal of Management, 25(3), 417–456.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, M., Ju, T., Yen, C., & Chang, M. (2007). Knowledge sharing behavior in virtual communities: The relationship between trust, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations, international. Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 65(2), 153–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, O. (2003). Public management and public administration; an introduction. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnsen, Å. (2016). Strategic planning and management in local government in Norway: Status after three decades. Scandinavian Political Studies, 39(4), 333–365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahveci, T. C., Uygun, Ö., Tekez, E. K., Sevinçli, A., Kılıçarslan, A. G., & Dülger, E. (2012). Evaluation of public strategic planning models for Turkish universities. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 58, 138–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R. S., & and Norton D. P., (1996). Using the Balanced Scorecard as a strategic management system. Harvard Business Review (January–February): 75–85.

  • Kearney, R. (2018). Public sector performance: Management, motivation, and measurement. London Routledge.

  • Lane, J. E. (2008). Strategic management for public services delivery. International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, 4(3), 15–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lane, J. E., & Wallis, J. (2009). Strategic management and public leadership. Public Management Review, 11(1), 101–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leblebici, D. N., & Erkul, E. (2008). Planli Kalkinma Deneyiminden Stratejik Planlamaya Geçiş: Türkiye Örneği. Hacettepe Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 26(1).

  • Lee, H., & Choi, B. (2003). Knowledge management enablers, processes, and organizational performance: An integrative view and empirical examination. Journal of Management Information Systems, 20(1), 179–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luca, D. (2016). Do bureaucracies enhance or constrain policy effectiveness? Evidence from Turkey's central Management of Public Investment. Evidence from Turkey's Central Management of Public Investment (April 26, 2016). LEQS Paper, (109).

  • Mabogunje, A. (2015). The development process: A spatial perspective. Routledge.

  • Marin, S. C. (2016). Strategic Management in Public Administration. Risk in Contemporary Economy, 187–191.

  • Mintzberg, H. (1994). The fall and rise of strategic planning. Harvard Business Review, 72(1), 107–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Modell, S., Jacobs, K., & Wiesel, F. (2007). A process (re)turn? Path dependencies, institutions and performance management in Swedish central government. Management Accounting Research, 18(4), 453–475.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morden, T. (2007). Principles of strategic management (Third ed.). Ashgate Publishing Limited: England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nartisa, I., Putans, R., & Muravska, T. (2012). Strategic planning and Management in Public and Private Sector Organizations in Europe: Comparative analysis and opportunities for improvement. European integration studies, (6).

  • Oberfield, Z. W. (2012). Public management in time: A longitudinal examination of the full range of leadership theory. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 24(2), 407–429.

    Google Scholar 

  • Önder, M., & Aydın, G. (2016). Türk Kamu Yönetiminde Stratejik Yönetim: Kronik Uygulama Sorunsalı ve Yeni Perspektifler. The Journal of International Management Research, 2(3).

  • Önder, M. & Meydanlı, M. A. (2019). “TBMM’nin Denetim Aracı Olarak Sayıştayın Rolü: 6085 Sayılı Sayıştay Kanunu Sonrası Değişiklikler ve Etkisi” Amme İdaresi Dergisi.

  • Önder, M., & Nyadera, I. (2019). The role of non -economic drivers in development planning: The case of South Korea and Turkey. International Journal of Public Administration, 42(9), 39–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2019.1628057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Önder, M., & Brower, R. S. (2013). Public administration theory, research, and teaching: How does Turkish public administration differ? Journal of Public Affairs and Education, 19(1), 117–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Önder, M. (2010a). “An application of strategic management to the public sector: What accounts for adoption of reinventing government strategies across the states of the United States”. 6th international strategic management conference, St Petersburg, Russia.

  • Önder, M. (2010b). “What accounts for military interventions in politics: A cross National Comparison”, E-Akademi, Hukuk, Ekonomi ve Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi, Ağustos 2010- S:102.

  • Özgür, H. (2004) Kamu Örgütlerinde Stratejik Yönetim, (Editörler: Acar, M., & Özgür, H.) Çağdaş Kamu Yönetimi II, 207–254, Ankara: Nobel Yayınları.

  • Pearce, J. A., Robinson, R. B., & Subramanian, R. (2000). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control. Columbus: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plant, T. (2009). Holistic strategic planning in the public sector. Performance Improvement, 48(2), 38–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poister, T. H. (2010). The future of strategic planning in the public sector: Linking strategic management and performance. Public Administration Review, 70, s246–s254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sezen, S. (2011). International versus domestic explanations of administrative reforms: The case of Turkey. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 77(2), 322–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sözen, S. (2012). Recent administrative reforms in Turkey: A preliminary assessment. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(9).

  • Spender, J. C., & Grant, R. (1996). Knowledge of the firm: Overview. Strategic Management Journal, 17(2), 5–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533.

    Google Scholar 

  • Unay, S., & Ünay, S. (2006). Neoliberal globalization and institutional reform: The political economy of development and planning in Turkey. Nova Publishers.

  • Üstüner, Y., & Yavuz, N. (2018). Turkey’s public administration today: An overview and appraisal. International Journal of Public Administration, 41(10), 820–831.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, R. M., Andrews, R., Boyne, G. A., Meier, K. J., & O’Toole Jr., L. J. (2010). Wakeup call: Strategic management, network alarms, and performance. Public Administration Review, 70(5), 731–741.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, J. (2016). Trust as a key for strategic management? The relevance of council- administration relations for NPM-related reforms in German local governments. Public Management Review, 19(10), 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, P. M., & McMahan, G. C. (1992). Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource management. Journal of Management, 18(2), 295–320.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science & Public Administration, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey

    Güldenur Aydın

  2. Department of Political Science & Public Administration, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey

    Israel Nyaburi Nyadera & Murat Önder

Authors
  1. Güldenur Aydın
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Israel Nyaburi Nyadera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Murat Önder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Israel Nyaburi Nyadera.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

None.

Informed Consent

None.

Ethical Approval

None.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Aydın, G., Nyadera, I.N. & Önder, M. Strategic Management in Turkey’s Public Sector: Reforms and Application Issues. Public Organiz Rev 20, 719–734 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-020-00463-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-020-00463-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation