P03 SIG Strategizing and Entrepreneurship for the Common Good
Panel Member(s) & Contact Details
Corresponding Chair: Prof. Bert George - brgeorge@cityu.edu.hk
Co-chairs:
John M Bryson, University of Minnesota, USA;
Barbara Crosby, University of Minnesota, USA;
Alessandro Sancino, University of Milan, Italy;
Richard Walker, Lingnan University, Hong Kong;
Laure Vandermissen, Ghent University, Belgium;
Park Jungyeon, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Summary
This panel explores the evolving role of strategy and entrepreneurship in public management, emphasizing their potential to create public value, foster innovation, and enhance wellbeing. It invites research on strategizing practices, leadership, and collaborative governance across sectors and scales, especially in response to complex societal and technological transformations. Contributions from both scholars and practitioners are encouraged, with a focus on pushing the boundaries of traditional paradigms and rethinking strategy in dynamic public ecosystems.
Description
Scholarship on strategy, strategizing, strategic planning, and strategic management continues to gain momentum in the public management community. Researchers from the broader field of strategic management—as well as leadership, public policy, and entrepreneurship—are increasingly exploring how strategizing can serve the common good. In parallel, strategy concepts are increasingly informing policymaking and public governance frameworks, suggesting a timely convergence between academic disciplines and professional practice.
Our panel aims to attract contributions on strategizing—broadly understood as the practices, processes, tools, and leadership dimensions involved in strategy-making—and to explore its intersections with entrepreneurship, particularly in the context of value creation across sectors and scales.
In alignment with the IRSPM 2026 theme, Beyond Boundaries, this panel invites research that examines how strategy and entrepreneurship can support public value creation, wellbeing, and innovation. We welcome work that pushes the boundaries of traditional public management paradigms, contributes to rethinking the role of strategy in complex ecosystems, and addresses the challenges and opportunities posed by rapid technological, social, and institutional transformations. This includes—among others—investigations into how strategic initiatives and entrepreneurial approaches enhance civic engagement, build social capital, and contribute to future-oriented and sustainable governance models.
Abstracts
We welcome both theoretical and empirical contributions based on a range of methodologies. The panel is also open to submissions from practitioners and policy actors who reflect on the practical implications of strategizing and entrepreneurship as tools for innovation and societal wellbeing.
Relevant topics include (but are not limited to):
- Strategic planning and management in public and nonprofit organizations, partnerships, and multilevel governance systems
- Multi-organizational strategizing to address grand challenges
- Open strategy: how and why strategy processes are broadened to include diverse stakeholders
- Behavioural public strategy: the role of individuals, teams, and tools in shaping strategy practices
- Strategic arrangements between public institutions and social, civic, or community entrepreneurship
- Strategizing and entrepreneurship within collaborative governance regimes
- The role of leadership in strategy formulation and implementation
- Open social innovation and co-creation as strategic practices in pursuit of the common good
Format of Panel
The panel will include paper presentation sessions. We encourage participation from scholars and practitioners from diverse institutional and geographical contexts.
Relevance
The panel is proposed by the Special Interest Group (SIG) on Strategizing & Entrepreneurship for the Common Good, established in 2024, which brought together over 50 presentations at IRSPM 2025 in Bologna—demonstrating the strong momentum and relevance of this scholarly community. The co-chairs of this SIG have consistently convened panels on strategic public management at IRSPM for more than a decade, contributing to the development of a vibrant conversation on how strategy practices and entrepreneurial initiatives shape public value creation across contexts.
This panel is highly relevant to public management as it explores the evolving role of strategy in a world marked by increasing complexity, uncertainty, and demands for wellbeing-oriented governance. The panel also supports IRSPM 2026’s emphasis on innovation and future-oriented public management by offering a platform to discuss actionable, theory-informed pathways toward strategic public governance. The co-chairs aim to develop a Special Issue on strategy management at scale in a high-ranking academic journal, to further advance the research dialogue within and beyond our new SIG.