This article explores how local governments apply strategic management principles to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The research is based on a multiple case study, drawing on document analysis and interviews conducted in three German municipalities. Findings reveal a spectrum of approaches, ranging from emergent, informal strategies to highly formalized frameworks with measurable targets and indicators. Although formalization is driven by external funding requirements and reporting obligations, it risks creating administrative efforts that undermine effectiveness.
AndrewsR.BeynonM.GencE. (2017). Strategy implementation style and public service effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. Administrative Sciences, 7(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci7010004
2.
BrorströmS. (2015). Strategizing sustainability: The case of River City, Gothenburg. Cities, 42, 25–30.
3.
BrysonJ. M. (2018). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (Fifth edition). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
4.
BrysonJ. M.BarbergB.CrosbyB. C. (2024). The future of public service and strategy management-at-scale. Policy Quarterly, 20(1), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v20i1.9052
5.
BrysonJ. M.CrosbyB. C.SeoD. (2022). Strategizing on behalf of social enterprises: the case of the Metropolitan economic development association and catalyst. Public Management Review, 24(1), 124–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2020.1798128
CrossK. F.LynchR. L. (1988). The “SMART” way to define and sustain success. National Productivity Review, 8(1), 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1002/npr.4040080105
12.
EisenhardtK. M.GraebnerM. E. (2007). Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.24160888
13.
FerlieE.OngaroE. (2022). Strategic management in public services organizations: Concepts, schools and contemporary issues (2nd edition). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003054917
14.
FigueiraI.DominguesA. R.CaeiroS.PainhoM.AntunesP.SantosR.VideiraN.WalkerR. M.HuisinghD.RamosT. B. (2018). Sustainability policies and practices in public sector organisations: The case of the Portuguese central public administration. Journal of Cleaner Production, 202, 616–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.244
15.
FischerF. (2000). Citizens, experts, and the environment: The politics of local knowledge. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv11smwd9
16.
FuertesG.AlfaroM.VargasM.GutierrezS.TerneroR.SabattinJ. (2020). Conceptual framework for the strategic management: A literature review—Descriptive. Journal of Engineering, 2020, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6253013
17.
GeorgeA. L.BennettA. (2005). Case studies and theory development in the social sciences. BCSIA studies in international security. MIT Press.
18.
Grainger-BrownJ.MalekpourS. (2019). Implementing the sustainable development goals: A review of strategic tools and frameworks available to organisations. Sustainability, 11(5), 1381. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11051381
19.
GuariniE.MoriE.ZuffadaE. (2021). New development: Embedding the SDGs in city strategic planning and management. Public Money & Management, 41(6), 494–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1885820
20.
GuariniE.MoriE.ZuffadaE. (2022). Localizing the sustainable development goals: A managerial perspective. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 34(5), 583–601. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-02-2021-0031
21.
HansenJ. R.FerlieE. (2015). Applying strategic management theories in public sector organizations: Developing a typology. Public Management Review, 18(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2014.957339
22.
HansenJ. R.PopM.SkovM. B.GeorgeB. (2024). A review of open strategy: Bridging strategy and public management research. Public Management Review, 26(3), 678–700. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2022.2116091
23.
HawkesJ. (2003). The fourth pillar of sustainability: Culture’s essential role in public planning [repr.]. Cultural Development Network.
24.
HeinrichsH.SchusterF. (2017). Still some way to go: Institutionalisation of sustainability in German local governments. Local Environment, 22(5), 536–552. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2016.1233951
25.
JarzabkowskiP. (2005). Strategy as practice: An activity-based approach (1. publ). Sage strategy series. SAGE.
JethonA.ReichardC. (2021). Usability and actual use of performance information in German municipal budgets: the perspective of local politicians. Public Money & Management, 42(3), 152–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1966193
28.
JoyceP. (2015). Strategic management in the public sector. Routledge masters in public management. Routledge.
29.
KaplanR. S.NortonD. P. (1996). The balanced scorecard: Translating strategy into action. Harvard Business School Press.
30.
KettunnenP.HeinoH.RasinkangasJ.JauhiainenJ. S. (2020). Addressing local sustainability: Strategic thinking in the making. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, 24(2), 21–41. https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v24i2.8614
31.
KirkpatrickI.BullingerB.LegaF.DentM. (2013). The translation of hospital management models in European health systems: A framework for comparison. British Journal of Management, 24(Suppl. 1), S48–S61. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12030
32.
KrantzV.GustafssonS. (2021). Localizing the sustainable development goals through an integrated approach in municipalities: Early experiences from a Swedish forerunner. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 64(14), 2641–2660. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1877642
33.
KüblerD.RochatP. E.WooS. Y.van der HeidenN. (2019). Strengthen governability rather than deepen democracy: Why local governments introduce participatory governance. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 4, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852318801508
MintzbergH. (1994). The fall and rise of strategic planning. Harvard Business Review, 72(1), 107–114.
36.
MintzbergH. (2000). The rise and fall of strategic planning. Financial Times Prentice Hall.
37.
MintzbergH. (2007). Tracking strategies: Toward a general theory. Oxford University Press.
38.
NielsenJ. A.WæraasA.DahlK. (2019). When management concepts enter the public sector: A dual-level translation perspective. Public Management Review, 9(4), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1582689
39.
OhY. (2024). Exploring the dysfunctional consequences of performance evaluation systems: How does ‘evaluation overload’ affect organizational performance?Public Management Review, 26(8), 2260–2279. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2023.2189900
40.
Ordonez-PonceE. (2023). The role of local cultural factors in the achievement of the sustainable development goals. Sustainable Development, 31(2), 1122–1134. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2445
PollittC.BouckaertG. (2017). Public management reform: A comparative analysis - into the age of austerity (Fourth edition). Oxford University Press.
43.
ProellerI.SiegelJ. (2021). Public management reforms in Germany: New steering model and financial management reforms. In KuhlmannS.ProellerI.SchimankeD.ZiekowJ. (Eds.), Governance and Public Management. Public Administration in Germany (pp. 393–410). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53697-8_22
44.
ReedM. S. (2008). Stakeholder participation for environmental management: A literature review. Biological Conservation, 141(10), 2417–2431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2008.07.014
45.
RennO. (2004). The challenge of integrating deliberation and expertise: Participation and discourse in risk management. In McDanielsT.McDanielsT. L.SmallM. J. (Eds.), Risk analysis and society: An interdisciplinary characterization of the field (pp. 289–366). Cambridge University Press.
TallmanS. B.ShenkarO.WuJ. (2021). ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’: Use and abuse of culture in international strategy research. Strategic Management Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3930914
51.
TorfingJ.SorensenE. (2024). Private-sector actors initiating and driving local green co-creation partnerships. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4881527
United Nations. (2024). SDG indicators: Global indicator framework for the sustainable development goals and targets of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/
56.
WedlinL.SahlinK. (2017). The imitation and translation of management ideas. In GreenwoodR.OliverC.LawrenceT.MeyerR. (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of organizational institutionalism (pp. 102–127). SAGE Publications Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446280669.n5
WeissJ. (2024). Is bureaucracy ironclad after all? Prevalence and variances of performance- and strategy-oriented management in German local governments. International Review of Administrative Sciences, Article 00208523241268140. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208523241268140
59.
ZhengX.WangR.HoekstraA. Y.KrolM. S.ZhangY.GuoK.SanwalM.SunZ.ZhuJ.ZhangJ.LounsburyA.PanX.GuanD.HertwichE. G.WangC. (2021). Consideration of culture is vital if we are to achieve the sustainable development goals. One Earth, 4(2), 307–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.01.012