Structuration theory and strategy research: A case study of national information technology policy formation in Malaysia

The literature on strategy and policy is largely prescriptive in nature and emphasises techniques and tools that are difficult to apply in practice. In the last decade, there is an increaisng concern for theoretical development to improve the basis for prescription, but these strategy research are characterised by a focus on either process or structure. Although most research contain elements of both, their linkage mechanism is not specified. In this paper, a structuration theory is proposed both as a meta-theory for strategy research and as a sensitising devise for strategy practice. A case study of the Malaysian government policy studies can make use of structuration theory to gain a better understanding of the context and process of strategy formation and their interconnection. The structuration analysis of the case leads to conceptualising strategy formation as an incremental process of continuity and change whereby acknowledgeable actors monitor and review the strategy’s consequences and changes in the broader organisational and environmental contexts; mobilise resources and facilities for implementation; and legitimage the strategy through the norms and values of a multiplicity of key actors. On the practical side, the analysis illustrates the usefulness of this sophisticated concept in illuminating the need for a strategic alignment of important aspects of vision, paradigm shift, power and resource relations, norms and values for success in policy formation and implementation.