Understanding strategic agenda building and its implications for managing change

Abstract

This article develops a model of strategic agenda building describing the conditions under which strategic issues are likely to receive collective organizational attention. The model depicts how the issue and organizational contexts determine the issues that reach the agenda. Within the issue context, the salience of an issue (i.e., its perceived magnitude, its abstractness, simplicity and immediacy) and the level of issue sponsorship (i.e., issue attachment and strategic location) determine the force behind an issue and the likelihood that it will be placed on the strategic agenda. However, the effect of issue salience and sponsorship on an issue's force is moderated by the size and variety of issues already under consideration (i.e., the agenda structure). The article concludes with consideration of the theoretical and practical implications of this dynamic, process-oriented approach to strategic issue identification and legitimation.