Title: Top management's sensemaking as a strategic practice: the case of private organisations as strategic actors in Finnish healthcare changes

Authors: Maarit Lammassaari; Esa Hiltunen; Hanna Lehtimäki

Addresses: Business School, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland ' Business School, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland ' Business School, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine top management's sensemaking as a strategy practice. Building on the sensemaking perspective (Balogun et al., 2014; Weick, 1995), this research proposes that top management's sensemaking both enables and constrains strategising. This empirical analysis of a key informant interview and publicly available materials examines the sensemaking that constructs the role of the private healthcare service industry in Finland. This in-depth analysis of sensemaking in top management contributes to the literature on sensemaking in strategic management by adding empirical evidence on the role of language in strategy making.

Keywords: top management; sensemaking; strategy practice; healthcare; case study; strategy language.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2020.109425

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2020 Vol.26 No.5, pp.388 - 401

Received: 07 Jun 2017
Accepted: 26 Nov 2017
Published online: 09 Sep 2020 *

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