Open strategy as institutional work

What is it about?

This study explores how “open strategy” – the use of transparency and participation in strategic decision-making – can drive change not just within organizations, but across entire institutional fields. Using UK universities as a case, the research shows how managed openness helped reshape long-standing research cultures to meet growing expectations around equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Drawing on 17 interviews with senior university leaders and 25 policy documents, the study examined how the N8 group of research-intensive universities used open consultations, public forums, and shared planning processes to reform research culture. These open strategy practices were carefully managed to balance inclusion with control. The analysis identified three key processes: motivating change (by framing EDI and transparency as urgent priorities), signalling change (by demonstrating visible commitment to reform), and enacting change (by empowering staff to contribute to new action plans). The study shows that open strategy acted as a form of institutional work—purposeful action that reshapes norms and values across organizations. By using openness strategically, university leaders both responded to external pressure from funders and legitimized new cultural standards. The article contributes to theory by introducing “institutional critique” as a trigger for institutional work and demonstrating how openness can orchestrate field-level transformation.

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