Innovation Strategies to Develop a Sustainable Municipal Government Beyond a Financial Crisis

Some government leaders lack knowledge of innovation strategies to develop a sustainable municipal government through a financial crisis. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore innovation strategies municipal government leaders employed to help overcome a financial crisis. The research question explored what innovation strategies municipal government leaders employ to help overcome a financial crisis. Argyris and Schön’s organizational learning theory of action provided the conceptual framework for this study. A purposeful sample of 10 participants included municipal government leaders and elected officials. Data were collected through semistructured open-ended interview questions, which elicited responses of shared experiences in encountering fiscal stress. Qualitative data analysis software was used for coding and theme development. The research findings produced six emergent themes suggesting that municipal government leaders’ innovation strategies should emphasize the attributes of organizational learning to stakeholders to avert a financial crisis. The recommendation is that municipal government leaders develop and implement innovation strategies through organizational learning before a financial crisis. The findings can contribute to the leaders’ increased knowledge and understanding of innovation strategies, providing opportunities to explore double-loop learning in a municipal government. The implications for positive social change include providing municipal government leaders with a continuum operational system that could be beneficial to sustain and preserve the government and public services.