The Process and Effectiveness of Strategic Planning in Higher Education: Evidence From Five European Countries

ABSTRACT The paper aims at investigating the strategic planning process and its perceived effectiveness in universities based on evidence from five European countries (UK, Sweden, Greece, Cyprus and the Netherlands) and 10 higher education institutions. The investigation focused on the following: the characteristics of the strategic planning process; stakeholder involvement in strategic planning and their role in the process; and the major problems faced in relation to the effectiveness of strategic planning. The elements investigated relate to the process and effectiveness of strategic planning in an attempt to examine the development of strategy by higher education institutions and its perceived effectiveness. Qualitative research was used to collect data from academics and/or high‐ranking administrators with a role in the institutional strategic planning process. The data were subjected to thematic analysis. According to the findings, universities were more likely to subscribe to a top‐down model in strategic planning. Respondents drew attention to three categories of problems and/or limitations associated with the strategic planning process, namely, human resources/stakeholder problems, technical/content‐related problems, and external limitations and restrictions. The paper attempts to inform the higher education literature by providing evidence from five countries on an under‐investigated topic, i.e., the perceptions of higher education stakeholders regarding the process and effectiveness of strategic planning.