The model shows two ways to get from the business mission to strategy formulation.
The first and most direct way is through stepwise elaboration of this mission via
organisational goals, as depicted at the left side of the figure. Vertical steering, whether
or not accompanied with strict planning methods, dominates here. The second, more
indirect way is through interaction with policy principles of other actors, as depicted at
the right side of the figure. Discussion about values, ambitions and objectives
dominates here. As for the strategy formulation of the social landlords in this research,
the second way seems to prevail. The “translation” of portfolio policies into concrete
investments does hardly take place through vertical steering and through the
application of systematic planning methods as described above, but more through the
mutual transfer of norms and values between equal parties.
It can be argued that the applicability of the results is limited because the fieldwork
is based on a small number of organisations in one sector in one country. However,
there are indications for a much wider applicability. The weak implementation of
central policies is in line with many implementation studies in a variety of countries
and sectors. Notions from spatial planning theory, notably notions of collaborative
planning, and notions from network theory apply to a larger extent than the business
planning models mentioned above. Thus, although the research is confined to the
Dutch non-profit housing sector, similarities of the findings with those of other policy
implementation studies suggest that the implications for strategic planning models
also apply in many other non-profit sectors and maybe even in commercial sectors.