Open strategy intermediaries? A framework for understanding the role of facilitators in open strategy-making

Open strategy is an emerging phenomenon, and has received significant interest by researchers in both information systems (IS) and strategy fields. The term open strategy represents how strategymaking is becoming a more inclusive and transparent process in organizations, often enabled by information technology (IT). Despite the notable attention paid to the role of IT in the facilitation of open strategy, those practitioners who are also central in such socio-technical processes of change have received scant attention to date by scholars. This paper therefore seeks to examine the role of facilitators in IT-driven open strategy. We term these ‘open strategy intermediaries’. Using a strategyas-practice lens and drawing on several empirical cases of IT-driven open ‘strategizing’, the article highlights six emerging practices by open strategy intermediaries which we call: (i) Initiation, (ii) Provision, (iii) Infrastructure and design, (iv) promotion and communication, (v) mediation and moderation, and (vi) strategy analysis and development. In concluding the paper, we detail how we intend to continue the research evident in this ongoing work.