Strategizing Through Dialogue: How Group Model Building Facilitates Collective Sensemaking and Frame Alignment
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2025-07-01
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en
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This thesis explores how a facilitated Group Model Building (GMB) session can support strategic dialogue and collective sensemaking in a complex organizational context. Drawing on the Strategy-as-Practice (SAP) perspective, the study conceptualizes GMB not merely as a modelling technique but as a participatory tool that enables actors to externalize assumptions, surface divergent frames, and work toward frame alignment. The research is grounded in a qualitative case study of a consultancy firm navigating a post-acquisition integration process. Using data from workshop observations, a transcript, and pre- and post-session questionnaires, the study examines how dialogue unfolds and how strategic frames evolve during the session. Findings show that GMB can create a structured space for inclusive dialogue, allowing participants to identify interdependencies, contest assumptions, and build shared understanding. However, it also highlights that alignment is not automatic and requires time, facilitation, and openness. The study contributes to SAP, framing theory, and open strategy research.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen