Voice & Alignment

Research Program on Strategic Sensemaking and Perceived Alignment

A research program examining how voice processes and interpretative dynamics shape perceived strategic alignment in contemporary organizations.

Research Focus

This research program investigates how organizational members interpret strategic decisions, how perceived alignment emerges, and how voice dynamics influence collective sensemaking.

Rather than conceptualizing alignment as a structural or formal outcome, the program treats alignment as a perceptual and interpretative construct shaped by communication processes, participation structures, and decision architectures.

The central premise is that strategic coherence is not simply implemented — it is interpreted, negotiated, and socially constructed.

Core Research Questions

  • How does voice influence perceived strategic alignment?
  • Under what conditions does apparent consensus conceal interpretative divergence?
  • How do participation mechanisms shape the interpretation of strategic decisions?
  • How do hybrid and digitally mediated contexts reshape alignment dynamics?
  • When does perceived alignment reflect genuine convergence versus pseudo-consensus?

Conceptual Contribution

The program develops a distinction between:

  • Perceived Strategic Alignment
  • Pseudo-Consensus
  • Illusory Agreement

By differentiating these constructs, the research aims to clarify how organizations maintain the appearance of coherence while underlying interpretations may diverge.

This distinction contributes to the literature on organizational sensemaking, participation in decision-making, and voice behavior.

Methodological Architecture

The program adopts a multi-method design combining:

  • Quantitative modelling and moderation analysis
  • Perceptual measurement of alignment constructs
  • Qualitative inquiry into interpretative processes
  • Cross-level analysis of strategic communication

This integrated approach allows the examination of both structural decision processes and their perceptual consequences.

Organizational Engagement

The research collaborates with participating organizations to examine real strategic processes and their interpretative dynamics.

Engagement with organizations serves two purposes:

  1. Advancing theoretical clarity regarding alignment and voice.
  2. Supporting evidence-based reflection on communication, participation, and strategic coherence.

Status

Ongoing doctoral research project in Organizational Psychology.