Strategic Business Leader · Concepts of strategy

Mintzberg's Deliberate and Emergent Strategy Explained for ACCA SBL

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Mintzberg says the strategy an organisation actually follows (realised strategy) is a mix of deliberate strategy, which is planned and then carried out, and emergent strategy, which forms from patterns of action over time. Some planned strategy is never carried out (unrealised). To answer a question, identify which parts are planned, which emerged, and why.

Understand Mintzberg's Deliberate and Emergent Strategy

Many students think strategy is a plan written at the top and then followed. Henry Mintzberg challenged this. He argued that what an organisation really does is often different from what it planned. So he separated strategy as intended from strategy as realised.

Intended strategy is what management plans. Deliberate strategy is the part of the intended strategy that is actually carried out. Unrealised strategy is the part that is dropped or fails, for example because the market changed or the plan was unworkable. Emergent strategy is a pattern that forms without being planned, through decisions, experiments, customer feedback and day-to-day actions. Realised strategy is what the organisation actually ends up doing: deliberate strategy plus emergent strategy.

Emergent strategy is not random or bad. It often comes from managers and staff closer to customers who spot an opportunity and act. Over time, repeated actions form a pattern, and management may later recognise it and adopt it formally. It suits uncertain, fast-changing environments, where a fixed long-term plan may go out of date quickly. Deliberate strategy suits stable settings, large projects, and cases where control and coordination matter, such as a major capital investment or a regulated business.

Mintzberg also described strategy through the 5 Ps, because the word is used in different ways. Strategy can be a plan (a consciously intended course of action), a ploy (a specific move to outwit a rival), a pattern (consistency in behaviour over time, whether planned or not), a position (where the organisation sits in its market) and a perspective (the shared view or way of seeing the world that the organisation holds). The pattern view links directly to emergent strategy, because a pattern can exist without any plan.

In SBL you rarely need to define these terms alone. You use them to explain what is happening in the case, to assess whether the approach suits the organisation, and to advise the board on how to balance planning with flexibility.

Key rules to remember

Realised strategy: Realised strategy = Deliberate strategy + Emergent strategy; Deliberate strategy is the part of the intended strategy that is carried out.
Intended strategy outcome: Intended strategy = Deliberate strategy + Unrealised strategy; Unrealised strategy is planned but not carried out.
Mintzberg's 5 Ps: Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position, Perspective; Five different definitions of strategy. Pattern is the link to emergent strategy.

How to solve Mintzberg's Deliberate and Emergent Strategy questions

Use this method for any question on planned versus emergent strategy. It keeps your answer tied to the scenario and covers the professional skills marks.

1Read the requirement and note the verb: explain, assess, advise, evaluate or recommend. This decides how much analysis you need.
2Scan the case for evidence of planning (strategic plans, targets, board approval, formal reviews) and of emergence (local initiatives, customer-led changes, trial and error, unplanned successes).
3Classify each piece of evidence using the terms: intended, deliberate, unrealised, emergent, realised. Name the term and quote the fact from the case.
4Link to the 5 Ps where useful, for example show a pattern of behaviour that was never formally planned, or a ploy used against a competitor.
5Consider the context: how stable or uncertain is the environment, how large is the organisation, and how much control is needed? Say which approach fits better and why.
6Assess advantages and limits of each approach. Deliberate gives direction and control but can be rigid. Emergent gives flexibility and learning but can lack coordination and direction.
7Conclude with a clear recommendation, such as a blend: set a clear direction, but allow managers to experiment and then capture what works.
8Check that your points are applied to the named organisation and written in the format asked for, such as a report or briefing note.

Quickest way: Evidence, label, fit, advise

When to use it: Use when time is short and the task is worth only a few marks, or when you must fit this model into a larger answer.

Pick two or three facts from the case: one planned and one unplanned.
Label each one: deliberate, unrealised or emergent.
State in one sentence how the environment (stable or uncertain) affects which approach fits.
Give one advantage and one risk of the approach the organisation relies on.
Finish with a one-line recommendation to combine direction with flexibility.

Common mistakes in Mintzberg's Deliberate and Emergent Strategy

Treating emergent strategy as having no strategy at all.
Students assume strategy must be planned, so unplanned means absent.
Fix: Say that emergent strategy is a pattern that forms from actions over time. It is a real strategy, just not planned in advance.
Confusing intended strategy with realised strategy.
The terms sound similar and students skip the link between them.
Fix: Remember that realised = deliberate + emergent. Intended strategy that is not carried out is unrealised, so it is not part of realised strategy.
Listing the 5 Ps as a definition with no application.
Students memorise the list because it is easy, then stop.
Fix: Pick the Ps that match the case. Quote a fact for each one and explain what it tells the board.
Saying emergent strategy is always better, or always worse, than planned strategy.
Students choose a side instead of looking at the context.
Fix: Judge by the environment and the organisation. Uncertain markets favour emergence. Large, high-cost, regulated decisions favour deliberate planning. Often a blend is best.
Giving theory with no link to the scenario.
Students fear forgetting the model and write all they know.
Fix: Spend most of your answer on case facts. Every paragraph should name the organisation and use evidence from the case, as this earns the application and analysis marks.
Mixing up deliberate and rational planning models with Mintzberg's emergent view without comment.
Both topics sit in the same chapter on strategy development.
Fix: Show the link in one line: rational planning produces deliberate strategy, while incremental and learning approaches often produce emergent strategy.

Worked examples

Example 1

Zenith Foods, a packaged snack maker, planned to expand into frozen meals and approved a three-year plan. After a year, the frozen meals project was abandoned because of high distribution costs. Meanwhile, a regional sales team began selling small bulk packs to cafes after a few requests. The practice spread to other regions and now makes up a large part of sales, although the board never planned it. Explain, using Mintzberg's ideas, how Zenith's strategy has developed.

Show the solution

Identify the intended strategy: the board's plan to expand into frozen meals and the three-year plan that supported it.
Classify the frozen meals project as unrealised strategy. It was planned but dropped because of distribution costs, so it is not part of what the company actually does.
Classify the bulk packs for cafes as emergent strategy. It began from local sales team actions in response to customer requests. It was not part of the board's plan.
Explain the pattern: repeated actions across regions formed a consistent pattern of behaviour. This links to the pattern in the 5 Ps.
State realised strategy: it is the deliberate strategy that was carried out (the core snack business) plus the emergent bulk pack sales to cafes.
Comment: the case shows that planning alone did not give Zenith its growth. The board should recognise the emergent pattern, assess its profitability, and decide whether to adopt it formally and invest in it.

Answer: Zenith's intended strategy of frozen meals became unrealised strategy. The bulk packs for cafes are an emergent strategy that formed as a pattern of local action. Zenith's realised strategy is its carried-out deliberate strategy plus this emergent strategy. The board should evaluate the emergent pattern and decide whether to adopt it formally.

Example 2

Advise the board of Orbit Telecom, which operates in a fast-changing technology market, whether it should rely mainly on deliberate strategy or allow emergent strategy.

Show the solution

State the approach: you will assess both, then recommend based on the context.
Describe the environment: Orbit is in a fast-changing technology market. Conditions are uncertain, so detailed long-term plans can be overtaken by events.
Advantages of deliberate strategy: gives clear direction, helps coordinate resources, supports control and communication to investors, and suits large network investments with long lead times.
Limits of deliberate strategy: it can be rigid, slow to respond, and may ignore ideas from staff and customers.
Advantages of emergent strategy: it allows fast learning, uses front-line knowledge and lets the company test ideas cheaply.
Limits of emergent strategy: it can lack coordination, may drift without direction, and is harder to align with financial and governance needs.
Recommend a blend: set a clear overall direction and fund major network investments deliberately, while allowing teams to experiment with services and then adopt successful patterns formally.

Answer: Because Orbit's market is fast-changing, it should not rely only on deliberate strategy. It should combine a clear planned direction for major investments with room for emergent strategy, which allows learning and flexibility, and review emergent patterns so that successful ones are adopted formally.

Exam tips

Use the exact terms (intended, deliberate, unrealised, emergent, realised) and attach each to a fact from the case. Labels alone earn little.
Do not recite the 5 Ps unless asked. Choose the ones that fit the scenario and show what each reveals.
When asked to advise, give a judgement. A balanced recommendation that links the approach to the environment usually scores better than a one-sided view.
Write to the format requested, such as a briefing note or report, and keep a professional tone to earn the professional skills marks.
Link to related models where the case invites it, such as rational versus incremental planning or the strategy lenses, but keep the focus on the requirement.

Practice questions from Concepts of strategy

Mintzberg's Deliberate and Emergent Strategy: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between deliberate and emergent strategy?

Deliberate strategy is planned in advance and then carried out. Emergent strategy forms from a pattern of actions and decisions over time without being planned. In practice, most organisations show a mix of both.

What is realised strategy in Mintzberg's model?

Realised strategy is what an organisation actually does. It is made up of the deliberate strategy that was carried out plus any emergent strategy. Planned strategy that is not carried out is unrealised and is not part of it.

What are Mintzberg's 5 Ps of strategy?

They are plan, ploy, pattern, position and perspective. They show that strategy can be a plan, a specific competitive move, a consistent pattern of behaviour, a market position or a shared way of seeing the world.

Is emergent strategy better than planned strategy?

Neither is always better. Emergent strategy suits uncertain, fast-changing conditions where learning matters. Deliberate strategy suits stable conditions and large, costly commitments that need control. Many organisations combine the two.