MARKETING FUNCTIONS IN THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES: FROM CITIZENS’ NEEDS TO MANAGEMENT DECISIONS

Abstract

The article examines whether research into citizens’ needs, participatory processes and evaluation are linked to subsequent decisions by Ukrainian public authorities rather than merely documented as separate procedures. The purpose is to operationalize marketing orientation through three traceable transitions: from citizens’ needs to a change in service, access or interaction; from participation to a reasoned public response; and from evaluation to a subsequent management decision. Directed qualitative content analysis was applied to 30 materials available as of 21 August 2026 in four purposively selected strategic packages: European integration, barrier-free policy, preparedness for post-war elections and corruption prevention. Coding was conducted at two levels: each material received an evidentiary role, while the final transition status was assigned only to a documentary package. The matrix contains 12 decisive materials; the remaining 18 served for contextual and triangulation checks. For Barrier-Free Driving Schools, the need for accessible driver training, participants’ experiences and the operation of an adapted service were documented, but no traceable link was found between specific evidence or feedback and the implemented adaptations; therefore, the needs-to-service transition was partially confirmed. In the anti-corruption package, a need was connected with planned interaction tools, yet their implementation was not demonstrated; this transition was also partially confirmed. The evaluation-to-decision transition was confirmed because the identified gap between perceived corruption, personal experience and practical knowledge was explicitly translated into objectives and measures of the 2026-2030 cycle. No public record of reasoned responses to specific proposals was found. The framework distinguishes marketing orientation from the formal presence of surveys, consultations, campaigns or monitoring and may be used to audit the traceability of organizational responses in strategic documents.