This paper examines the Burning Man movement as an unconventional multinational organization that blends hierarchical and participatory governance, volunteerism, gifting economy, and radical inclusion in its strategy making. Utilizing institutional theory and stakeholder theory, and the open strategy literature, it analyzes how Burning Man affiliated local communities redefine their strategies in a dedicated leadership event together with the legal entity responsible of the global community, the Burning Man Project. Ongoing ethnographic research and interviews with regional leaders and participants reveal how Burning Man Project operationalizes its 10 Principles across diverse cultural contexts, navigating tensions between authenticity and scalability in their strategizing. The European Leadership Summit, a key site of empirical data collection, highlights the simultaneous strategic collaboration and tensions between the Burning Man Project and its global network. By exploring these dynamics, this paper sheds light on how global communities can balance growth and develop their core values by applying the processes of open strategizing.

Keywords: participatory governance, institutional theory, stakeholder theory, open strategy