Attitudes of Saudi SME Executives Towards the Selection and use of Strategic Planning Tools and Techniques

Authors

  • Hana Jeza Alotaibi Assistant Professor of Management & Strategic Planning College of Business Business Administration Dept. Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah

Keywords:

strategic planning tools and techniques, attitudes towards strategic planning, Saudi SME's

Abstract

The SME sector in Saudi Arabia is an important one in terms of GDP contribution and employment generation, but strategic planning in SME's does not tend to be conducted as commonly as in larger firms. It is especially important for gaining competitive advantages and for their long-term survival. A sample of 211 Saudi SME owners and senior managers were surveyed in an investigation into their use of strategic planning tools and techniques and their attitudes towards the selection and planning. The results identify Human Resource analysis, SWOT analysis, TQM, Mission/Vision statement, CRM, Porter's Five Forces, and financial analysis as the most commonly used ones in order. Comparisons are drawn with other similar studies, and the results include breakdown and change analyses. The extent of satisfaction for each tool/technique was also ascertained, and the extent of agreement on a range of views on strategic planning revealed an overall positive and encouraging attitude.

References

Afonina, A. & V. Chalupsky. The current strategic management tools and techniques: The evidence from Czech

Republic, Eco. and Man., vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 1535-1544, 2012.

Aldehayyat, Jehad S. & John R. Anchor. Strategic planning tools and techniques in Jordan: Awareness and use.

Strategic Change, vol. 17, issue 7-8, pp. 281-293, 2008.

Alotaibi, Hana Jeza. Strategic planning in Saudi SMEs: Case studies in the private health insurance sector.

International Journal of Management Sciences and Business Research, vol. 4, issue 9, 2015a.

Alotaibi, Hana Jeza. An assessment of the connection of elements in a strategic plan: A case study of Sabic company.

International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences, vol. 4, no. 10, 2015b.

Alotaibi, Hana Jeza. Strategic practices and development of the hotel sector for pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah.

The International Journal of Business and Management, vol. 4, issue 1, pp. 309-321, 2015c.

Arasa, Robert & Peter K'Obonyo. The relationship between strategic planning and firm performance. International

Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 2, no. 22, pp. 201-213, 2012.

Beaver, G. Management and the Small Firm. Strategic Change, vol. 12, pp. 63-68, 2003.

Bryson, John. Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining

organizational achievement, 4th ed. Jossey-Bass, 2011.

Delmar, F., & S. Shane. Does business planning facilitate the development of new ventures? Strategic Management

Journal, vol. 24, no. 12, pp. 1165-1185, 2003.

Fleisher, G. & B. Bensoussan. Strategic and competitive analysis. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2003.

Frost, F. A. The use of strategic tools by small and medium-sized enterprises: An Australasian study. Strategic

Change, vol. 12, pp. 49-62, 2003.

Gabrielsson, J. Boards of directors and entrepreneurial posture in medium-size companies: Putting the Board

Demography approach to a test. International Small Business Journal, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 511-537, 2007.

GCF. The 8th Global Competitiveness Forum, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 25-27 January, 2015.

Al-Ghamdi, Salem M. The use of strategic planning tools and techniques in Saudi Arabia: An empirical study,

International Journal of Management, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 376-395, 2005.

Gibson, B. & Casser, G. Longitudinal Analysis of Relationships between Planning and Performance in Small Firms.

Small Business Economics, vol. 25, no. 3, pp.207-222, 2005.

Gica, O. A.; I. Pop & M. Bota. Elements of strategic planning practices in Transylvanian SMEs, Studia Universitatis

Babes-Bolyai, Negotia, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 140-148, 2009.

Helms, Marilyn M. & Judy Nixon. Exploring SWOT analysis – where are we now?: A review of academic research

from the last decade. Journal of Strategy and Management, vol. 3, issue 3, pp. 215-251, 2010.

Jarzabkowski, P. & D. C. Wilson. Actionable strategy knowledge: A practice perspective. European Management

Journal, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 348-367, 2006.

JEG. Small medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia report 2015. Jeddah Economic Gateway. Available at

http://www.jeg.org.sa/data/modules/contents/uploads/infopdf/2809.pdf (accessed April 2016), 2015.

Kalkan, Adnan & Ozlem Cetinkaya Bozkurt. The choice and use of strategic planning tools and techniques in

Turkish SMEs according to attitudes of executives. Paper presented at the 9th International Strategic Management

Conference. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 99, pp. 1016-1025, 2013.

Kim, Y. & Y. Choi. Strategic types and performances of small firms in Korea. International Small Business Journal,

vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 13-25, 2000.

Lussier, R. N. & S. Pfeifer. A crossnational prediction model for business success. Journal of Small Business

Management, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 228-239, 2001.

Maes, J.; L. Sels & F. Roodhooft. Modelling the link between management practices and financial performance:

Evidence from Small Construction Companies. Small Business Economics, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 17-34, 2005.

Mazzarol, T. Strategy in action: Case studies of strategy, planning and innovation in Australian SMEs, Small

Enterprise Research, vol. 21, pp. 54-71, 2014.

Neneh, B. N. The Impact of Entrepreneurial characteristics and Business practices on the Long-term survival of

SMEs. Unpublished Masters Dissertation, Department of Business management, University of the Free State, South

Africa, 2011.

Neneh, Ngek Brownhilder & Johan Vanzyl. Towards establishing long term surviving small and medium enterprises

(SMEs) in South Africa: An entrepreneurial approach. African Journal of Business Management, vol. 6, no. 28, pp.

-8343, 2012.

Rajasekar, James & Arooj Al Raee. Organizations' use of strategic planning tools and techniques in the Sultanate of

Oman. International Business Research, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 159-177, 2014.

Robinson, R. B. & J. A. Pearce. Research Thrusts in Small Firm Strategic Planning. Academy of Management,

vol.9, no.1, pp.128-137, 1984.

Sfakianakis, John. How can SME growth in the Kingdom be unlocked? Arab News, 9 June, 2014.

Stenfors, S.; L. Tanner & I. Haapalinna. Executive Use of Strategy Tools: Building Shared Understanding through

Boundary Objects. Frontiers of E-Business research, pp.635-645, 2004.

Verdu-Jover, A. J.; F. J. Llorens-Montes & V. J. Garcia-Morales. Environment-flexibility co-alignment and

performance: An analysis in large versus small firms. Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 44, no. 3, pp.

-349, 2006.

Wang, Calvin; Elizabeth Walker & Janice Redmond. Explaining the lack of strategic planning in SMEs: The

importance of owner motivation. International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1-16, 2007.

Wiklund, J. P. Holger & D. Shepherd. Building an integrative model of small business growth. Small Business

Economics, vol. 32, pp. 351-374, 2009.

Downloads

Published

2016-06-15

How to Cite

Alotaibi, H. J. (2016). Attitudes of Saudi SME Executives Towards the Selection and use of Strategic Planning Tools and Techniques. Asian Journal of Business and Management, 4(3). Retrieved from https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJBM/article/view/3748

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 3 (2016): June 2016

Section

Articles

License

  • Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
  • It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
  • The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
  • The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  • The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.