The use and perceived value of strategic management tools in an information and communications company in South Africa.

Abstract

The world is currently driven and affected by hyper-competition, which creates severe pressure on firms, including those in the South African (SA) information and communications technology (ICT) sector. The SA ICT sector plays a key role in the economy as it is an enabler of economic growth. To thrive in such a highly competitive climate, a better grasp of the firm's competitive forces and the dynamics that impact its success is essential. Strategic management tools (SMTs) can aid an organisation in gathering relevant data and transforming the data into actionable intelligent information to make strategic and tactical decisions. This can help ICT companies to improve their organisational outcomes including their performance which can ultimately lead to a competitive advantage. The significance of this study is to explore the use and perceived value of SMTs in a SA ICT company. Based on a cross-sectional survey design, a quantitative data collection technique was used. An online survey questionnaire was used to access a random sample of 200 from approximately 6000 employees in the company from which 55 usable responses were received. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data to determine the use and perceived value of twelve SMTs in the company. The company’s use and perceived value of the SMTs were compared with the data obtained for the past 5 years from other companies in the wider group study. This study identified the SMTs with the highest and lowest use and perceived values in both the company as well as in the wider group study. The study found the company to have both a higher average use and a higher average perceived value compared to the wider group study, confirming that in general the company use and value the SMTs more than other companies. The study also found “A formal strategic planning process”, “Stakeholder engagement during the strategic planning and implementation” and the “Balanced Scorecard” to be both the least used and valued, and therefore the most unpopular SMTs in the company. The findings from this study have both academic and managerial implications. This study contributes to literature and attempts to fill the void identified in the literature surveyed. Knowing the significance and value of using SMTs provides management with concrete considerations for actions and interventions that could be pursued in the interest of improving company-wide performance and gaining a competitive advantage. The study's findings inform specific recommendations to the company’s Strategy Division, managers, and employees on using the identified SMTs to make strategic and tactical decisions that can help improve performance. Future research considerations were also identified and suggested that included a study on the use of SMTs and its effect on the performance of ICT firms in SA, in-depth and longitudinal studies in SA companies and studies to be conducted in the SA context on the use and satisfaction rates of SMTs using the Bain’s Management Tools & Trends top 25 SMTs list.