The Relationship between Perceived Quality of Strategic Management Processes and Strategic Decision-Making Process on Organizational Performance of SMEs: the case of IZRA Distributors.

Abstract

Strategic management is vital to ensure high business performance and sustained competitive advantage in a dynamic business environment. Prior research emphasised the importance of strategic management as a core company function, and several quality management frameworks now incorporate it as a crucial quality indicator. These studies paid little attention to gauging how well strategic management is done, instead of focusing on whether or not strategic management and its many component roles and procedures were carried out. This led to a gap in the literature on strategic management's effectiveness and perceived impact on organisational performance. This study sought to analyse the quality of strategic management process and decision making in organisations and how these activities contribute to the organisational performance of IZRA Distributors. A quantitative approach was employed in this study, utilising a sample of 54 from IZRA Distributors’ employees. Data were collected using an online questionnaire, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted based on the respondents' perceptions to determine the quality of the strategic management process and strategic decision making. Although respondents generally had positive perceptions of the strategic management process and strategic decision making in the organisation, responses with the lowest means to statements were followed through, as they presented possible improvement areas on strategic management on statements concerning clear, realistic and implementable objectives, as well as the accessing and using of real-time information, thus ensuring diversity and shared understanding of the environment when making decisions. The findings also showed that high-quality strategic decision-making processes and high-quality strategic management processes have a favourable impact on organisational performance. The study's findings may be applied to enhance corporate performance and advance understanding of strategic management and its connection to organisational performance, which has managerial and academic ramifications