Strategic Planning And Performance Of Businesses In Ghana: A Comparative Study Of Micro, Small, And Large Firms

Abstract

Over the last three decades, numerous studies have been conducted on the relationship between strategic planning and organizational performance; all these studies have yielded inconclusive results. This article investigates this relationship using data from micro, small, and large firms operating in a developing economy. The results suggest that the planning-performance relationship is positive and very significant in micro level firms where strategic planning approximates disequilibrium. In small firms, we found that this relationship was positive and moderately significant. In large firms where strategic planning approximates equilibrium, however, the planning-performance relationship was positive but not significant. Accordingly, we present a new dimension to the strategic-planning-performance debate and suggest that the relationship differs on the basis of the firm’s level/size and economic environment.