Strategic planning, autonomous actions and corporate performance

There has been a tendency to de-emphasize the role of strategic planning in recent years and instead focus on management autonomy and organizational learning. Yet most firms continue to plan for the future. This reveals a need to review the effects of strategic planning in conjunction with managers' autonomous actions. Past research on the performance effects of strategic planning has been inconclusive, and evidence of the strategic importance of adaptive actions taken by lower level managers remains somewhat anecdotal. What is more, contemporary scholars hold opposing views. Some argue that autonomous actions are imperative to strategic adaptation, while planning inhibits change. Conversely, others argue that centralized planning is needed to co-ordinate responsive actions and spur adaptive strategic thinking. To clarify this apparent dilemma, this article presents a recent research programme investigating the dual performance effects of strategic planning and autonomous actions in the strategy formation process. The results indicate that strategic planning has positive performance effects across industries, and exists in tandem with autonomous actions, where managers make responsive decisions that enhance performance under changing environmental conditions. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.