Formal strategic planning: annual raindance or wheel of success?

The findings from the research presented in this paper indicate that strategic planning is now an established management tool with over half of all small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) engaging in formal strategic planning. However, some SMEs fail to consider or include some vital components in their strategic plans, leading to the conclusion that many formal strategic plans are little more than a paper exercise. From an operational perspective, formal strategic planning firms place a higher emphasis on the attributes of strategic planning. However, there are no significant differences on the barriers to strategy implementation in formal or non-formal planning firms. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.