The role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is becoming increasingly prominent throughout the world. Thailand is no exception. SMEs in Thailand represent over 90 percent of the total number of entrepreneurs in nearly all business sectors, and employ over 60 percent of the labor force. However, many SMEs fail each year. Given the significance of SMEs to the Thai economy and the fact that no study has yet examined strategic planning in the SME sector, this study seeks to investigate the linkage between strategic planning and growth of SMEs in Thailand. The primary objective is to determine whether or not there is a relationship between the use of strategic planning by SMEs and their growth. In addition, this research seeks to explore the factors that influence SME decision makers to use strategic planning. The findings indicate that the level of strategic planning is positively associated with the growth of the SME. This conclusion is very significant for SMEs because it shows them the usefulness and benefits of practicing strategic planning. Furthermore, the results reveal that certain demographic factors, such as age and education level, are significantly and positively related to the decision to use strategic planning. However, neither the gender of the SME decision maker nor the age of the SME business is related to the decision to use strategic planning.
[...] and Ibrahim, N.A "The Relationship between Planning Sophistication and Performance in Small Businesses", Journal of Small Business Management pp. 24-32. Schwenk, C.R. and Shrader, C.B "Effects of Formal Strategic Planning on Financial Performance in Small Firms: A Meta-Analysis", Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice pp. 53-64 Sexton, D.K. and Van Auken, P Longitudinal Study of Small Business Strategic Planning", Journal of Small Business Management pp. 7-15. Sorensen I and Stuart T. (2000). ‘Aging, obsolescence, and organizational innovation', Administrative Science Quarterly, vol no March. [...]
[...] The second part, consisting of Hypotheses 5 and examines the relationship between the extent and duration of strategic planning and growth performance. Table 1 encapsulates all the hypotheses in this study. In this study, small business success is defined by the extent to which the firm exhibits a number of indicators of business growth. A total of four indicators were employed to measure small business success: sales/revenue growth, expanding clientele, increasing staff, and establishing new sites Methodology 4.1 Population and Sample The subjects of study consisted of small- to medium-sized businesses in Thailand. [...]
[...] and Kuratko, D.F "Formalized Planning in small business: increasing strategic choices", Journal of Small Business Management pp. 38-50 Masurel, E. and Smit, H.P "Planning behavior of small firms in central Vietnam", Journal of Small Business Management pp. 95-102. Michalisin, M., Smith, R., and Kline, D., (1997). search of strategic assets”, International Journal of Organisational Analysis, 360-387. Miller, C.C., & Cardinal, L.B. (1994). Strategic planning and firm performance: A synthesis of more than two decades of research. The Academy of Management Journal 1649-1665. [...]
[...] As Norman and Thomas (2003) noted, “Without a clearly defined strategy, a business has no sustainable basis for creating and maintaining a competitive edge in the marketplace.” This view is shared by numerous empirical studies that reveal a link between strategic planning and corporate success (e.g. Bracker et al, 1988; Lyles et al, 1993; Schwenk and Shrader, 1993; Rue and Ibrahim, 1998; Gibson et al, 2002). Strategic planning is therefore a very important research topic for organizational success. Studies have shown that the high failure rate among small firms, particularly among start-ups, can be attributed to the lack of formal business planning (Castrogiovanni, 1996). [...]
[...] Crittenden, W., and Crittenden, V “Relationships between organizational characteristics and strategic planning processes in nonprofit organizations” Journal of Managerial Issues, 150-169. Culkin, Nigel Smith, David (2000) An emotional business: a guide to understanding the motivations of small business decision takes. Qualitative Market Research, Vol No pp. 145-157. Davidson, P. (1991). Continued entrepreneurship: Ability, need and opportunity as determinants of small firm growth. Journal of Business Venturing 405-429. Delmar, F. and Shane, S "Does business planning facilitate the development of new ventures?" Strategic Management Journal pp. [...]
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