Strategic planning in the Greek SME's

The importance and value of strategic planning is often in debate for many researchers. Taking the importance of strategy formulation as given, this article portrays the current situation of strategic planning in small businesses in Greece. The study, through a research study based on a random sample of 26 Greek SMEs, attempts to shed some light on how these firms carry out strategic planning. The main findings of the study derive from a modified framework of a model developed by Castrogiovanni (1996). This modified model incorporates the main environmental conditions of uncertainty (i.e. Smart & Vertinsky, 1984), munificence (i.e. Miller & Friesen, 1984), founding conditions (i.e. Mintzberg, 1995), level of planning sophistication (i.e. Bracker & Pear-son 1986), planning implementation (i.e. Kukalis, 1991) and relates them to business performance (i.e. Venkatraman, 1986). It has been argued that Greek small firms do not follow strategic plans, although their owners/managers identify the potential benefits that can gain through strategic planning implementation. Additionally, a shift from a highly and strictly centralized to a decentralized style of administration may have a positive impact upon the quality and effectiveness of strategic plans produced. Finally, this paper contributes to the existing literature on planning diffusion by discussing the formulation, implementation and control aspects of strategic planning in Greek SMEs.