The Importance of Strategy in Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurship

The current practice and researches show that a properly prepared and implemented corporate strategy is a decisive factor in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. A successful strategy is determined by many factors that many enterprises from small and medium-sized entrepreneurship underestimate. This paper focuses on assessing the significance of the strategy for development of SME. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the significance that is attributed to corporate strategy and strategic management by the selected sample of SMEs. A secondary objective was to determine how selected companies assess the importance of defined strategic development tools. The main research method is personal interviews complemented by selected methods of statistical induction for hypotheses verification. The research confirmed that all strategic development determinants are not considered among examined companies as equally important. It can by evaluated the monitored companies consider strategy for business development as significant, although only 57% of them have a formulated strategy. Individual functional and corporate strategies and defined areas of strategic management are not considered by companies as equally important.