Unleashing Strategic Agility: Roadmapping Owner-Led Creative SMEs

Roadmapping is a strategic alignment tool commonly used in large organizations, but its potential for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has received little attention. This research investigates the potential benefits and challenges of adopting roadmapping in SMEs to improve their strategic planning processes. This application paper examines the case of an owner-entrepreneur-Ied creative company to understand how SMEs can effectively use roadmapping to align technology development with business strategies and identify strategic opportunities. By engaging the owner-entrepreneur and critical stakeholders in the roadmapping process, the research aims to identify practical insights into the adaptability and effectiveness of strategic roadmapping for SMEs in the creative industries. The findings suggest that roadmapping can facilitate strategic decision-making, improve technology development alignment, and promote a proactive approach to identifying and exploring strategic opportunities in SMEs. The results also contribute to the academic understanding of strategic planning in SMEs and provide actionable guidance for owner-entrepreneurs and managers seeking a roadmapping approach for sustained growth and competitiveness.