Challenges and mitigating factors in strategic plan implementation: insights from the GCC public-sector organizations

Purpose This study aims to investigate the challenges that public-sector organizations face in implementing their strategic plans while also emphasizing the critical mitigating factors that can facilitate overcoming these challenges. By exploring both the hurdles and their solutions, the study aims to provide a better understanding of the dynamics involved in effective strategic plan execution within public organizations. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on data collected from 125 public organizations in UAE. Data were collected through structured questionnaires targeting experienced strategic planning professionals, including chief executive officer, general managers, managers, senior strategic analysts, and strategic advisors. Findings The research identifies the most significant barriers, which include the lack of a strategy – incentives linkage, distractions from strategic focus, deficient project management skills, uncontrollable external environmental factors and unsuitable organizational structures. Key strategies to mitigate these obstacles involve enhancing trust and promoting organizational learning. Implementation obstacles hinder the speed of strategic plan execution. Research limitations/implications This study highlights significant relationships between implementation obstacles and aspects of the planning process such as trust and learning. It suggests a need for further research to explore other variables that could mitigate these challenges, thereby broadening our understanding of strategic plan implementation. Practical implications Public managers can enhance strategic plan implementation by aligning incentive systems with strategic goals and prioritizing tasks clearly to build trust and mitigate implementation obstacles and thus increase implementation speed. Furthermore, ensuring the availability of adequate resources and providing comprehensive training fosters an environment conducive to organizational learning. Additionally, adjusting organizational structures to better support strategic objectives further reinforces the effectiveness of these strategies. Finally, implementation obstacles hinder the speed of strategic plan execution, underscoring the critical role of trust and learning in minimizing these barriers and highlighting the need for a strategic focus on these areas. Originality/value This study not only identifies implementation obstacles but also empirically links them to trust and speed within the planning process, suggesting that these obstacles can be mitigated by enhancing strategic planning practices. Additionally, it enriches the sparse literature on strategy implementation in the public sector of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, offering valuable insights to improve the efficacy and efficiency of strategy execution in these understudied settings.