STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLANNING IN SMALL BUSINESS

Strategic business planning is one of the most important yet difficult areas of small business management. In contrast to large firms that possess special departments and significant resources for strategic planning, small businesses are hit with inadequate resources, skills, and time limitations. This review considers recent literature regarding strategic business planning in small business settings, investigating such major themes as organizational performance effects, change management strategies, customer relationship plans, and external environmental issues. By reviewing 18 studies, this article finds opportunities and constraints in existing strategic planning for small firms, with a specific interest in empirical findings from emerging markets and niche industries. The evidence concludes that effective small business strategic planning needs frameworks radically distinct from large organization models, prioritizing implementation rather than documentation, relationships with customers rather than market share, and flexible capacity rather than predictive capability.