Strategic Planning Process in Organizations: A Conceptual and Empirical Review

Strategic planning is a critical management practice for maintaining organisational competitiveness in uncertain environments. Despite their widespread adoption, many organisations in developing economies, including Nigeria, struggle to translate these strategies into measurable outcomes. This study provides a conceptual and empirical review of the strategic planning process. Adopting a qualitative approach, it synthesises secondary data from relevant theoretical and empirical literature. The review shows that strategic planning follows a sequential process - driven by top management and key stakeholders - consisting of environmental scanning, strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. While strategic planning enhances performance, resource allocation, and competitive positioning, its adoption in Nigeria is constrained by limited resources, weak managerial capacity, and environmental instability. The study concludes that strategic planning yields value only when integrated into organisational culture rather than treated as a mere formality. It recommends building internal planning capacity and creating an enabling environment for long-term planning. Finally, it suggests that further empirical research should focus on how to make strategic planning more effective within the unique realities of developing economies.