Strategy Implementation Problems In Jordanian Publicly Quoted Industrial Firms 1 Strategy Implementation Problems In Jordanian Publicly Quoted Industrial Firms *

This research aims to identify the problems associated with the implementation of strategic decisions in Jordanian publicly quoted industrial firms. It also aims to make a comparison between “high success” firms and less successful firms in order to find out whether there are any differences in their experience of these problems. A cross sectional survey, employing a questionnaire as the data collection method, was adopted. The empirical research was conducted by delivering by hand the questionnaires to all Jordanian publicly quoted industrial firms (hereafter referred to as Jordanian industrial firms). The main findings of this research are that the Jordanian industrial firms experienced all the major strategy implementation problems which have been identified in earlier literature; that the “high success” group experienced strategy implementation problems less often than the “low success” group; and that formal strategic planning helped firms to deal with these problems. Strategy implementation; problems; Jordan; firm performance Strategy Implementation Problems In Jordanian Publicly Quoted Industrial Firms 3 Strategy Implementation Problems in Jordanian Publicly Quoted Industrial Firms Introduction The bulk of strategic management research has emerged from developed countries (Mellahi and Sminia, 2009). However, researchers in these countries have paid more attention to the formulation aspects of strategy rather than the implementation aspects (Bruton et al, 2004). Earlier studies in emerging markets have provided a significant amount of information about strategy formulation but with one or two exceptions (eg. Brenes et al, 2008) the picture is less clear in the case of strategy implementation. This is particularly true of the Middle East. Two recent studies of strategic planning in Egypt have not examined implementation issues (Elbanna, 2007 and 2008). Limited evidence from Turkey indicates that firms appear to have greater commitment to formulation aspects of strategy than to the implementation and evaluation of strategy (Glaister et al., 2009). In the only previous studies of strategic planning in Jordan, Al-Shaikh and Hamami (1994), Al-Shammari and Hussein (2008) and Aldehayyat and Anchor (2008) identified that Jordanian companies made considerable efforts to formulate their strategies. However, they did not clarify what happened when these companies put into effect the strategic decisions which had been formulated. Accordingly, the aims of this research are, within a Jordanian context, to 1. identify the problems associated with the implementation of strategic decisions 2. make a comparison between highly successful companies and less successful companies to find out whether there are any differences in their experience of these problems 3. make a comparison between companies which plan formally and those which plan informally to find out whether there are any differences in their experience of these problems. The research was conducted within Jordanian industrial firms in order to facilitate the exploration of the problems of implementation of strategic decisions that face companies from developing countries, particularly those based in the Middle East. The findings will be discussed in the light of previous literature which provides the potential for the identification of differences between companies in developed and developing countries in relation to their experience of these problems.