Strategic Management and Firm Performance: A Study of Selected Manufacturing Companies in Nigeria

Abstract

The study of strategic management has drawn so much attention among business practitioners and academic researchers in the last two decades as globalization came fully into limelight. However, in Nigeria, there are few empirical studies conducted to investigate the relationship between strategic management and firm performance. Thus, the main objective of this study was to provide further evidence on the effects of strategic management (SM) on the performance of manufacturing industries in Nigeria. Five large-scale quoted manufacturing firms located in Lagos metropolis were selected. The study relied on primary data which were obtained using structured questionnaire administered to 50 purposively selected respondents of the selected firms. The data collected were analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis as well as descriptive analysis in pursuance of the stated specific objectives of the study. The result showed that strategic management had significant effects on the profitability and operational performance of the selected manufacturing firms. Also, strategic management had positive relationship with the level of competition of the firms. This study concluded that the practice of strategic management is sine qua non in boosting firm performance in the manufacturing industries in Nigeria.

Keywords: Strategic Management, Profitability, Operational Performance, Level of Competition