The Effectiveness of Strategy Implementation on Organizational Performance: A Case Study of Clothing Retail Outlets in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Over the past decade, the clothing retail outlets in Zimbabwe were characterised by signs of distress, scaling down operations and closure of some shops, even though they had strategies in place. Strategy implementation was neglected, and treated as an after-thought despite strategic planning. This study evaluated the effectiveness of strategy implementation in the clothing retail outlets in Zimbabwe. The research involved identifying key success and failure factors on strategy implementation and established the relationship between strategy implementation framework and organizational performance. A positivism approach was used which emphasized the independency of the researchers as observers. Causal research design was employed. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used as research instruments for data collection. The data collected was analysed using SPSS descriptive data analysis. The study discovered the existence of many barriers to strategy implementation and these ultimately impeded organizational performance. The conclusion was that strategy implementation was ineffective resulting in a high failure rate. The majority of the recommendations made emphasized on paying attention to internal factors as key to the success of strategy implementation, continuously scanning of the environment and evaluating the implementation process. The researchers suggest a further study on intra-organizational factors that influence strategy implementation in the clothing retailing sector.

Keywords: strategy implementation, organizational performance, clothing retail outlets, Zimbabwe