Employee perceptions of strategy formulation and implementation towards sustainable strategic management in the developing world

Abstract

In general, an effective strategic management process allows managers to interact with employees in formulating and implementing organisational strategic plans (Nedelea & Paun, 2009). Eskom, an electricity public utility company, in South Africa, suffered a strategy formulation and implementation fatigue for the past two decades leading to a quagmire and lacklustre performance of all time (“Eskom CEOs from 1985 to 2020”, 2020). Therefore, the study investigates employees’ perception of the organisational strategy process towards bridging the gap between the management and non-management employees in strategy formulation and implementation. The study employed a quantitative survey, gathering data from a sample of 331 participants randomly selected from a population of 2400 Eskom, employees. Data was then collected and captured through a questionnaire using an online survey tool called Question Pro and analysed with SPSS version 25. The study revealed that Eskom’s strategic formulation and implementation process was perceived by employees as a downward communication process. Thus, the study revealed that there was a lack of employee engagement before and after the strategy formulation and in implementation process. The study therefore recommended that Eskom should employ a vertical two-way communication process between managerial and non-managerial employees. In addition, the study recommended that Eskom should provide strategy awareness campaigns at ground level towards positively impacting on sustainable and effective strategy implementation.