STRATEGIC PLANNING AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: A CASE OF SELECTED LAW FIRMS IN KAMPALA

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated the relationship between strategic planning and firm performance in selected law firms in Kampala-Uganda. The study was based on the argument that strategic planning enhances firm performance across organisational contexts. However, in the Ugandan legal sector, there is limited empirical evidence to support the aforesaid assertion. To position the argument in the context of the Ugandan legal sector, primary data were collected from 120 respondents drawn purposively from six law firms in Kampala. The respondents included partners, solicitors, and administrators. A mixed methods explanatory design was adopted with phase one collecting quantitative data while phase two collected qualitative data. The findings revealed high extent of strategic planning, high firm performance among the firms studied, a positive and significant relationship between strategic planning and firm performance and a significant effect of business environment on both strategic planning and firm performance. Further, it was established that networks with the political and technical bureaucracy, the behaviour of the decision makers, firm leadership and operational tactics, networks in the social sphere, and international connections were considered to be the major factors driving performance of law firms besides strategic planning. The implication for practitioners and scholars is to focus attention on effective strategic planning and mechanisms for harnessing other factors that affect firm performance to realise higher firm results in the legal sector. Keywords strategy, strategic planning, firm performance, business environment, mixed methods.