Abstract
This research analysed the approach of business leaders in a global entity, a
petrochemical company in South Africa, to strategy execution. World-wide, the
modern business environment is characterised by the rapid rate of globalisation,
hyper-competition, an ever-changing business environment, and recently, the
Covid-19 pandemic. Such pressures add to the need for effective execution of
formulated strategies timeously and successfully. The primary objective of this
study was to understand how top to middle management leaders in a large
petrochemical company in South Africa approach strategy execution.
The literature review revealed that many large complex organisations struggle
to implement their strategy execution plans, however clear they may seem
during the strategic management process. The study also revealed that
although a concerted effort has been made to elevate strategy formulation to a
science, much less effort has been made to execute strategy practically.
The research approach was qualitative. Data was collected through in-depth
online interviews with executive, senior and middle managers in the company.
The study focused on leaders’ approach to strategy execution. Through an
extensive literature review, analysis and discussions, it was found that like most
large complex organisations, the participating organisation had formulated good
corporate strategies over the years but faulted in executing the planned
strategy. The reasons included lack of involvement of middle to junior
employees in formulation of the corporate strategy, to haphazard emergent
strategy execution processes. These may result in misalignment, and failure of
middle management leaders to buy into the strategy, inter alia. This
exacerbates the weak buy-in of the formulated strategy by the employees and
other stakeholders in the organisation. Recommendations were made for
practical improvements, including a need for a bottom-up (middle to junior
employees) involvement in strategy formulation to ensure buy in and clear
strategy communication for successful strategy execution.