Defining Corporate Strengths And Weaknesses: Is It Essential for Successful Strategy Implementation?

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Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of strategic planning, which is generally believed to lead to higher financial performance. The restaurant market appears to be saturated and the competitive environment is growing increasingly turbulent. Operators are facing tough conditions in which to try to survive. To succeed in this dynamic and increasingly competitive environment, restaurant managers must now systematically monitor trends, anticipate threats and opportunities, perform sound internal analyses of strengths and weakesses relative to the firms' capabilities and resources, and formulate effective strategies to gain a competitive advantage. A study was conducted to gain information on the strategic planning activity, and specifically the degree of internal strengths and weaknesses analysis performed by restaurant firms. One hundred and fifty randomly selected restaurant firms were sent a letter soliciting the chief executive officers' participation in the study. Telephone interviews using a structured questionnaire were conducted. Results of the survey indicated that two thirds of the firms engaged in planning activities of various degrees. A summary of how they conduct internal analysis is presented. A framework for conducting internal corporate strengths and weaknesses analysis is proposed for restaurant firms.