CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This study investigates the impact of having strategic planning in place on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) from a Nigerian perspective. It is intended to assess the attitudes and perceptions of SME owners and managers in Nigeria towards strategic planning, in order to substantiate empirically the presence or absence of strategic planning practices among Nigerian SMEs and to determine whether embracing formal planning impacts on performance.
This will be a mixed method research. The study follows the structure of Collins et al. (2006) who conceptualized three phases for mixed research: research formulation, planning, and implementation. Collins et al. further suggest that research components such as setting the aims and objectives of the study, defining the rationale for the research and for the choice of mixed methods, the purpose of mixing and the research question and hypothesis take place at this stage. Hence, the basis for this chapter is to develop the research formulation idea in terms of defining a rationale for the research by outlining the background to the study, the aim and objectives, the research problem, the research questions, and the justification (both personal and academic) for undertaking the study. It also presents what the study intends to achieve (both in terms of adding to knowledge and making a difference in the real world), the theoretical background to the study and the general research approach for the thesis and the research hypothesis.
1.1 Background to the study
Evidence from empirical studies available suggested that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have made and still do make a very notable contribution to the Nigerian economy, which has been lauded by all and sundry for its role in cushioning the severe unemployment rate in Nigeria (Anigbogu et al., 2014; Eniola, 2014; Safiriyu and Njogo, 2012; Bowale, 2013). It has also been suggested that small and