Factors leading to successful strategy execution for software vendors in South Africa

Abstract

Strategy execution is a major challenge in most businesses in South Africa. A lot of research has been done on this subject and it has revealed that strategy execution is most important for any business to sustain itself. Successful execution will ensure that the business positions itself to survive and remain relevant, as long as the strategy formulation was done with vision and foresight. The purpose of this research is to identify factors that lead to the successful execution of strategy in the software vendors in South Africa. This report will further establish if there are commonalities in these key success factors and if there are any similarities. Key success factors leading to successful strategy execution are those competitive factors that most affect industry members' ability to prosper in the market place. These factors are presented in this research in relation to companies operating within the South African environment. This study also intended to confirm that factors leading to successful strategy execution might have been unsuccessful in similar companies during another era. Strategy execution involves a series of steps that needs to be implemented, not necessarily in order. Furthermore, the reasons for the factors that affect successful strategy execution were gleaned from the perceptions and views of the respondents who have been involved in implementing the factors that led to successful strategy execution. These respondents were selected because they are either involved with or the owners of the strategic plans they are driving to execute in their respective organisations. They witnessed either the success or failure of some of these factors in the strategy execution process. Successful execution were determined by the profitability of the organisation, growth in market share, market size and market profile as well as the sustainability of the business model. This report determines and highlights these factors that lead to successful strategy execution in South Africa.