Strategic Management Practices and Organizational Performance in Emerging Markets: a literatur review

Abstract

Strategic management has become increasingly important for organizations operating in emerging markets, where economic uncertainty, institutional constraints, technological development, resource limitations, and intense competition create complex strategic challenges. This literature review examines strategic management practices and their relationship with organizational performance in emerging markets. The review synthesizes relevant scholarly literature concerning strategic planning, strategic leadership, innovation, resource management, environmental adaptation, organizational resilience, and competitive advantage. A qualitative literature-review approach was employed to identify, examine, categorize, and synthesize findings from relevant academic sources. The analysis indicates that strategic planning provides organizational direction and strengthens alignment between organizational objectives and available resources, while strategic leadership supports effective strategy implementation and organizational learning. Innovation contributes to competitiveness by enabling organizations to respond to changing customer needs, technological developments, and market pressures. Effective resource management is also essential because organizations in emerging markets frequently operate under financial, human, technological, and institutional constraints. Furthermore, the review demonstrates that strategic adaptability and environmental scanning are important for maintaining organizational resilience and responding to uncertainty. However, the relationship between strategic management practices and organizational performance is strongly influenced by contextual factors, including regulatory conditions, economic stability, technological readiness, organizational size, infrastructure, cultural characteristics, and competitive intensity. Overall, the review concludes that strategic management contributes to organizational performance when strategic practices are integrated, flexible, and aligned with the specific conditions of emerging markets. Organizations should therefore develop context-sensitive strategies that combine planning, leadership, innovation, resource optimization, and continuous adaptation to achieve sustainable performance and long-term competitive advantage.