Strategic Thinking in Jordanian Publicly Quoted Companies

Strategic thinking (ST) is a process by which managers and employees try to find alternative ways to solve problems in order to deal with rapid changes and forces in a business environment. Strategic thinking was established and has been used extensively in developed countries. However, strategic thinking in developing countries has received little attention.

The research described in this thesis is an attempt to assess the extent of knowledge of and familiarity with the concept and purpose of strategic thinking, as well as to assess the extent of practice of strategic thinking factors in Jordanian publicly quoted companies. Also, this research explores the barriers which prevent the practice of strategic thinking in these companies.

Data was collected by using both quantitative and qualitative methods (i.e. questionnaires and interviews) which were employed at three different levels of company structures. The questionnaires aimed to investigate knowledge of and familiarity with the concept and purpose of strategic thinking, the extent of strategic thinking practices, and the barriers which prevent the practice of strategic thinking in Jordanian publicly quoted companies. 336 questionnaires were collected from 112 Jordanian publicly quoted companies, followed by eight semi-structured interviews with eight of the companies to support the study objectives and to achieve a good understanding of strategic thinking practices in Jordanian companies.

The main findings of this research are that the surveyed companies in Jordan have good knowledge of and are familiar with the concept of strategic thinking; that the age of a company has a moderate relationship with knowledge of the concept and purpose of strategic thinking, while the size of a company has no relationship with knowledge of the concept and purpose of strategic thinking; and that few differences exist between the four business sectors concerning the contribution to knowledge of and familiarity with the concept and purpose of strategic thinking. The majority of surveyed companies in Jordan use strategic thinking skills extensively in their companies. The findings also show that Jordanian publicly quoted companies face different barriers which prevent the practice of strategic thinking in their companies.

The study makes an original contribution to academic and practical knowledge in the field of strategic management. This study is considered an important empirical study of strategic thinking practices in publicly quoted companies in Jordan. Some recommendations for further research have been derived from this study.