THE EFFECT OF THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT TOOLS ON SMES' FIRM PERFORMANCE

Growing importance of notions of productivity and efficiency which generates basic focus and domain of firms the attention for strategic management have been increasing. This increasing attention is also resulting in increasing competition and changes in its formation. Markets have switched into regional or international rather than local and national. Firms need to have a strategic point of view and use strategic management tools. The above-mentioned concepts are generally used in big firms. However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have an important role in countries' economies thanks to their contribution to social development and employment. In Turkey, 99% of firms are SME. Regarding the importance of SMEs in the country's economy, this study aims to reveal if owners/managers of SMEs know about strategic management tools, if they know which tools they use, levels of satisfaction with these tools and which tools they plan to use in the future. Additionally, the study seeks priorities of owners/managers when choosing a strategic management tool and effect of level of using these tools on firm performance. (c) 2017 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk