{"id":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2025"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwtsd/oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2025","repository":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","name":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","base_url":"https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"SME strategic regeneration: building a holistic framework for decision-making in managing growth uncertainties and market volatilities for SMEs in Malaysia","abstract":"This qualitative multiple case study research suggests an empirical approach with vantage points of Strategic Management, Strategic Innovations and Strategic Foresight perspectives to foster holistic decision-making for SME firms’ Strategic Regeneration impetuses at the onset of external environmental turbulence and discontinuous change. The study’s inductive approach focuses on a sensemaking approach for ‘meaningful’ discourse between SMEs’ owner-managers and its key stakeholders via institutionalising Dynamic Capabilities and ‘future-preparedness’ to read, recognise and react to strategic shifts concerning firm orientations in dealing with growth uncertainties and market volatilities at critical stages of the firm’s lifecycles. Four basic rationales for holistic decision-making framework were established based on critical review of the extant literature: (i) establishing strategic posture on Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous (VUCA) environments and crisis interventions; (ii) improving the management of strategic decisions and integrated resources; (iii) developing proficiency and focus on future strategic orientations; and (iv) implementing time-bounded pathways for strategy paradigms. In highly uncertain and volatile economic environments, anticipating change impetus and corollaries via a structured and dynamic platform to expound ambidexterity in strategy and strategic decision-making implementations were found to be purposeful and useful for SME firm’s strategic reform activities.Three case study impact clusters were compared with unit of analysis: (a) strategic postures; (b) strategic regeneration horizons; and (c) dynamic capability. This was accomplished via ten Malaysian SME firms sampled from five different industry/sectors for primary data collection. Through a set of 24 semi-structured interview questionnaires and use of interview templates, ten carefully selected key informants were fully interviewed and transcriptions were analysed using eleven thematic codes. The validation of seven research propositions developed for this study generated a coherent response with associated findings with contextual relevance and significance to the research aims and objectives. The conceptualisation of the ‘SME Strategic Regeneration’ framework further expounded recommendations on adoption of maturity model and strategic decision management best-practices to ‘rapidly’ improve strategy outcomes and efficacies, particularly for SMEs with highly turbulent crisis and acutely affected firms. Illustrated results from multiple case studies complemented the discovery of business recovery initiatives in Malaysian SMEs in several aspects, exhibiting valuable insights for further development and investigation. Findings from this study serves as the precursor to development of proponents to holistic decision-making and future-preparedness, for rapid and practical adoption by SMEs to tackle strategic issues of business continuity and sustainability throughout their active lifecycles, analogous to its maturity and evolution. Nonetheless, scarcity of research specific to Malaysian SMEs on this topic entails further development of future research into strategic decision management and strategy paradigms specific to SME domains.","abstract_html":"This qualitative multiple case study research suggests an empirical approach with vantage points of Strategic Management, Strategic Innovations and Strategic Foresight perspectives to foster holistic decision-making for SME firms’ Strategic Regeneration impetuses at the onset of external environmental turbulence and discontinuous change. The study’s inductive approach focuses on a sensemaking approach for ‘meaningful’ discourse between SMEs’ owner-managers and its key stakeholders via institutionalising Dynamic Capabilities and ‘future-preparedness’ to read, recognise and react to strategic shifts concerning firm orientations in dealing with growth uncertainties and market volatilities at critical stages of the firm’s lifecycles. Four basic rationales for holistic decision-making framework were established based on critical review of the extant literature: (i) establishing strategic posture on Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous (VUCA) environments and crisis interventions; (ii) improving the management of strategic decisions and integrated resources; (iii) developing proficiency and focus on future strategic orientations; and (iv) implementing time-bounded pathways for strategy paradigms. In highly uncertain and volatile economic environments, anticipating change impetus and corollaries via a structured and dynamic platform to expound ambidexterity in strategy and strategic decision-making implementations were found to be purposeful and useful for SME firm’s strategic reform activities.Three case study impact clusters were compared with unit of analysis: (a) strategic postures; (b) strategic regeneration horizons; and (c) dynamic capability. This was accomplished via ten Malaysian SME firms sampled from five different industry/sectors for primary data collection. Through a set of 24 semi-structured interview questionnaires and use of interview templates, ten carefully selected key informants were fully interviewed and transcriptions were analysed using eleven thematic codes. The validation of seven research propositions developed for this study generated a coherent response with associated findings with contextual relevance and significance to the research aims and objectives. The conceptualisation of the ‘SME Strategic Regeneration’ framework further expounded recommendations on adoption of maturity model and strategic decision management best-practices to ‘rapidly’ improve strategy outcomes and efficacies, particularly for SMEs with highly turbulent crisis and acutely affected firms. Illustrated results from multiple case studies complemented the discovery of business recovery initiatives in Malaysian SMEs in several aspects, exhibiting valuable insights for further development and investigation. Findings from this study serves as the precursor to development of proponents to holistic decision-making and future-preparedness, for rapid and practical adoption by SMEs to tackle strategic issues of business continuity and sustainability throughout their active lifecycles, analogous to its maturity and evolution. Nonetheless, scarcity of research specific to Malaysian SMEs on this topic entails further development of future research into strategic decision management and strategy paradigms specific to SME domains.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sapian, Deny Shazly"],"institution":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","degree_name":"dba","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-03","date_published":"2022-03","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:52:56Z","subjects":["HD28 Rheoli. 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In highly uncertain and volatile economic environments, anticipating change impetus and corollaries via a structured and dynamic platform to expound ambidexterity in strategy and strategic decision-making implementations were found to be purposeful and useful for SME firm’s strategic reform activities.Three case study impact clusters were compared with unit of analysis: (a) strategic postures; (b) strategic regeneration horizons; and (c) dynamic capability. This was accomplished via ten Malaysian SME firms sampled from five different industry/sectors for primary data collection. Through a set of 24 semi-structured interview questionnaires and use of interview templates, ten carefully selected key informants were fully interviewed and transcriptions were analysed using eleven thematic codes. 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Findings from this study serves as the precursor to development of proponents to holistic decision-making and future-preparedness, for rapid and practical adoption by SMEs to tackle strategic issues of business continuity and sustainability throughout their active lifecycles, analogous to its maturity and evolution. 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Findings from this study serves as the precursor to development of proponents to holistic decision-making and future-preparedness, for rapid and practical adoption by SMEs to tackle strategic issues of business continuity and sustainability throughout their active lifecycles, analogous to its maturity and evolution. 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