Influence of Strategic Planning on thePerformance of Telecommunication Industryin Somalia

Abstract

Despite notable growth, Somalia’s telecommunication industry faces persistent performancechallenges due to inadequate strategic planning, leading to inefficiencies, poor resource allocation, andlimited adaptability in a highly competitive and dynamic environment. This study investigated theinfluence of strategic planning on the performance of the telecommunication industry in Somalia. Theresearch adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collectiontechniques to provide comprehensive insights into the relationship between strategic planning practicesand industry performance. The study targeted 220 participants across 22 registered telecommunicationfirms in major urban centers including Mogadishu, Hargeisa, and Kismayo. Respondents includedtelecommunication managers, strategic planning staff, innovation strategy personnel, and customerrelationship managers. Using census sampling, the research achieved an exceptional response rate of90.5%, with 199 completed questionnaires. Data collection employed structured questionnaires withquantitative analysis conducted using SPSS version 28. The findings revealed strong positive perceptionsregarding strategic planning practices in Somalia’s telecommunications industry. The analysis revealeda strong correlation coefficient (R = 0.742) and explanatory power (R² = 0.551), indicating thatstrategic planning accounts for 55.1% of variance in industry performance. The regression model provedstatistically significant (F = 242.358, p < 0.001), with standardized coefficient (￿ = 0.742) confirmingthe positive relationship. For every unit increase in strategic planning implementation, performanceincreased by 0.684 units. The study concluded that strategic planning serves as a critical predictor oforganizational performance in Somalia’s telecommunications sector, supporting the rejection of the nullhypothesis. The study recommended that telecommunication companies in Somalia should prioritizestrategy evaluation and control systems, establish performance monitoring frameworks, invest in dataanalytics, and build institutional capacity to adapt strategies in response to changing market conditionsand evaluation findings.