Identifying key success factors of strategic planning 
in retail branches of a South African bank 
 
 
 
Benjamin Maseko 
22591699 
 
 
 
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the 
degree Master of Business Administration at the Potchefstroom 
Business School, Vanderbijlpark Campus of the North-West 
University. 
 
 
 
Supervisor: Prof RA Lotriet 
November 2012 
  
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ABSTRACT  
This study focused on identification of success factors of strategy implementation in 
retail branches of a bank. 
The objective of this study was to identify and investigate the possible factors which 
influence successful implementation of strategic plans in a retail banking 
environment. In doing so, establish various factors that inhibit successful strategy 
implementation and explore approaches or best practices that could be adopted to 
facilitate effective implementation of strategic decisions. 
The data was collected through questionnaires distributed to the branch managers of 
the institution. 153 respondents out of a population of 615 participated in the study. 
The results showed that understanding one’s local market, knowing your customer, 
communication, leadership, culture-strategy alignment, resources-strategy 
alignment, rewards and tactical plan are the top success factors of strategy 
implementation within branches of this bank. 
 
Key terms:  Strategy, strategy planning, strategy management process, success 
factors, banking, branch managers. 
  
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
 
I would like to acknowledge the people that were instrumental in supporting me and 
who contributed greatly to the study.  

 Firstly, my supervisor, Prof. Ronnie Lotriet, for the dedication and professional 
guidance offered to me during the research process. 

 Sibu Ndzukuma and Robert Hall for your assistance in the data analysis. 

 My colleagues for the motivation and support: Lucas, Martin, ML and the 
strategy team – you guys are the best. 

 My  family  for  their  continuous  support , unconditional  love  and 
encouragement.  

 Ms Antoinette Bisschoff for all your help with language editing of this piece of 
work. 

 The respondents – branch managers - for their willingness to take part in the 
study. 

 And lastly, my friends and syndicate group for being there.  
I also acknowledge the power of The Heavenly Father, who has always been there 
to give me the strength and inspiration to keep on working and complete this study.  
 
The author 
2012  
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... II 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... III 
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... viii 
LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................... ix 
 
CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................... 1 
NATURE AND SCOPE OF STUDY ........................................................................... 1 
1.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT .................................................................................... 3 
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ........................................................................... 4 
1.3.1 Primary research objective............................................................................. 4 
1.3.2 Secondary research objectives ...................................................................... 4 
1.4 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .................................................... 4 
1.4.1 Research paradigm ......................................................................................... 5 
1.4.2 Population ........................................................................................................ 5 
1.4.3 The sample....................................................................................................... 5 
1.4.4. Research limitations ...................................................................................... 5 
1.5 CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY ....................................................................... 6 
1.6 ASSUMPTIONS ON WHICH THE RESEARCH IS BASED ................................ 7 
1.7 LAYOUT OF THE STUDY ................................................................................... 7 
1.7 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 8 
 
CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................... 9 
THE STRATEGY MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND THE BANKING INDUSTRY .... 9 
2.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 9 
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2.1.1 Globalisation and competition ..................................................................... 10 
2.1.2 Electronic banking ........................................................................................ 10 
2.1.3 Key Success Factors (KSFS) ....................................................................... 12 
2.2 AN OVERVIEW OF STRATEGY. ...................................................................... 12 
2.3 THE CONTEMPORARY GENERIC STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS 16 
2.3.1 Conceptualisation ......................................................................................... 16 
2.3.2 Strategic management .................................................................................. 17 
2.3.3 The design approach to strategic management ......................................... 18 
2.3.4 Strategic management process ................................................................... 19 
2.3.2.1 Strategy formulation ..................................................................................... 25 
2.3.2.2 Strategy implementation ............................................................................... 27 
2.4 STRATEGIC PROCESS IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY .................................. 30 
2.4.1 Deregulation .................................................................................................. 30 
2.4.2. A brief overview of the south african banking sector ............................... 31 
2.4.3 The return to retail banking – shifts in strategy ......................................... 33 
2.4.4 Concerns in the banking industry ............................................................... 34 
2.4.5 Alignment of strategy ................................................................................... 34 
2.4.6 The strategic management process followed by banks ............................ 35 
2.4.6.1 Strategic planning and formulation ............................................................... 36 
2.4.6.2 Implementation of strategy ........................................................................... 38 
2.5 AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ROLL-OUT AT YYY 
BANK ....................................................................................................................... 39 
2.5.1 The strategic plan at yyy bank ..................................................................... 41 
2.5.2 Strategic management process at YYY bank.............................................. 44 
2.5.2.1 Strategic formulation at YYY bank ................................................................ 44 
2.5.2.2 Strategy implementation at YYY bank .......................................................... 45 
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2.5.2.3 Creating strategic awareness ....................................................................... 46 
2.5.2.4 Monitor, evaluate and improve ..................................................................... 46 
2.5.2.4.1 Balanced scorecard ................................................................................... 47 
2.5.2.4.2 Dashboards ............................................................................................... 48 
2.5.3 Branch managers as implementers of strategy.......................................... 49 
2.5.4 Innovation as a strategic tool ....................................................................... 50 
2.6 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 51 
 
CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................. 53 
EMPIRICAL STUDY ................................................................................................ 53 
3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 53 
3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 53 
3.2.1 Statistical techniques used in the research ................................................ 53 
3.3 TARGET POPULATION .................................................................................... 55 
3.4 DATA COLLECTION ......................................................................................... 56 
3.4.1 Questionnaire ................................................................................................ 56 
3.4.2 Questionnaire construction.......................................................................... 57 
3.4.3 Questionnaire administration ....................................................................... 57 
3.6 DATA ANALYSIS .............................................................................................. 58 
3.6.1 EXPLORING DATA ........................................................................................ 58 
3.6.1.1 Demographic items ...................................................................................... 58 
3.6.1.2 Likert scale items .......................................................................................... 61 
3.6.1.3 Correlations between likert scale items ........................................................ 62 
3.6.2 Factor analysis .............................................................................................. 62 
3.6.2.1 Sample adequacy and sphericity tests ......................................................... 62 
3.6.2.2 Factor extraction ........................................................................................... 63 
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3.6.2.3 Reliability analysis ........................................................................................ 64 
3.6.2.4 Creation of constructs .................................................................................. 65 
3.6.2.5 Descriptive statistics of constructs ................................................................ 65 
3.6.2.6 Construct correlations .................................................................................. 70 
3.6.2.7 Analysis of variance (anova) -the influence of the demographic profile of 
respondents upon the mean score of the constructs. ................................... 71 
3.6.2.7.1 Gender ...................................................................................................... 72 
3.6.2.7.2 Age distribution of the respondents ........................................................... 73 
3.6.2.7.3 Years with the bank ................................................................................... 75 
3.6.2.7.4 Province where the respondents reside .................................................... 76 
3.7 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 80 
 
CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................. 82 
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................ 82 
4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 82 
4.2 SUMMARY OF THE MAIN RESEARCH FINDINGS ......................................... 82 
4.3 STUDY EVALUATION ....................................................................................... 85 
4.4 RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................... 86 
4.5 FURTHER RESEARCH ..................................................................................... 86 
4.6 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 87 
 
LIST OF REFERENCES .......................................................................................... 88 
ANNEXURE A: COVER LETTER ............................................................................ 95 
ANNEXURE B: SUMMARY OF LIKERT SCALE ITEMS ...................................... 100 
ANNEXURE C: FACTOR EXTRACTION .............................................................. 108 
ANNEXURE D: LETTER FROM LANGUAGE EDITOR ........................................ 109 
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LIST OF TABLES 
 
TABLE 2.1 MAJOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS OF STRATEGY ............................ 15 
TABLE 2.2 “BIG FOUR” AND THEIR MARKET SHARE (JUNE 2011) .................... 33 
TABLE 3.3 KMO AND BARTLETT'S TEST .............................................................. 63 
TABLE 3.4 SUMMARY OF CONSTRUCTS TESTED FOR RELIABILITY ............... 64 
TABLE 3.3 CONSTRUCTS ...................................................................................... 65 
TABLE 3.4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS – FACTORS ORDERED BY  
IMPORTANCE....................................................................................... 66 
TABLE 3.5 INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS 
REGARDING THE CONSTRUCT DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS ........... 67 
TABLE 3.6 CONSTRUCT CORRELATION MATRIX ............................................... 71 
TABLE 3.7 THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER UPON THE MEAN SCORE OF THE 
CONSTRUCTS ...................................................................................... 72 
TABLE 3.8 THE INFLUENCE OF AGE DISTRIBUTION UPON THE MEAN  
SCORE OF THE CONSTRUCTS .......................................................... 73 
TABLE 3.9 THE INFLUENCE OF YEARS WITH THE BANK UPON THE MEAN 
SCORE OF THE CONSTRUCTS .......................................................... 75 
TABLE 3.10 THE INFLUENCE OF PROVINCE UPON THE MEAN SCORE OF THE 
CONSTRUCTS ...................................................................................... 76 
TABLE 3.11 THE INFLUENCE OF PROVINCES ON SUPPORT STRUCTURE  .... 79 
TABLE 3.12 THE INFLUENCE OF PROVINCES ON BANK'S STRATEGY ............ 79 
TABLE 3.13 THE INFLUENCE OF PROVINCES ON PERFORMANCE ................. 80 
TABLE A2: QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................................. 96 
TABLE B1 SUMMARY OF LIKERT SCALE ITEMS ............................................... 100 
TABLE B2 CORRELATION MATRIX – QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS ........................ 103 
TABLE B2.  ITEM STATISTICS - FACTORS ......................................................... 104 
TABLE C1: FACTOR EXTRACTION...................................................................... 108 
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LIST OF FIGURES 
 
FIGURE 2.1: COMPONENTS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS .......... 23 
FIGURE 2.2: THE 10 BASIC TASKS OF THE STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION 
PROCESS .......................................................................................... 29 
FIGURE 2.3: YYY BANK ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE .................................. 40 
FIGURE 2.4: YYY BANK’S VISUAL DISPLAY OF THE STRATEGY MODEL ......... 41 
FIGURE 2.5: AN EXAMPLE OF A DASHBOARD .................................................... 49 
FIGURE 3.1: GENDER OF RESPONDENTS .......................................................... 59 
FIGURE 3.2: AGE DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS ........................................ 59 
FIGURE 3.3: YEARS WITH THE BANK ................................................................... 60 
FIGURE 3.4: PROVINCE ......................................................................................... 61 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER 1 
NATURE AND SCOPE OF STUDY 
 
1.1 Introduction 
The business world has entered a new frontier in the 21st century comprising of 
rapid, unpredictable change and substantial uncertainty that are transforming the 
nature of competition. In today's business world, success requires new managerial 
mindsets that emphasise global markets, strategic flexibility, and the ability to 
tolerate and harness change (Schaap, 2006). Organisations that achieve their goals 
in the long-term "plan their work and work their plan." Realisation of strategy — the 
long-term vision of an organisation, is achieved by a disciplined approach to setting 
direction and then executing that direction through the effective use of an 
organisation's resources — its processes, capital, and people (Watson, 2005). 
According to Schaap (2006), this new business setting requires new forms of 
managerial thinking and organisational structures, global mindsets, considerable 
strategic and structural flexibility, and innovative methods for implementing 
strategies. A scientific re-awakening will bring about the rise of new industries, 
change how businesses compete, and possibly transform how companies are 
managed. 
Strategy plans outline an organisation’s intended approach for achieving its mission. 
There are many ways to conduct strategic planning, most of which result in a plan or 
set of plans that articulate organisational goals and a high-level strategy for 
achieving them. Although the purpose of strategic planning is straightforward —
outlining where an organisation wants to go and how it is going to get there — its 
nature is complex and dynamic. According to Angel (2008), creating really good 
strategy is not a trivial task. Moreover, it can be all for nothing if the execution is 
flawed. The big question is what produces better results, good strategy poorly 
executed or poor strategy well executed. This is hard to determine in practice, 
because the boundaries between strategy crafting, also called strategy formulation, 
and execution or implementation can be quite hard to identify. As Kaplan and Norton 
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(2005) observe, there is a pervasive failure to balance the tension between strategy 
and execution. 
Strategic planning is an important element in an organisation’s strategic 
management. Generally, strategic planning involves activities which are done to 
identify business mission, long-term objectives, opportunities and threats of an 
organisation, determining alternative strategies and finally choosing the strategies 
that have to be adopted in order to achieve the company’s objectives. The 
successful organisation currently realises the importance of planning strategically in 
order to achieve its business goals (Abd Ghani et al., 2010). 
Every organisation that is involved in business activities has to implement its own 
planning system and strategies in its daily operation. Abd Ghani et al. (2010) state 
that most organisations operate their businesses just by using the traditional practice 
inherited from generation to generation or just following their intuition. However, this 
practice is not practical anymore since the world has become borderless. As a result, 
these organisations need to have a systematic planning and management practice in 
order to ensure their success and to compete with each other in this competitive 
world.  
In this study, the retail bank branch managers are the subjects. Ask these managers 
about the state of their competitive environment and most will confirm that product 
life cycles are shortening, technology is changing faster and faster, customers are 
becoming more demanding and competition is intensifying. Simply put, Brews and 
Purohit (2007) state that environments are not getting more stable or any easier to 
compete in and therefore an important question is how planning should adjust in the 
face of these challenging contexts. 
The implementation of a crafted strategy has a huge impact on an organisation’s 
overall success, thus a strategy can add value to the organisation only if it is 
successfully implemented (Smith, 2011). It is imperative therefore, to affirm that each 
branch’s (as an organisation) strategy implementation process is unique, and 
management should identify what needs to be done to guide employees or 
subordinates to perform the required actions or show the needed behaviour for 
successful implementation. 
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In this research, the problem statement and objectives of the study are outlined 
firstly. A theoretical overview of strategy planning and implementation literature, are 
then provided. 
In the next sections, the research methodology and empirical results are provided. 
Lastly, the main conclusions and managerial implications of the study are 
highlighted. 
 
1.2 Problem statement 
Strategy implementation is viewed as an integral part of the strategic management 
process; however managers do not pay as much attention to planning the 
implementation of their strategies as they do to strategy formulation. Despite 
acknowledged importance of strategy implementation, limited research has been 
done in this field (Smith, 2011; Shah, 2005). 
Strategy is formulated by senior management of the organisation, but executed by 
employees on the ground (branches in the bank). Thus, alignment within the 
organisation is required in order to execute strategy. The majority of organisations 
fail to implement or execute because they do not focus resources on priorities, and in 
a majority of cases, employees have not been informed or are not aware of the 
strategy. Implementation of strategy is operationally defined as those branch 
managers’ behaviour and activities that will transform a working plan into a concrete 
reality. 
The nature and scope of this research are based in the confluence of the areas of 
business strategy, strategy planning and strategy implementation. Thus, addressing 
this problem naturally requires a review of the literature on business strategy, on 
strategy planning and on strategy implementation or execution. 
  
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1.3 Objectives of the study 
The objectives of this research are categorised in two levels of primary and 
secondary objectives, as follows: 
 
1.3.1 Primary research objective 
The primary objective of this study is to identify and investigate the possible factors 
which influence successful implementation of strategic plans in a retail banking 
environment. This research will confirm the existence of these factors, measure the 
influence of and provide insights in execution of plans. 
 
1.3.2 Secondary research objectives 
In addressing these primary objectives, the following secondary objectives have 
been identified: 
• To investigate the influence of demographic profile on the success 
factors. 
• To identify, where possible, effective or ineffective management 
behaviour and what are considered success factors encountered by 
branch managers who have tried to implement their strategic plans.  
 
1.4 Research Design and Methodology  
 
This section outlines the research methodology followed in this study. 
  
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1.4.1 Research paradigm 
The empirical research was done through the analysis of quantitative data. The 
questionnaire was compiled by the author and aligned with the research objectives, 
after a thorough investigation has been done on tactical planning workshops with the 
branch managers and regional managers. This structured questionnaire was also 
informed by the literature review and formulated to find answers to the important 
success factors in strategy implementation. 
Data gathering in this study included comprehensive literature review and field 
investigation. Books, journals and internet were also used for subjective 
fundamentals and study literature. 
 
1.4.2 Population 
The target population of this study can be regarded as all branch managers of YYY 
Bank’s branches. There are currently about 615 of these branches. A structured 
questionnaire was distributed to branch managers of the institution, with the aim to 
obtain responses from them (information and opinion on the current strategy 
implementation success factors). 
 
1.4.3 The sample 
A structured questionnaire was distributed electronically to all 615 branch managers 
of YYY Bank and 153 responded by the cut-off date. The sampling method used was 
stratified random sampling with convenience. 
 
1.4.4. Research limitations 
The sample was drawn from one institution or specific bank’s (YYY Bank) branches 
and may not be relatable to other banks, thus the external validity of the study is 
limited (i.e., the fact that the study is focused on one institution, the possibility exists 
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that the participants might respond positively with the aim  to reflect a good picture of 
their branches). Another constraint of this study is that the answers provided by the 
participants, are only the perceptions of the branch managers as to what factors 
might have contributed to the success or failure of strategy implementation. Excuses 
that might also be given as reasons for not implementing strategies, for example, 
remuneration related problems, could be mentioned during the research process. 
The unit of analysis is thought to be familiar with the operation of the institution and 
therefore should fairly provide the needed information. 
The other limitation is that the sample size was low based on the recommendation 
that EFA needs at least 5 times the number of Likert scale questions (5 * 72) which 
is 360, therefore factors might be suspect due to insufficient data. 
The nature of confidentiality of the bank’s name also was a limitation. 
 
1.5 Contribution to the study 
A preliminary review of the literature has been conducted with a view to locate the 
proposed research within the broader field of study. An extensive literature study 
was performed to aid in meeting the goals of this study. The literature utilised falls 
into three categories, namely: strategy, strategy planning, and strategy management 
process. 
The study is anticipated to determine factors contributing to successful strategy 
implementation of the organisation. Based on the understanding of the problem, 
management could be advised on available scientific alternatives to tackle strategy 
implementation problems. By creating an understanding of the specific problems, 
management would be able to devise appropriate actions to address it and improve 
the organisation’s operation. The recommendations could also be used to evaluate 
the strategy implementation processes of the organisation. 
 
  
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1.6 Assumptions on which the research is based  
In this study it is assumed that the implementation of a strategic organisational plan 
or guideline will support the overall competitiveness of the company, and that the 
implementation of such a plan is imperative to grow from a market follower and 
challenger to one of pre-eminence. 
 
1.7 Layout of the study 
Chapter 1 – NATURE AND SCOPE OF STUDY: contains the scope and nature of 
this study. The chapter includes an introduction, problem statement as well as the 
primary and secondary objectives of this study. The research methodology, 
questionnaire layout and limitations also form part of chapter one. The chapter is 
concluded with a layout of the study. 
Chapter 2 – THE STRATEGY MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND THE BANKING 
INDUSTRY:  the theory of the strategic management process is explored by means 
of a literature study. This will serve as one of the pillars for the framework that will be 
developed as the main objective of this study. The literature review includes defining 
strategy and the strategic management process according to various sources. 
Chapter 3 – EMPIRICAL STUDY:  the empirical research was done through the 
analysis of quantitative data. The design of the questionnaire is discussed and a 
statistical analysis from the data enclosed. Empirical results are interpreted and 
discussed to determine success factors in the implementation of strategy in 
branches of YYY Bank. A summary of this is also provided. 
Chapter 4 – CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: provides the 
conclusions and recommendations in context to the research findings obtained from 
the questionnaires. Possible recommendations with regard to the different sections, 
are also provided. 
 
  
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1.7 Summary 
Various studies on strategy implementation have highlighted the perception of 
managers that confirms the assumption on strategy implementation as the 
responsibility of operational personnel and not the responsibility of managers. 
Needless to say that the managers are there to serve as strategic executives whose 
only responsibilities are to plan the future direction of the organisation. 
The researcher took a wide-spread approach survey as a research design.  The 
questionnaire instrument was directed to branch managers to obtain valuable insight 
into factors attributed to a successful strategy implementation.  
  
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CHAPTER 2 
THE STRATEGY MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND THE BANKING INDUSTRY 
 
2.1 Introduction 
This chapter will review and discuss the relevant theories and concepts surrounding 
the research problem. The main research question addressed by the study is to 
assess the role of branch managers and the key success factors in the 
implementation of strategy in a retail bank setup. In order to address the above 
research question, the study explores the secondary research objectives indicated in 
section 4.2 of Chapter 1.  
Retail banks exist to service the financial needs of business and society. They 
compete by providing retail banking services to spatially dispersed consumers for a 
fee, and these transactions can be provided through different distribution 
technologies, for example, branches, automated teller machines (ATMs), Internet 
banking and the like. Banking institutions according to Byers and Lederer (2001), 
may differ in their choice of distribution strategy. Consumers differ in their sensitivity 
to different variables such as price, preference for distribution technology, and 
average distance from a retail bank. Market demand for transactions is a decreasing 
function of consumer costs, including price and convenience costs. Banks differ in 
cost structure and distribution technology choices (Byers & Lederer, 2001). 
Competition between banking institutions is modelled following a variation of the 
"perfect competition" model, that is, banks are “price takers”, meaning that they are 
usually forced to go with the market price if they want to sell its goods (Byers & 
Lederer, 2001). 
 
  
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2.1.1 Globalisation and Competition 
The process of globalisation has brought about many changes in the global banking 
industry, and as a result, new banks have entered the South African banking 
industry, further intensifying the competition. Consequent to the globalisation, the 
Government of South Africa has liberalised its trade policies. In line with the spirit of 
free trade, the face of the banking industry has seen changes. This new entrants and 
foreign banks have more customer-centric policies, new attractive proposals, high 
quality services and computerised branches. All these services attract more and 
more customers to their banks. According to Byers and Lederer (2001) the retail 
banking industry has experienced major changes in 21st century. These changes 
include increased competition among banks and non-banks, evolution in customer 
preferences, and technological advances in bank distribution systems. With 
deregulation of the financial services sector, non-banks can currently compete with 
banks, and banks can provide services in formerly prohibited geographical areas. 
The rise of technology has created a group of customers with the ability and desire 
to conduct remote transactions. Technological advances have shifted retail banking's 
historical reliance on branches. The retail banking institutions have expressed a 
desire to reduce the number of bank branches and shift transactions to lower-cost 
electronic channels (Byers and Lederer, 2001). 
The constant growth of South African economic conditions has also formed a fierce 
competition among South African banks. This fierce competition has forced South 
African banks to execute their optimalised strategy in order to deal with the 
competitive environment. Therefore, the role of branch managers within the banking 
institutions as the executor of the strategy becomes crucial.  
 
2.1.2 Electronic banking 
In the world of Internet banking, the old competitive value of one-stop shopping and 
established relationships that banks have enjoyed is declining. The winner in any 
contest for a customer’s business is less likely to be the primary bank and more 
likely to be the financial institution that provides the best offer for that particular 
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product or service. Through its strategic planning process, YYY Bank has realised 
that banks will not become obsolete, but their current business operations will. The 
smartest institutions will transform themselves into innovative navigators or 
facilitating agents. The business of banking will be the business of helping customers 
to navigate the Internet and electronics to get the best deal possible on products and 
services to meet their financial needs. This analysis persuaded YYY Bank’s senior 
management that a new strategic direction has been necessary to ensure long-term 
growth and profitability for the bank. The new direction has been labelled the 
electronic banking migration (e-banking migration) and it symbolises a change from 
the type of growth that the bank has achieved through building and leasing branches 
to an innovative one where new business would come from the bank’s role as an 
efficient electronic financial navigator - “Anywhere, Anytime Banking”.  
In improving the efficiency and profitability, Uppal (2010) suggests the following 
measures: 
• Banks should design efficient plans to earn more income from different 
sources. 
• They should adopt more and more new technologies and innovations to 
increase their efficiency and productivity. 
• Services and products should be provided to the customers according to their 
needs and expectations. 
• In today’s competitive environment, information technology plays an important 
role in every industry. 
• Banks also should be fully computerised and should be in a position to 
provide services to their customers through the Internet and other e-channels. 
 
  
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2.1.3 Key Success Factors (KSFs)  
KSFs, also called critical success factors (CSFs), are the essential ingredients that 
allow a company to sustain a long-term competitive advantage. They are critical in 
order for an organisation to achieve its mission. Examining the company’s KSFs will 
help to better understand the nature of the company and how it operates (both 
internal and external). KSFs are the driving force behind every successful company. 
Companies must try to capitalise on their KSFs while at the same time recognise and 
strengthen their weaknesses. These factors are readily evident or sometimes 
invisible. They define durable activities that an organisation must undertake in order 
to achieve its mission. KSFs are evident at all management levels (Meibodi & 
Monavvarian, 2010). KSFs determine those performance fields that managers must 
manage constantly. These factors are of utmost importance in strategy execution 
(Meibodi & Monavvarian, 2010). 
 
2.2 An overview of strategy 
A historical perspective reveals the military roots of the word strategy. In ancient 
Greece the word ‘strategos’ has been referred to as the role of an individual – a 
general in command of an army (Louw and Venter, 2006). Strategy has been 
represented as an art in general and as a set of behavioural and psychological skills 
of an individual. Pericles 450 BC has linked the word strategy to managerial skills for 
the first time in history, and Alexander the Great has defined strategy in 330 BC as a 
skill of employing forces to overcome opposition and to create a unified system of 
global governance. Sun Tzu’s primal work, The Art of War, is regarded as the first 
formal treatise on strategy: ‘All men can see the tactics by which I conquer, but what 
none can see is the strategy out of which great victory is evolved.’ Only in the 
twentieth century has the concept of strategy gained prominence in the business 
world (Ghemawat, 2001). Military and business strategy share some common 
concepts and principles, particularly strategy and tactics. A tactic is a plan for 
specific action, while strategy is the overall scheme for leveraging resources to 
obtain a competitive advantage (Louw and Venter, 2006). 
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Strategic decisions, whether in the military or business sphere, share common 
characteristics (Johnson & Scholes, 2002; Lynch, 2003): 
• Strategy is concerned with long-term direction and sustainable 
decisions. 
• Strategies offer a competitive advantage. 
• Strategy exploits linkages between the internal and external 
environments (the so-called “strategic link”). 
• Strategies require major resources. 
• Strategies develop processes to achieve its purpose. 
• Strategies are likely to affect operational decisions. 
• Strategies affect the values and expectations of stakeholders. 
• Strategies are influenced by vision – the ability to move forward. 
Academic underpinnings of the field of strategic management can be traced back to 
the beginnings of the twentieth century (Kalpic et al., 2012). In 1912, the Harvard 
Business School introduced a capstone course in Business Policy, which was 
designed to integrate knowledge gained in functional areas like accounting, 
operations and finance, thereby giving a broader perspective on the strategic 
problems faced by corporate executives. Research has confirmed that an 
organisation’s strategy is more important to its performance than industry context 
(Heracleous, 2003).  
Strategy can therefore be understood as a metaphor that spans the functional areas 
in business. What is more, strategy making is a genuine inter-disciplinary field 
involving economics, management, organisational theory and law. This inter-
disciplinary nature of strategy making and the multi-faceted phenomena that 
influence strategic behaviour of a company, increase the ambiguity of any strategy. 
In order to present various perspectives on strategy, different authors use different 
classifications:  
• Mintzberg (1998) operates with the popular ten major schools of thoughts.  
• Whittington (1993) offers a typology of four generic perspectives on strategies 
namely classical, evolutionary, systemic and processual.  
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• Ghemawat (2001) identifies four basic stages that involve grappling with 
increasing levels of dynamism, multidimensionality and uncertainty and 
therefore become less amenable to routine quantitative analysis.  
• Chaffee (1985) has provided classified strategy into three models: linear, 
adaptive and interpretive strategy. Of these three, the linear model focuses on 
planning. According to the linear view, strategy consists of integrated 
decisions, actions, or plans that will be set to achieve organisational goals. 
Both the goals and the means of achieving them are results of strategic 
decision. In the adaptive model of strategy, the organisation is continually 
evaluating its external and internal conditions. The main concern here is the 
development of a viable match between the opportunities and risks presented 
in the external environment and the organisation’s capabilities and resources 
for exploiting these opportunities. The interpretive model of strategy is 
associated with the social and cultural aspects of an organisation. Strategy is 
about conveying meanings, by using orienting metaphors or frames of 
reference that are intended to motivate stakeholders in ways that favour the 
organisation 
This field of strategy is considered to be fragmented (Volberda, 2004). Other 
authors, according to Bodhanya (2009), distinguish between strategy content, 
strategy process and the context in which strategy happens. Although strategy may 
be applied to the public sector (Ferlie, 2002) and other settings (Whittington et al., 
2002), much of the field of strategy is still concerned with commercial organisations. 
One of many ways of exploring the strategy landscape is to examine what the key 
concerns or questions are. Table 2.1 below identifies the major issues and concerns 
of strategists based on the overall sense of the field drawing from both the literature 
and Bodhanya’s (2009) experience of working in the strategy field.  
 
  
Page | 15  
 
 
 
Table 2.1 Major issues and concerns of strategy 
What is the purpose of the organisation?  
What is our vision or strategic intent?  
What is our mandate and whose interests do we serve?  
What is the industry that we operate in?  
What are the characteristics of this industry?  
What are the “rules of the game” in this industry?  
What are the characteristics of industry growth?  
What are the critical success factors to thrive in this industry?  
What are the entry and exit barriers in this industry?  
What business are we in?  
Who are our suppliers and customers?  
What is our bargaining power over them?  
How do we segment the market and which segments do we serve?  
Which geographical areas do we serve?  
What is our share of the market?  
What products or services do we offer?  
How do we distinguish our products or services?  
Who are our competitors?  
How do we gain advantage over our competitors?  
What resources, skills, technology, knowledge and capabilities do we have?  
How do we deploy these for competitive advantage?  
How do we fund our activities?   
Who are our funders?   
What returns do they expect?  
How can we reshape the “rules of the game” to our advantage?  
How can we get efficiencies in what we are doing?  
What alliances and partnerships should we engage in?  
Source: (Bodhanya, 2009) 
Although this set of questions may not be exhaustive, it provides the broad scope of 
the concerns of strategy (Bodhanya, 2009). The questions are not distinct and are 
Page | 16  
 
 
 
usually not considered in isolation from each other. Many strategy tools and 
techniques are essentially a construction, based on a combination of a small subset 
of these questions, in the form of a matrix or some other relationship grid. For 
example, Porter’s five forces model is basically a consideration of a subset of 
questions related to the characteristics of the industry and the relative bargaining 
power of key stakeholders. By crossing the questions about which markets to serve; 
distinguishing characteristics of products; and considerations of efficiency and cost; 
one may arrive at Porter’s generic positioning matrix. 
Numerous authors have categorised the field of strategy, based on where the people 
concerned with strategy are placed in the organisational hierarchy. As a result, some 
make a distinction between levels of strategy as that of corporate strategy, business 
strategy and functional strategy (Johnson & Scholes, 2002; Thompson et al., 2012). 
 
2.3 The contemporary generic strategic management process  
2.3.1 Conceptualisation 
Managing an organisation in the competitive landscape of the 21st century is a 
highly complex task, impacting on organisational leadership, strategies, and 
organisational architecture (Louw & Venter, 2006). Among the reasons for the 
heightened complexity, are increasingly competitive business practices, the 
inclination towards strategic flexibility in order to accommodate change, and the 
emergence of networked organisations in the global arena. Therefore, it is vital that 
managers think strategically in order to achieve a sustained competitive advantage. 
They need to understand where they fit into the global competitive landscape and 
how they can contribute towards strategic developments and changes. 
The global competitive landscape has important implications for strategic 
management in developing countries, with specific reference to the African context. 
Consider, for example, how investments from various economic sectors in South 
Africa have changed the way of doing business in Africa, for example South African 
parastatals (Eskom, Spoornet, Portnet, Airports Company and South African 
Airways), the telecommunications sector (MTN and Vodacom), retail and food 
Page | 17  
 
 
 
sectors (Shoprite, Pep Stores, Pick ’n Pay, Game, Makro, Woolworths and Nando’s), 
and the mining sector (Anglo American, De Beers, AngloGold, Gold Fields and BHP 
Billiton). Strategic management challenges in Africa also include empowerment of 
previously disadvantaged persons and involving them in the formal economy, as well 
as thinking globally but acting locally (Louw & Venter, 2006). 
 
2.3.2 Strategic management 
Strategic management is generally defined as a future-oriented process that enables 
the organisation to make informed decisions today to position itself for future 
success. The more traditional view of strategic management utilises a linear 
approach whereby a scan of the organisation’s environment is conducted (both 
internally and externally), a strategy is formulated, that strategy is implemented and 
the organisation’s progress toward that strategy is then evaluated. The pace of 
change in recent times dictates that the formulation and implementation phases are 
more closely integrated to ensure that as changes occur and implementation 
problems arise, the strategy is re-visited on a continuous basis (Thompson et al., 
2012). 
In thinking strategically about their organisation’s current situation and future 
prospects in a competitive landscape, Thompson et al. (2012) indicate that 
managers are faced with three central questions:  
• In answering the first question ‘What is our present situation?’, consideration 
has to be given to an organisation’s industry conditions, its market standing, 
its resources and dynamic capability, appeal and value added to products and 
services, meeting the needs and expectations of customers and stakeholders, 
and its current performance. Consider how YYY Bank prioritises listening to 
clients’ needs in order to ensure that value is added to all its products. YYY 
Bank also meets the needs of stakeholders by being socially responsible and 
valuing the innovative behaviour of employees. 
• The second question ‘Where do we want to go from here?’ refers to the 
purpose, strategic intent and overall direction that management believe the 
Page | 18  
 
 
 
organisation should adopt – a vision of the company’s future direction. YYY 
Bank’s sustainable success will depend on how effectively it designs unique 
solutions for its customers. The future of YYY Bank will depend on its ability to 
reduce customer costs of productivity, and its effectiveness, which will be 
determined by technological breakthroughs and innovations.  
• The final question ‘How are we going to get there?’ will depend on how 
strategy is crafted at the different organisational levels, based on customer 
needs, stakeholder expectations and ethical perspectives, and secondly, on 
the influence of leadership, values, organisational culture and organisational 
architecture in strategy implementation. This question challenges the 
managers to craft and execute a strategy capable of moving the organisation 
in the intended direction. Developing clear answers to this question is the 
essence of managing strategically. YYY Bank empowers its staff by 
encouraging innovative strategic thinking, focuses on knowledge 
management principles, pursues employment equity and focuses on the 
overall well-being of employees. 
The strategy formulation process is concerned with analyses of the external and 
internal environment and the choice of strategy at the corporate, business, and 
functional levels. Strategy implementation comprises a series of primarily 
administrative activities and includes the design of organisational structure and 
processes, and the absorption of policy into the organisation’s social structure 
(Farjoun, 2002). 
 
2.3.3 The design approach to strategic management 
According to Farjoun (2002), each of the main research programs reviewed by 
researchers has contributed to the design model. Derived from the Structure-
Conduct-Performance (SCP) model, are the five forces model and its dynamic 
counterpart - the industry life cycle model - which became the dominant models for 
analysing the external environment (Porter, 1980). The Strategy-Structure-
Performance (SSP) model, which highlights the significance of factors 
complementary to strategy, such as organisational structure to organisation 
Page | 19  
 
 
 
performance, has provided a theoretical basis for the formulation - implementation 
link in the design model. In addition, by focusing on internal organisational attributes, 
the RBV model, together with the value chain model of organisation workflow 
activities (Porter, 1996), has become a standard tool for analysing the internal (i.e. 
organisational) side in the design model (Barney, 1997).  
The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) model is often used 
to prescribe the strategic choice (i.e. strategy formulation) part of the design model. 
In this model, strategy needs to match the organisation’s internal resources and 
distinctive competencies with environmental opportunities and threats, so as to 
better meet overall goals and objectives. The decision rule used is to choose a 
strategy that capitalises on the organisation’s strengths, fixes its weaknesses, 
exploits its opportunities, and defends or neutralises threats (Barney, 1997). Strategy 
needs to exhibit external consistency - organisation resources need to be matched 
with environmental opportunities, and internal consistency - a fit between strategy 
and organisational elements. In addition, strategy needs to be in line with managerial 
values and with societal expectations (Porter, 1980).  
 
2.3.4 Strategic management process 
The strategic management process includes an understanding of the organisation’s 
strategic intent and purpose, strategic analysis, strategy development, strategy 
implementation and future perspectives. The strategic management process is a 
combination of the commitments, decisions and actions, required for an organisation 
to achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above-average returns (Louw & 
Venter, 2006). According to Louw and Venter (2006), the strategic management 
process encompasses more than the management of the strategic decision-making 
process.  
The success of an organisation is mainly determined by the effectiveness and 
efficiency of its management. In the words of Peter Drucker, “efficiency is concerned 
with doing things right, while effectiveness is concerned with doing the right things”. 
Likewise, an organisation’s management can be divided into operational and 
Page | 20  
 
 
 
strategic management. Louw and Venter (2006) further argue that strategic 
management is concerned with the overall effectiveness and choice of direction 
within a dynamic, complex and ambiguous environment. Strategic decisions have 
long-term implications and concern the entire organisation. Strategic management is 
not concerned with strategic planning only, but has to ensure that strategy is also 
implemented, i.e. that strategies are working in practice. 
Thompson and Strickland (2012) refer to strategic management as an on-going 
process: "nothing is final and all prior actions and decisions are subject to future 
modification." Sanchez and Heene (2004) argue that strategic management refers to 
the management processes that define the organisation’s goals for value creation 
and distribution, and design the way the organisation will be composed, structured 
and coordinated in pursuing its goals or value creation and distribution. Rowea et al. 
(1994), state that strategic management is the process by which organisations 
determine what value is needed and how to add that value. This means ensuring 
that organisations can cope effectively with the myriad of demands placed on them 
from within and with-out. 
From Louw and Venter’s (2006) perspective, strategic management is concerned 
with: 
(a)  Effective strategies that balance the organisation’s resources and capabilities, 
values and goals with its external environment. In doing so, strategic 
managers are responsible for establishing a clear direction for the 
organisation and a means of getting there, which requires the creation of 
strong competitive positions; and 
(b)  The implementation of a strategy in such a manner that all the organisational 
architecture and activities are synergistically integrated in order to achieve 
effective performance. 
Jimoh (2003) argues that strategic management consists of three inter-related 
phases: strategic thinking, strategic planning and strategic actions. The "thinking" 
phase, they say, provides the conceptual foundation for the two other phases. This 
phase encourages managers to be conscious of and understand the events and 
Page | 21  
 
 
 
forces in their environment and their future implications, as these would determine 
the extent to which the objectives and goals of their organisations would be realised 
and sustained. Drawing from this counsel of strategic thinking, the strategic planning 
phase sets out processes and techniques that would enable managers to scan (and 
therefore be conscious) of the events or forces shaping their environments, analyse 
and understand their implications (now and in the future), outline conceivable 
possible outcomes/states of the environment and have some expectations of the 
most likely outcome(s). 
Based on these expectations, the planning phase fashions out the organisations’ 
strategies for realising its mission, objectives and goals as well as develops a 
monitoring system that would continuously determine the extent of plan 
implementation and the degree to which the goals are attained. The strategic action 
phase implements the plan.  Thus, strategic management, according to Jimoh 
(2003), is both a philosophy and processes or techniques by which an organisation 
determines its long-term objectives, and how to realise them as well as taking 
actions to implement strategies so determined in order to continually adjust itself to 
changes in its environment so as to continuously realise its objectives. 
In a nutshell, the strategic management process represents a logical, systematic, 
and objective approach for determining an organisation's future direction. However, a 
clear separation is needed between the managerial process by which an 
organisation formulates, evaluates, implements, and controls the relationships 
between its objectives, its strategies, and its environment.  
Researchers usually distinguish three stages in the process of strategic 
management: strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and evaluation and 
control. 
This strategic management process consists of five major ever-present stages 
(Thompson et al., 2012):  
1.  Developing a concept of the business and forming a vision of where the 
organisation needs to be headed.  
Page | 22  
 
 
 
2.  Converting the mission into specific performance objectives (strategy 
analysis).  
3.  Crafting a strategy to achieve the targeted performance objectives (strategy 
formulation).   
4.  Implementing and executing the chosen strategy efficiently and effectively 
(strategy implementation).  
5.  Evaluating performance, reviewing the situation, and initiating corrective 
adjustments in mission, objectives, strategy, or implementation in the light of 
actual experience, changing conditions, new ideas, and new opportunities 
(strategy monitoring and control). The following figure (Figure 2.1) displays 
this five stage process. 
 
  
Page | 23  
 
 
Figure 2.1: Components of Strategic Management Process 
 
(Source: Thompson et al., 2012:70) 
According to Nedelea and Păun (2009), the first three components or stages above, 
in combination, give direction to the enterprise, establish the directional map for 
strategic action, and, in effect, define what is called an organisation's strategic plan. 
The fourth component is easily the most complicated and challenging one, because 
it involves not only deciding on, but also undertaking the administrative actions 
needed to convert the strategic plan into results; indeed, orchestrating the 
implementation of strategy is probably five to ten times more time consuming than is 
formulating the strategic plan. The fifth component, evaluating strategic performance 
and making corrective adjustments, is both the end and the beginning of the 
strategic management cycle. The stride of external and internal events guarantees 
that the time will come for making revisions in the four previous components. Most of 
the time, revisions will be of the fine tuning variety, but occasions for major overhaul 
in one or more components arise - sometimes because of significant external 
developments and sometimes because of sharply sliding financial performance. 
Page | 24  
 
 
 
By its very process and methods, Jimoh (2003) states that strategic management 
encourages consensus building and team work among staff. It promotes widespread 
understanding of its mission, objectives, goals, strategies and its position in the 
industry among all stakeholders. Thus, it facilitates clear leadership and direction, 
unity of purpose and consensus in the organisation that adopts it. Because these 
features are essential to effectiveness and efficiency and therefore success, it is 
therefore not surprising that organisations that adopt strategic management are 
expected to perform better than those that do not. 
From the outset of strategic management as a discipline in its own right, debate has 
arisen as to the relationship between the formulation of strategy and its 
implementation (Littler et al., 2000). Since that time, the segregation between 
strategy content information (usually formulated by a small number of senior 
executives) and its implementation (by the whole organisation), has persisted as one 
of the defining characteristics of the prescriptive schools of strategic management 
thought (Littler et al., 2000). By contrast, the more descriptive perspectives on 
strategic management emphasise a greater overlap and interplay between strategy 
formation and the implementation process. Within such perspectives, the strategy 
actually achieved by an organisation is seen as emergent and adaptive over time, 
parallel with its implementation (Mintzberg & Waters, 1985).  
The strategic management literature of the 1990’s promotes two important issues in 
the making of strategy. Firstly, strategies need to be forward-looking and dynamic 
(Hamel & Prahalad, 1996). It is no longer appropriate to compete simply on the basis 
of the present markets and current resources, but organisations rather need to be 
continually pushing back and lay claim to their own competitive frontier. Secondly, 
strategy formation should not be confined to only the top management, but should 
rather enjoy a much wider constituency of participants in order to maximise the 
creative and informational input (Littler et al., 2000). 
 
  
Page | 25  
 
 
 
2.3.2.1 Strategy Formulation 
Strategies are formulated by organisations in order to achieve a more favourable 
position. Over the years a large number of concepts and techniques have been 
proposed on how organisations should develop a suitable strategy. Some of these 
concepts and techniques concentrate on matching an organisation’s resources and 
skills with the opportunities and risks created by its external environment, while 
others focus on the organisation’s resources and capabilities as drivers of 
competitive advantage (Feurer & Chaharbaghi, 1995). All these concepts and 
techniques imply that it is possible to determine a strategic direction for an 
organisation on a systematic basis. However, it is increasingly being realised that 
such a notion can only be applied if the underlying assumptions are not changing 
fast and if the goals of an organisation are well defined. 
In today’s highly dynamic business environments, however, organisations must 
constantly adapt to the fast changing circumstances. Strategy formulation should 
become a cognitive process as opposed to a process of conception. It is in this light 
that organisational learning has become a main focus of attention for research and 
the ability to learn has been recognised as the only source of sustainable competitive 
advantage. Strategy formulation should therefore be regarded as a continuous 
learning process. Such a learning process, however, is very complex as it 
encompasses individual learning mechanisms as well as those of group learning and 
organisational learning (Feurer & Chaharbaghi, 1995). 
According to Thompson et al. (2012), the task of crafting a strategy together entails 
addressing a series of how’s: how to grow the business, how to please customers, 
how to outcompete rivals, how to respond to changing market conditions, how to 
manage each functional piece of the business, how to develop needed capabilities, 
and how to achieve strategic and financial objectives. It also means choosing among 
the various strategic alternatives – proactively searching for opportunities to do new 
things or to do existing things in new or better ways. 
This component of the strategic management process brings in the critical issue of 
just how the targeted objectives are to be accomplished, and it involves managers in 
various positions and at various organisational levels. While objectives are the “end 
Page | 26  
 
 
 
product”, the strategy is the “means” of achieving them. According to Nedelea and 
Păun (2009), the task of strategy formulation entails taking into account all of the 
relevant aspects of the organisation’s internal and external situation and coming up 
with a detailed action plan for achieving the targeted short-run and long-run  results. 
Strategy is a blueprint of all the important entrepreneurial, competitive and functional 
area actions that are to be taken in pursuing organisational objectives and 
positioning the organisation for sustained success. 
The definition, according to Nedelea and Păun (2009), points toward the issues that 
strategy must address: 
• How to respond to changing conditions specifically, what to do about 
shifting customer needs and emerging industry trends, which new 
opportunities to pursue, how to defend against competitive pressures and 
other externally imposed threats, and how to strengthen the mix of the 
organisation's activities by doing more of some things and less of others. 
• How to allocate resource over the organisation's various business units, 
divisions, and functional departments making decisions that steer capital 
investment and human resources in behind the chosen strategic plan is 
always critical; some kind of strategy-supportive guidelines for resource 
allocation have to exist. 
• How to compete in each one of the industries in which the organisation 
participates decisions about how to develop customer appeal, to position 
the organisation against rivals, to emphasize some products and de-
emphasise others, and to meet specific competitive threats, are always 
integral to competitive survival and the achievement of a defendable 
competitive advantage. 
• Within each line of business of  the organisation, what actions and 
approaches to  take in each of the major functional areas and operating 
departments to create a unified and more powerful strategic effort 
throughout the business unit. Obviously, the different functional and 
operating level strategies ought to be coordinated rather than be allowed 
Page | 27  
 
 
 
to go off on independent courses; they need to support the creation of a 
sustainable competitive advantage. 
 
2.3.2.2 Strategy Implementation 
For the past two decades, strategy formulation has been widely regarded as the 
most important component of the strategic management process – more important 
than strategy implementation or strategic control (Jooste & Fourie, 2009). However, 
recent research indicates that strategy implementation, rather than strategy 
formulation alone, is a key requirement for superior business performance (Flood et 
al., 2000; Kaplan and Norton, 2000). In addition, there is growing recognition that the 
most important problems in the field of strategic management are not related to 
strategy formulation, but rather to strategy implementation (Flood et al., 2000), and 
that the high failure rate of organisational initiatives in a dynamic business 
environment is primarily due to poor implementation of new strategies. 
Strategy implementation is defined in this study as the process of putting the 
intended strategy into action. Once managers have decided on a strategy, the 
emphasis turns to converting it into actions and good results. Putting the strategy 
into place and getting the organisation to execute it well, call for different sets of 
managerial skills (Thompson et al., 2012). Whereas crafting strategy is largely a 
market-driven and resource-driven activity, implementing strategy is an operations-
driven activity revolving around the management of people and business processes 
(Thompson et al., 2012). 
Successful strategy implementation according to Thompson et al. (2012), depends 
on doing a good job of working with and through others; allocating resources; 
building and strengthening competitive capabilities; creating an appropriate 
organisational structure; instituting strategy-supportive policies, processes, and 
systems; motivating and rewarding people; and instilling a culture of getting things 
done. 
The principal components of the strategy implementation process according to 
Thompson et al. (2012) are (see Figure 2.2): 
Page | 28  
 
 
 
• Staff the organisation with managers and employees capable of executing 
the strategy well. 
• Build the organisation’s capabilities required for successful strategy 
implementation. 
• Create a strategy-supportive organisational structure. 
• Allocate sufficient budgetary (and other) resources to the strategy 
implementation effort. 
• Institute policies and procedures that facilitate strategy implementation. 
• Adopt best practices and business processes that drive continuous 
improvement in strategy implementation activities. 
• Install information and operating systems that enable personnel to carry 
out their strategic roles proficiently. 
• Tie rewards and incentives directly to the achievement of strategic and 
financial targets. 
• Instil a corporate culture that promotes good strategy implementation. 
• Exercise the internal leadership needed to propel strategy implementation 
forward. 
How well managers perform these 10 tasks (Figure 2.2), has a decisive impact on 
whether the outcome of the strategy implementation effort is a spectacular success, 
a colossal failure, or something in between (Thompson et al., 2012). 
  
Page | 29  
 
 
Figure 2.2: The 10 Basic Tasks of the Strategy Implementation Process 
 
(Source: Thompson et al., 2012:70). 
Several themes emerged from reviewing the literature on strategy implementation.  
Most notably, in the literature the critical role of middle managers in strategy 
implementation is emphasised (Franken et al., 2009; Mantere, 2008; Wooldridge et 
al., 2008).  The strategic alignment and the active engagement of leadership teams 
were essential for ensuring implementation success (Salih, 2012).  Further, shared 
strategic consensus and commitment to strategy, were stressed (Davis et al., 2010; 
Raes et al., 2011). The results of several studies demonstrated the importance of 
effective and open communication to strategy implementation (Noble, 1999; Pryor et 
al., 2007). Involving mid- and lower-level managers early during the strategy 
development phase, strengthened organisational commitment and facilitate buy-in of 
the new strategy (Salih, 2012. 
From a structural perspective, coordination and cooperation of cross-functional 
groups are critical for strategy implementation. Strategy implementation requires the 
Page | 30  
 
 
 
devotion of a motivated workforce (Salih, 2012).  Linking incentives and rewards to 
strategic achievements increased the chances of implementation success (Noble, 
1999; Raes et al., 2011). Organisations that strive to implement new strategic 
initiatives need the appropriate structures, systems, and processes to support 
implementation (Pryor et al., 2007). The literature also revealed that one of the key 
success factors in strategy implementation is to conceive strategy development and 
implementation as an integrated and intertwined process (MacLennan, 2011; Sull, 
2007). 
In the following section, the strategy process followed by banks is detailed. 
 
2.4 Strategic process in the banking industry 
This section entails the deregulation and the changes it brought, then a brief 
overview of the South African banking sector, concerns in the banking industry, the 
shifts in strategy brought by return to retail banking, concerns in the banking industry 
and last but not least, strategy alignment. 
 
2.4.1 Deregulation 
Banking in the many economies has traditionally been a highly protected industry, 
living off good spreads achieved on regulated deposit and lending rates and 
pervasive restrictions on domestic and foreign entry. Deregulation and the 
development of information technologies (IT) and communication, have brought 
revolutionary changes in the banking industry (Byers & Lederer, 2001). Emergence 
of these technologies has allowed banks to offer their services at regional, national, 
and global levels. These changes, according to Roth and Van der Velde (as cited in 
Rhee & Mehra, 2006), have provided the welcome convenience of time and place to 
banking customers. However, these changes have reduced incoming revenues for 
retail banks thereby forcing them to assess fees for specific customer services. This, 
in turn, requires banks to offer a wide range of revenue generating products to 
certain customer groups (e.g. high income group), in order to develop strong 
Page | 31  
 
 
 
customer relationships and loyalty. Accompanying deregulation has been greater 
emphasis on capital adequacy, which has encouraged banks to securitise some 
assets, generate more fee-based income, and try to improve efficiency. 
 
2.4.2. A brief overview of the South African banking sector  
South Africa (SA) has a developed and well regulated banking system which 
compares favourably with those of industrialised countries. The sector has 
undergone a lot of changes in the past 20 years, with the early 1990s being 
characterised by a process of consolidation, resulting from mergers of a number of 
banks including Allied, Volkskas and United, to form ABSA and the proposed merger 
between Nedcor and Stanbic which failed eventually. The promulgation of the Banks 
Act of 1990 led to a number of banking licenses being issued and by the end of 2001 
there were 43 registered banks in South Africa. The announcement of Saambou’s 
financial troubles in 2002, however, resulted in a run on BOE and other smaller 
banks which led to a number of banks not renewing their banking licenses and 
others seeking financial  assistance  from  foreign  shareholders. Other banks such 
as Regal Bank also experienced financial difficulties during that period and was 
placed under curatorship (BASA, 2010).  
Although the South African banking sector has been through a process of volatility 
and change in the past, it has attracted a lot of interest from abroad with a number of 
foreign banks establishing presence in the country and others acquiring stakes in 
major banks, for example, the Barclays – ABSA and Industrial and Commercial Bank 
of China – Standard Bank deals. There have been a number of changes in respect 
of the regulatory environment, product offerings, and number of participants resulting 
in a greater level of competition on the market from smaller banks such as Capitec 
bank and African Bank which have targeted the low-income and the previously 
unbanked market. 
The South African banking sector, and for that matter the whole corporate sector, is 
still highly concentrated as a result of the years of economic isolation during the 
1980s. Approximately 60 banks are registered in South Africa, but the largest four 
Page | 32  
 
 
 
have approximately 70% of the assets, and own the bulk of the retail banking 
system. The others are mainly small niche banks, focusing on specific activities, 
regions or communities. While a diverse array of domestic and foreign institutions 
make up South Africa’s banking sector, like many other economies, it features what 
is often referred to as a “Big Four” (refer to Table 2.2): a quartet of universal banks 
which dominate the market, the fortunes of which are frequently adduced as 
indicators of the wider economy (Absa, FirstRand, Nedbank and Standard Bank). 
The big four South African banks have always invested heavily in information 
technology (IT), and their systems are as sophisticated as those in much more 
developed countries. This has increased the availability of information in the markets 
and has led to a substantial expansion in cross-border transactions. Technological 
developments have also facilitated the design of complex new financial instruments, 
which have provided innovative ways of hedging against risks. But most importantly, 
IT is seen as a major strategic competitive factor, since it forms the basis for South 
African banks’ drive to improve cost efficiencies. 
Some 10 foreign banks operate in South Africa, and a further 60 have representative 
offices. The large banks also have significant operations and interests in several 
major foreign markets. However, a large proportion of the population is not served by 
the “formal” banking system. In pursuing cost efficiencies, the main banks have left a 
vacuum of access to basic banking services in mostly rural areas and primarily 
among the poorest of the population. So far, formal government institutions, such as 
the Post Bank or Land Bank, have been unable to fill the gap. An informal, but 
largely unregulated and fairly exploitive, microfinance industry has developed. 
Recent moves to regulate this industry are, however, showing some promise. 
Nevertheless, pressure is mounting for the banking system to play a bigger role in 
resolving the problem of access to finance by, specifically, small, medium-sized and 
micro enterprises and potential sub-economic homeowners. Legislation may be 
promulgated soon, in order to somehow “compel” banks to undertake more 
developmental investment. 
 
Page | 33  
 
 
 
Table 2.2 “Big Four” and their market share (June 2011) 
 
 
 
 
 
(Source: SA Reserve Bank, 2012). 
 
2.4.3 The return to retail banking – shifts in strategy 
Within traditional banking, many banks attempted to shift consumers out of the bank 
branch and toward alternative distribution channels such as telephone, automated 
teller machines (ATMs), and electronic delivery. Electronic banking has been seen 
as a low-cost alternative to high-cost branches, and some banks imposed fees on 
seeing branch tellers to facilitate the substitution towards alternative channels. A 
second major strategic shift in the late 1990s was the move to create more 
diversified financial service firms that could reap cross-selling and diversification 
gains in a more deregulated environment. The late 1990s saw several large deals 
across traditional industry lines that created large, well-diversified financial firms, 
especially in the United States (US) and Europe (Hirtle & Stiroh, 2006). The focus on 
the diversified model, however, was short-lived by the events in the US. By 2002 the 
US economy had experienced the bursting of the NASDAQ bubble, the events of 
September 11, 2001, and a massive decline in capital market activity. 
This shift, according to Hirtle and Stiroh (2006), was largely motivated by the belief 
that deposit-based, retail banking operations offered a more attractive risk/return 
combination than other capital-market based activities. Spieker (as cited in Hirtle & 
Stiroh, 2006) reports that bank branches are a highly effective and profitable 
distribution channel for retail services, relative to other methods like the Internet or 
call centres. 
Bank Assets Market share 
The Standard Bank of SA 25.5% 
ABSA 21.6% 
FirstRand Bank 18.8% 
Nedbank 17.8% 
Page | 34  
 
 
 
 
2.4.4 Concerns in the banking industry 
Banking executives from regions such as Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Far 
East, as per PwC Report, are more positive in their outlook about the financial 
services sector than the industrial countries, as they are in better health. Concerns 
about the global macro-economy are their biggest worry. While South Africa’s banks 
may be better prepared than those in other jurisdictions to handle some of these 
risks, the economy is too intertwined with the global banking system to remain totally 
unaffected, particularly if the global economy moves into another recession. Bankers 
and investors are also concerned about the contagion effect of a default in troubled 
markets, particularly those in the US and Europe. While banks in the rest of the 
world cite the adequacy of liquidity and capital as major concerns, South Africa’s 
banking industry faces different concerns to those of its international counterparts 
(PwC, 2012). The report shows that one of the top concerns facing South Africa’s 
banking industry, is the sector’s growing dependence on the use of technology. 
Banks are increasingly realising that they have to invest in modern technology to 
improve customer service and to keep up with competitors in a highly competitive 
environment. They are well aware that investing in technology presents both benefits 
and risks. 
 
2.4.5 Alignment of strategy 
Since strategy is also the ‘fit’ between an organisation's uses of resources and its 
environment, it is an on-going process of interaction between the organisation's 
internal resources and the external environment. Thus, comparative strategic 
management is not merely designed to identify and analyse differences in 
environments, capabilities and strategies, but also to verify possible differences in 
strategic alignments, entailing environment-strategy and capability-strategy matches. 
While such alignments may seem universal, the specifics among organisations and 
countries vary. Moreover, a comparison of performance consequences of strategic 
alignments in different contexts is merited because such alignments may contribute 
Page | 35  
 
 
 
differently to financial or competitive performance of organisations in different 
countries. Appropriate environment-strategy-performance alignment and 
organisational adaptability lead to superior performance (Luo et al., 2011). As many 
strategies are initially designed to seize opportunity of particular critical capabilities 
under certain external environment, they make variable contributions to 
competitiveness when exposed to new markets, new cultures, new competitors and 
access to new resources (Lou et al., 2011). 
Jooste and Fourie (2009) have investigated the perceived importance of strategy 
implementation in South African organisations. What they have found is that strategy 
implementation is more important than strategy formulation in South African 
organisations, and that the ability to implement a strategy in an organisation is more 
important than the ability to formulate a strategy in an organisation. In addition, 
strategy implementation is perceived to be more difficult than strategy formulation, 
and  poor  strategy  implementation  is  perceived  to  result  in  a  high  failure  rate  
of change initiatives.  
A further objective of their study has been to investigate the perceived effectiveness 
of strategy implementation in South African organisations.  With regard to the 
effectiveness of strategy implementation, the respondents have perceived their 
organisations to be better at formulating strategy than at implementing strategy. In 
addition, the respondents have perceived a moderate to very large gap between 
strategy formulation and effective strategy implementation. 
 
2.4.6 The Strategic management process followed by banks 
This section looks at the strategic management process followed by the banking 
industry. 
  
Page | 36  
 
 
 
2.4.6.1 Strategic planning and formulation 
The strategic planning process followed by banks is normally participative, 
consultative and result-oriented. While the overall direction is provided by senior 
management, the action plans are evolved at the departmental level to ensure 
ownership and commitment of those charged with implementing the plan. A Strategic 
Planning Unit (SPU) is formed, with the role of being a catalyst, facilitator and 
synthesizer, to guide the planning process effectively. The crafting of the bank’s 
strategy entails creating a vision of the future, setting of objectives to pursue in order 
to realise the vision, as well as the designing of detailed plans to achieve the set 
objectives. 
The formulation phase of a strategy is where the bank describes where it is presently 
and where it should be in the future. The difference between the present situation 
and the desired future state is the strategic gap (Thompson et al., 2012). The 
purpose of this first phase of strategic management is to identify the strategic gap. 
The outcomes of this phase are: An effectively worded vision that will be used to 
mobilise and guide the bank and a mission statement. While the vision statement set 
the organisation’s future course, the mission statement clarifies the organisation’s 
present business purpose and reason for existence. The mission describes “who we 
are, what we do and why we are here.” (Thompson et al., 2012). The last outcome of 
this phase of the strategic management process is to accurately describe the bank’s 
current profile, and thereby indicating the strategic gap between current state and 
desired future state.” (Thompson et al., 2012) 
SPUs then set objectives by converting the strategic vision into specific performance 
targets. These objectives provide the basis for designing and organising activities to 
be performed. This provides direction and allows for organisational synergy (David, 
2005). These objectives are normally set in a top-down process. 
SPUs then put together among other things, the following to help with the process: 
• Industry SWOT analysis: Analysis of the major Strengths, Weaknesses, 
Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) within the commercial banking sector and 
within the broader political, economic and business environment. 
Page | 37  
 
 
 
• Competitive landscape: Analysis of market size, dominant trends, competitive 
landscape and key annual and quarterly data. 
• Company database: A comprehensive breakdown of Key Performance 
Indicators (KPIs) of the leading commercial banks, including assets and 
liabilities, client loans, client deposits, capital, bond holdings, loan-deposit 
ratio,  return on assets, earnings per share and market capitalisation. 
• Regulatory environment: Details of the regulatory bodies and their 
responsibilities, as well as a special focus on local banking associations. A 
breakdown of the banking universe, and the regulatory bodies overseeing the 
sector. 
• Benchmarking: A tool that allows the organisation to determine whether its 
performance of a particular function or activity represents “best practice” when 
cost and effectiveness are taken into account. Benchmarking entails 
comparing how different companies perform various activities, and then make 
cross company comparisons on cost and effectiveness. The objective of 
benchmarking is to identify best practices in performing activities in order to 
learn from other. As an input into strategy formulation, it is important to take 
note of areas where your own organisation is not performing well compared to 
others (Thompson et al., 2012). 
• Company Profiles and SWOTs: Examine the competitive positioning and 
short- to medium-term business strategies of key industry players. Strategy is 
examined within the context of industry forecasts, macro-economic views and 
the understanding of the wider competitive landscape to generate company 
SWOT analyses. The latest financial and operating statistics and key 
company developments are also incorporated within the company profiles, 
enabling a full evaluation of recent company performance and future growth 
prospects. 
• Value chain analysis (VCA):  The ability of a company to understand its own 
capabilities and processes to satisfy the needs of the customer is a crucial 
component for crafting a successful strategy. With this purpose in mind, 
Michael Porter introduced the VCA as an analytical tool. The VCA views an 
organisation as a sequential process of value creating activities.  
Page | 38  
 
 
 
Understanding the sequence of activities that creates value is useful in 
understanding the building blocks of competitive advantage (Dess et  al., 
2008). 
Armed with the information above, from the previous phases in the process, namely 
the vision, mission, strategic objectives, the analysis of the macro-environment, the 
industry and the organisation itself, creative thinking is now necessary to craft the 
best strategy (David, 2005). There are many strategies to create a competitive 
advantage for a bank, but all will involve giving the customers what they perceive as 
superior value. Value for a customer might mean a good product at a lower price, a 
superior product that is worth paying more for, or a best value offering that 
represents an attractive combination of price, features, quality, service and attributes 
(Thompson et al., 2012). 
 
2.4.6.2 Implementation of strategy 
The purpose of this phase in the strategic management process is to turn the 
formulated strategy into action, and thereby moving towards achieving the objectives 
to realise the vision. In order to effectively manage the strategy implementation 
process, an understanding is  created  on  a  continuous  basis  with  regard  to  the  
purpose  for  the  strategy. SPU and management make time to explain to personnel 
the benefits that might be derived by implementing the specific plans. All employees 
are participants in the strategy implementation phase; therefore it requires a real 
team effort (Thompson et al., 2012). It remains the responsibility of the SPU and 
managers to make the reason for the strategy clear to the personnel, as well as 
make time to observe the implementation process. The implementation phase of the 
strategy entails turning the plans and projects into action, as well as continuous 
monitoring and adjustment where necessary. 
To facilitate and initiate the implementation of the strategy in the organisation, many 
banks form a specific implementation team (Thompson et al., 2012). There is no 
definite managerial recipe for successful strategy implementation that cuts across all 
banks’ situations and all types of strategies but most banks, as Thompson et al. 
Page | 39  
 
 
 
(2012) suggest, have identified eight managerial tasks that are generic to successful 
implementation: 
• Building an organisation capable of good strategy execution. 
• Marshalling money and people behind the drive for strategy execution. 
• Instituting policies and procedures that facilitate rather than impede strategy 
execution. 
• Adopting best practices and pushing for continuous improvement. 
• Installing information and operating systems that enables team members to 
carry out their strategic roles proficiently. 
• Tying rewards directly to achievement of strategic targets. 
• Instilling a culture that promotes good strategy implementation. 
• Exercising strong leadership to drive strategy implementation forward. 
The external environment plays a critical role in shaping the destiny of the market 
place and the companies that comprise it. One of the most fundamental concepts in 
the managing of organisations is that CEOs and SPUs adjust their strategies to 
reflect the evolutionary or revolutionary forces that shape not only the domestic 
market, but increasingly more importantly, the global one as a whole.  
 
2.5 An analysis of the strategic management roll-out at YYY Bank 
This section will look at the process followed by YYY Bank with respect to strategy 
management. 
The figure below depicts the organisational structure of YYY Bank. 
  
Figure 2.3: YYY Bank Organisational Structure
(Source: Own Compilation) 
Strategy, at YYY Bank, emerge
managers autonomy to take responsive actions while overall strategic direction is 
considered within a strategic planning process
planning process only works when strategies are implemented. For
strategies is difficult. Executing them is much harder
organisational obstacles that stand in the way. For implementation to be truly 
successful, depends upon the way in which the strategies address key success 
factors such as organisational structure, coordination, information sharing, 
incentives, controls, change management, organisational values and the role of 
power and influence in the implementation process (Springer, 2005).
planning perspective, strategy is
steps including a mission statement, competitive analysis, internal analysis, 
strategic control. 
Chief People 
Officer
Chief 
Information 
Officer
Branch 
Manager
 
 
s within a decentralised decision structure that gives 
 by top management. The strategic 
mulating those 
, due to political and 
 formed through a sequence of rational analytical 
CEO - Branch 
Channel
Chief Financial 
Officer
Chief 
Operations 
Officer
Regional 
Manager & 
Support Team
Branch 
Manager
Branch 
Manager
Page | 40  
 
 
 From a 
and 
Branch 
Manager
Page | 41  
 
 
 
As Andersen (2004) suggests, central planning at YYY Bank is embedded in the 
strategic management paradigm that incorporates a number of rational analytical 
steps in the strategy development process including goals, policies, environmental 
analyses, strategy formulation, implementation, and control. YYY Bank believes in 
strategic consensus, the concept referring to the shared understanding among 
members of an organisation about strategic priorities (Rapert et al., 2002). Three 
themes are followed: Firstly, renewed interest in the process by which the bank 
formulate, disseminate, and implement strategic decisions re-affirms the importance 
of assessing the degree to which intra-organisational strategic perceptions are 
congruent. Secondly, marketing serves as a critical element in the strategic 
implementation process via coordinating roles emphasised within the marketing 
domain. Thirdly, communication provides insight into the mechanisms by which 
shared understanding is increased. Research suggests that frequent communication 
linkages lead to shared intra-organisational perceptions, values, and beliefs as well 
as higher levels of performance (Rapert et al., 2012). 
 
2.5.1 The strategic plan at YYY Bank 
The figure below shows the visual display of the strategy model of YYY Bank. 
Page | 42  
 
 
Figure 2.4: YYY Bank’s visual display of the strategy model 
 
(Source: YYY Bank, 2012) 
From the above figure it can be seen that YYY Bank measures sustainable 
economic profit and equity targets, using instruments such as buzz barometer, 
market share, service levels, cross selling, people pillar survey, productivity and 
operational excellence. 
At YYY Bank, as at most banks, the branch presently dominates their distribution 
approach, while other methods of interaction such as direct channels and alternative 
face-to-face (F2F) outlets are less important and not well integrated. But this 
situation appears to be changing fast. Research by the Deloitte Center for Banking 
Solutions has identified six converging market dynamics, which are creating an 
inflection point in the evolution of retail channels for banks. These market drivers are 
rapidly transforming the retail distribution landscape for banking services from a 
branch-dominated paradigm to one of integration and balance among multiple 
channels. 
Page | 43  
 
 
 
Branches still play a vital part in this new equilibrium, but they will be very different. 
As transactions begin to take place via other channels, banks are increasingly 
behaving like traditional retailers, focusing more on sales and complex service 
opportunities. Meanwhile, technological advances can enhance the ability for direct 
channels to fulfil their potential as a source of banking sales and service with higher 
convenience at lower costs. Alternative F2F channels are also emerging as strong, 
viable distribution options in this new landscape, because people still value personal 
interactions. An integrated customer focus becomes critical across these channels 
as demographic shifts usher in a new - and highly discriminating - breed of customer. 
Financial institutions are faced with some tough strategic decisions in adapting to 
this new environment. At a minimum, they need to determine how and when to 
revitalise the branch, the existing primary channel for most, to draw customers in and 
to address their changing expectations. They also should consider how to develop 
and expand non-branch channels to be competitive in attracting, serving and 
retaining customers. In addition, they should look for cost-effective ways to make 
their channels more integrated and customer-focused. 
The implementation of new technologies has brought the operations function in the 
banking industry to the spotlight. For some banks operations are spotlighted not by 
choice but by market forces, and others, such as YYY Bank, have recognised the 
importance of the operations role. In simple terms, operations management in 
banking is a transformation system that converts inputs such as employees, 
computer equipment, facilities, energy and money into outputs that include loans and 
deposits (Gupta et al., 2001). 
YYY Bank undertakes strategy with a strong owner-manager culture. Each business 
unit has its own chief operating officer (CEO) who has responsibility for the 
operations and profits within. These business units are responsible, not only for the 
operations but most importantly, for the strategy of the business. 
The strategy adopted by YYY Bank is vital for attracting new and current customers.  
A retail bank’s strategy describes the comprehensive plan that the bank follows to 
differentiate itself from competitors and to create and deliver value to its customers. 
The bank that best addresses and anticipates customers’ needs, delivers 
Page | 44  
 
 
 
consistently higher quality service and connects to their customers via their channel 
of choice wins. To arrive at this strategic plan, the bank embarks on a process of 
strategic planning. Strategic planning allows the bank to better understand the 
threats and opportunities in its environment. The resultant strategic plan enables the 
bank to achieve a strategic fit between its present and future capabilities and 
opportunities. 
 
2.5.2 Strategic management process at YYY Bank  
This section focuses on the process of strategic management at YYY Bank. 
 
2.5.2.1 Strategic formulation at YYY Bank 
The bank’s senior management decides on what business strategy to follow, for 
example, cost leadership or product differentiation. A careful analysis of external and 
internal forces is done because the strategy defines how the Bank intends to 
compete. The external environment includes the competition, customers, economics, 
technology, and social trends. Internal considerations include resources, the skills of 
the workforce, facilities, and current systems. Based on which business strategy 
senior management chooses, the Bank’s operations strategy is aligned with the 
business strategy. 
Management Strategies for YYY link up with the functional strategies to ensure that 
the supporting infrastructure is available to effectively implement the plans. The 
focus of the management strategies remains on increasing employee attraction, 
retention and motivation, institutionalising succession planning, implementing the 
Information Technology (IT) projects and the transition plan, and preparing 
substantive legislation for new products and areas like e-Banking. The YYY also 
focus on strengthening its Business Continuity Process (BCP), enhancing its 
Management Information System (MIS), streamlining its procedures through 
Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), and a stronger risk based and an IT audit 
function. 
Page | 45  
 
 
 
 
2.5.2.2 Strategy implementation at YYY Bank 
Developing an action agenda for implementing and executing the strategy involves 
managers at all levels, deciding on answers to the question, “What is required for us 
to implement our part of the overall strategic plan and how can we best get it done” - 
doing this task well means scrutinising virtually every operating activity to see what 
actions can be taken to improve strategy implementation and to instil strategy-
supportive practices and behaviour. The administrative tasks of implementing and 
executing the strategy, according to Nedelea and Păun (2009), involve a process of 
moving incrementally and deliberately to create a variety of “fits” that bring an 
organisation’s conduct of its internal operations into good alignment with strategy.  
Authors argue that strategy formulation and implementation are interdependent, part 
of an overall process of planning-executing-adapting. This interdependence 
suggests that overlap between planners and “doers” improves the probability of 
implementation success. Not involving those responsible for implementation in the 
planning process, threatens knowledge transfer, commitment to sought-after 
outcomes, and the entire implementation process (Hrebiniak, 2008). YYY Bank’s 
strategic planners do not directly involve branch managers in the planning process, 
as suggested by literature, but their strategies seems to work – looking at their 
present final year of the 3 year strategy. 
Management at YYY Bank create a strategy-supportive organisational structure, 
allocates sufficient budgetary (and other) resources to the strategy implementation 
effort, install information and operating systems that enable personnel to carry out 
their strategic roles proficiently. They also tie rewards and incentives directly to the 
achievement of strategic and financial targets, instil a corporate culture that 
promotes strategy implementation, and exercise the internal leadership needed to 
propel strategy implementation forward. 
 
  
Page | 46  
 
 
 
2.5.2.3 Creating Strategic Awareness 
Implementing a strategy begins with educating those who have to execute it. 
Whereas some organisations opt to hold their strategy a top secret, most believe that 
they should disseminate it from top to bottom. A broad-based communication 
program (both top-down and bottom-up approaches) shares with all employees the 
strategy and the critical objectives they have to meet if the strategy is to succeed, 
just as Kaplan and Norton (2007) advocates. 
At YYY Bank, employees learn about and understand the strategy before they can 
help implement it. Executives use communication processes, like road-shows, at the 
launch of the new strategy, starting with education and followed by testing to ensure 
that employees understand the message, using competitions and surveys;  and  
checking that employees believe in the strategy being followed, so that they can 
make it their own.  
Kaplan and Norton (2001) suggest that one should consider an analogy of product 
launch whereby one would not put a new product on the shelves without telling 
customers about it;  so don’t expect the strategy to generate much excitement or 
buy-in if one have not evangelised it to your employees. 
Kaplan and Norton (2001) further suggest that the communications program should 
have the following objectives, which YYY Bank implements to the best of its ability: 
• Develop an understanding of the strategy throughout the organisation. 
• Develop buy-in to support the strategy. 
• Educate the organisation about the Balanced Scorecard measurement and 
management system for implementing the strategy.. 
• Provide feedback, via the Balanced Scorecard. 
 
2.5.2.4 Monitor, evaluate and improve 
The purpose of this phase is to do continuous measurement at all levels - 
individuals, team, department and the organisation as a whole. Neither strategy 
formulation nor strategy implementation is a once-and-for-all-time task. In both 
Page | 47  
 
 
 
cases, circumstances arise, which make corrective adjustments desirable. Strategy 
may need to be modified because it is not working well or because changing 
conditions make fine-tuning, or even major overhaul, necessary. Even a good 
strategy can be improved and it requires no argument to see that changes in industry 
and competitive conditions, the emergence of new opportunities or threats, new 
executive leadership, a reordering of objectives and the like, can all make a change 
in strategy desirable. Likewise, with strategy implementation, there will be times 
when one or another aspect of implementation does not go as well as planned, 
making adjustments necessary. And changing internal conditions, as well as 
experiences with current strategy implementation, can drive different or improved 
implementation approaches (Nedelea & Păun, 2009). 
The external environment plays a critical role in shaping the destiny of the market 
place and the companies that comprise it. One of the most fundamental concepts in 
the managing of organisations is that CEOs and SPUs adjust their strategies to 
reflect the evolutionary or revolutionary forces that shape not only the domestic 
market, but increasingly more importantly, the global one as a whole. 
 
2.5.2.4.1 Balanced Scorecard  
YYY Bank, just as Kaplan and Norton (2001) suggest, has an internal monitoring and 
evaluation system to monitor whether the organisation is attaining the performance 
benchmarks outlined in the strategy, in the form of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) 
rolling up from branch to regional to national. The BSC is a performance 
measurement framework developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in the 
early 1990s (Kaplan & Norton, 2001). It promotes the use of multiple financial and 
non-financial measures to monitor the progress of strategy implementation (Kaplan & 
Norton, 2001). The BSC provides a framework to look at a value creation strategy 
from four different perspectives:  
• Financial - the strategy for growth, profitability and risk, viewed from the 
perspective of the shareholder. 
Page | 48  
 
 
 
• Customer - the strategy for creating value and differentiation from the 
perspective of the customer. 
• Internal business processes - the strategic priorities for various business 
processes, creating customer and shareholder satisfaction. 
• Learning and growth - the priorities to create a climate that supports 
organisational change, innovation and growth. 
The BSC, according to Kaplan and Norton (2001), creates a reporting system that 
allows the progress against the strategy to be monitored and corrective actions to be 
taken as required. The scorecard also serves as a link between the operations 
control process and the learning and control process for managing strategy. What 
has been required for the bank, was a robust mechanism for formulating strategy 
which enabled its subsequent implementation to be described and managed 
successfully by the scorecard. Furthermore, the process needs to be sufficiently 
adaptive to cope with the changing environmental conditions of the financial services 
sector (Rousseau & Rousseau, 2000). The solution to these issues lies in bridging 
the gap between strategy formulation and implementation - that is, the integration of 
the conceptualisation and communication of strategy with the information systems 
for monitoring its achievement. This integration partially removes the distinction 
between top-down strategy and the flow of bottom-up information (Littler et al., 
2000). 
 
2.5.2.4.2 Dashboards 
YYY Bank also uses dashboards, which are business intelligence tools, to help the 
organisation to align goals with the organisation’s strategy and assist with the 
alignment of the organisational parts to meet those strategic objectives. The 
dashboards are considered a condensed overview of the organisation’s 
performance. Just as a car’s dashboard provides a variety of indicators, the 
organisation’s dashboard reflects the whole organisation – with several gauges to 
monitor and evaluate the strategy at any given time. That means, it provides an 
opportunity for decision-makers to monitor the overall performance of the 
Page | 49  
 
 
organisation in key areas. When problems are surfacing, the gauges signal the need 
to take corrective action. 
An example of a dashboard is given in the following figure (Figure 2.5). 
 
Figure 2.5: An example of a dashboard 
 
(Source: Inetsoft, 2012) 
2.5.3 Branch managers as implementers of strategy 
The research findings of a study conducted by Kaplan and Norton (2001) indicate 
that the ‘ability to execute strategy outweighs the quality of the strategy itself’, and 
that strategy execution remains an important factor in corporate valuation. The role 
of leaders in strategy implementation is critical. This is because strategy 
implementation is concerned with putting the strategy into action – in other words, 
making it a reality. This part of the strategic management process is the most 
challenging in the banking industry. 
The role of branch managers as implementers of strategy entails monitoring 
activities to support top management objectives, translating goals into action plans, 
tactics and individual objectives, and selling top management strategic initiatives to 
Page | 50  
 
 
 
subordinates. The activities in this role are captured under the following preliminary 
themes: implementation, monitoring and planning. Implementation and monitoring 
activities refer to translating overall strategy into tactics and monitoring performance. 
Planning is required to ensure that strategies can be implemented. Key enabling 
factors are those critical success factors that need to be in place in order to ensure 
the successful implementation of strategies by middle managers. 
They also use upward influence processes to champion issues and communicate 
information about potentially important strategic issues for possible inclusion on the 
bank’s strategic agenda. By proposing and defining issues for top managers, middle 
managers provide important contributions to a bank’s strategic direction, and thereby 
influence organisational effectiveness. 
 
2.5.4 Innovation as a strategic tool 
Innovation is paramount, with mobile banking and electronic channels becoming 
more important. New banking products and technological innovation are expected to 
serve as catalysts for growth. Innovations include prepaid cards, transaction 
notification services, community and mobile banking, virtual payments and cash-
back at point of sale. A significant proportion of South African consumers still 
transact in cash. Therefore, the supply of products and services via prepaid and 
mobile channels is becoming an increasingly significant distribution model. 
Successful innovation performance starts with an innovation-focused strategy 
because such a strategy, particularly while being aligned with the overall plan, will 
ensure that appropriate and adequate resources are allocated for realising service 
innovation in the organisation (Yen et al., 2012). 
YYY Bank believes in innovations as a strategic tool. They have been in the forefront 
in the South African banking industry when it comes to innovative technologies, 
commercialising and launching new products like the Banking App for mobile phones 
- even if the ideas were conceived and developed elsewhere. They are also 
successful at developing novel and creative ideas (in-house) for new products (e.g. 
Geo-payments), at improving quality of service, at the use of high technology to 
Page | 51  
 
 
 
achieve competitive advantage (eg. Banking App ) at implementing more effective 
and efficient operations management, and last but not the least, at improving work 
practices anywhere in the organisation (including business process re-engineering) 
and increasing the knowledge base and intellectual capital in the business. In 
October of 2012 YYY Bank was voted “The most innovative bank of the year” 
worldwide by the BAI-Finacle Global Banking Innovations. 
 
2.6 Summary 
Achieving a competitive advantage position and enhancing an organisation’s 
performance relative to their competitors are the main objectives that business 
organisations in particular should strive to attain. Competitive advantage is a concept 
that remains as a major research area as far as strategic management is concerned. 
Moreover, as far as global and local businesses are concerned, competitive 
advantage is important. In order to compete and sustain successfully, locally and 
globally, businesses must not only excel in their area, but also persevere in the long 
run. Achieving such a “sustainable competitive advantage” status is not an easy task 
without a proper road map or strategy being outlined and put into practice. 
YYY Bank does not follow the kind of process necessary in explicit (i.e. written, 
clear) strategy, revealing the assumptions and principles regarding the company's 
environment, and specific industry adopted in formulating their strategy. YYY Bank 
prioritises listening to clients’ needs, in order to ensure that value is added to all its 
products. YYY Bank also meets the needs of stakeholders by being socially 
responsible and valuing the innovative behaviour of employees. Their sustainable 
success depends on the effective designs of unique solutions for its customers. 
As it could be seen from the literature, more emphasis is placed on management 
responsibility during the implementation process. The assumptions are created that 
strategy implementation is supposed to be effective if management observes all the 
steps from the start. However, the literature assumes similarity in internal business 
environments. It ignores the fact that human beings differ in their approach in 
committing to the new processes. Management can observe all the steps and try to 
Page | 52  
 
 
 
get everybody on board, but if there is no commitment and willingness from an 
individual involved, it will be very difficult to effectively implement the required 
change at a particular institution. Based on the theoretical background highlighted in 
the literature, it is possible to explore various factors in the planning and 
implementation of strategy that could be regarded as possible success factors to 
strategy implementation within branches of YYY Bank. This chapter primarily 
focused on theoretical observation related to elements that are possibly contributing 
factors to the strategy implementation process in general. The background created a 
platform that would serve as a guide for the research project.  
The subsequent chapter will focus on the actual research process in detail. 
 
  
Page | 53  
 
 
 
CHAPTER 3 
EMPIRICAL STUDY 
3.1 Introduction 
In the previous chapter, a literature study has been done on the strategic 
management process and the banking industry. This chapter covers the empirical 
investigation of this study in order to determine the success factors of strategy 
implementation in branches of YYY Bank. The research will provide insight 
concerning the demographic information of branch managers and success factors 
identified that are necessary for successful planning and implementation of strategy.  
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the research methodology employed and 
the results of the statistical processing of the survey instrument and to formulate 
conclusions. The empirical study is based on aspects identified in the broad literature 
study and aspects derived from people in the industry. The data has been gathered 
using a web-based questionnaire sent via e-mail.  
 
3.2 Research Methodology 
The data has been collected by means of a structured questionnaire developed by 
the researcher (with the help of five senior management personnel at YYY Bank who 
deals with strategy implementation and supervision of branch managers) to identify 
the success factors of strategy implementation. A 5-point Likert scale has been used 
in the questionnaire (1=Strongly Agree to 5=Strongly Disagree). The questionnaire 
appears in Appendix A, Table A2.   
 
3.2.1 Statistical techniques used in the research 
The following statistical techniques are employed in the processing of the empirical 
data: 
 
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• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)  
EFA is a statistical method used in the analysis to study the dimensionality of 
a set of variables. In factor analysis, the latent variables represent unobserved 
constructs and are referred to as factors or dimensions. This methodology is 
used to explore the dimensionality of a measurement instrument by finding 
the smallest number of interpretable factors needed to explain the correlations 
among a set of variables – exploratory in the sense that it places no structure 
on the linear relationships between the observed variables, and on the linear 
relationships between the observed variables and the factors, but only 
specifies the number of latent variables (Urdan, 2010).  
• Correlation 
Correlation according to Urdan (2010) is a measure of the relation between 
two variables. In the probability theory and statistics, correlation (often 
measured as a correlation coefficient) indicates the strength and direction of a 
linear relationship between two random variables. The type of relationship is 
determined by other techniques, such as Regression. 
Interpretation of correlation between the constructs: The correlation coefficient 
(r) denotes the strength of the relationship between two variables (or 
constructs). The r-value can range from -1 to 1. To interpret the correlation 
coefficient(r): 
• 1 = a perfect positive correlation. 
• 0 = no correlation. 
• -1 = a perfect negative correlation. 
• T-test 
A t-test is defined by Urdan (2010) as an inferential test that determines if 
there is a significant difference between the means of two data sets. In other 
words, a t-test decides if the two data sets come from the same population or 
from different populations. 
 
Page | 55  
 
 
 
 
• Mann Whitney U-Test 
The Mann-Whitney U Test is used to compare differences between two 
independent groups when the dependent variable is either (a) ordinal or (b) 
interval, but not normally distributed. It is the nonparametric alternative to the 
independent t-test (Urdan, 2010). 
• ANOVA 
In statistics, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is a collection of statistical models, 
and their associated procedures, in which the observed variance is partitioned 
into components due to different explanatory variables. ANOVA is a statistical 
technique for helping to infer whether there are real differences between the 
means of three or more groups or variables in a population, based on sample 
data.  
• Kruskal-Wallis test 
The Kruskal-Wallis test evaluates whether the population medians on a 
dependent variable are the same across all levels of a factor. To conduct the 
Kruskal-Wallis test, using the K independent samples procedure, cases must 
have scores on an independent or grouping variable and on a dependent 
variable. The independent or grouping variable divides individuals into two or 
more groups, and the dependent variable assesses individuals on at least an 
ordinal scale. It is the nonparametric alternative to the ANOVA test (Urdan, 
2010). 
 
3.3 Target Population 
The population about which inferences have been made is all the 615 retail branch 
managers of YYY Bank nationally – in all provinces of South Africa. Only 153 of the 
615 branch managers have responded (response rate of 25 per cent). 
  
Page | 56  
 
 
 
3.4 Data Collection 
The quality of data according to Venter (2010) is largely determined by the design of 
the questionnaire and the questions it contains. The study objectives given in 1.3 of 
Chapter 1 form the framework in which the questionnaire is constructed as well as 
the content of the questions. These study objectives have been translated into 
specific statements, not only to achieve the objectives, but also to facilitate the 
processing and analysis of data. Electronic web-based questionnaires have been 
sent online to the target population.  
According to Venter (2010), a well-constructed and well-administered questionnaire 
of limited length will generally yield a higher response rate (see table 3.1 for the 
response rates). The following concerns have been identified while designing the 
questionnaire:  
 • How to keep the questionnaire simple, short and related to the objectives.   
• The time factor to complete such a questionnaire.   
• How to improve the rate of response.   
Since the questionnaire is the core component of the research, it has been essential 
that each facet of the document is critically examined before being finalised for 
dispatch.  
 
3.4.1 Questionnaire 
Refer to Table A2 in Annexure A. 
The measuring instrument has consisted of a total of 76 items. Four questions have 
been of demographical nature and the rest based on the 5-point Likert scale (with 1 
being Strongly Agree and 5 being Strongly Disagree). 
The 5-point Likert scale statements have been divided into eleven groupings based 
on recommendations of the consulted senior management of the bank (names are 
known to the researcher and the study leader) and input from the statisticians. These 
Page | 57  
 
 
 
groupings are general, local economy, competitor, consumers in market, staff, 
branch support structures, sales, awareness issues, planning and results. 
 
3.4.2 Questionnaire construction 
To attain the study objectives, careful considerations have been made in preparing 
the questionnaire. This included conducting a literature study (Chapter 2) and 
interviews with senior management involved with strategy implementation. This 
information provided the necessary knowledge to present statements to which 
respondents had to respond to according to their perception of each statement. 
These statements have been structured to determine the importance of different 
factors contributing to effective strategy planning and implementation. These 
statements have been verified, and given validity, through feedback during the pilot 
testing phase (see 3.4.3) with experts in the bank.  
A total number of eleven sub-sections have been used, based on the questions and 
what they were meant to achieve, under which the statements for these sub-sections 
have been summarised. The respondents have been asked to rate the statements 
on a Likert scale from 1 to 5 (with 1 being Strongly Agree and 5 being Strongly 
Disagree). After the statements have been rated and prioritised, it was possible to 
identify the major success factors relating to the implementation of strategy. 
 
3.4.3 Questionnaire administration 
The questionnaire was pre-tested amongst five experts and seven members of the 
target population. The questionnaire was subjected to a pilot test to identify 
weaknesses in the construction, formulation of the statements, the assessment of 
the validity and comprehension. In addition, the pilot testing was done to determine 
whether the instructions for completing the questionnaire were clear, as well as 
assessed response and non-delivery rates. Feedback on the content was carefully 
considered and suggestions were incorporated and fine-tuned before the final 
questionnaire was distributed. 
Page | 58  
 
 
 
The final questionnaire was electronically distributed to the respondents by one 
senior manager dealing directly with branch managers so as to increase the 
response rate using e-mail with a web link (see A3 in Annexure A). All the completed 
questionnaires were online via a hosted questionnaire platform. The questionnaire 
was hosted on the Survey Monkey questionnaire service provider’s domain. 
Respondents  were  directed  to  the online  questionnaire  and  all  the  data  was  
captured  as  soon  as  the questionnaire was completed by the respondent. 
The data collected from the 153 (25% response rate) completed questionnaires were 
submitted in an Excel spreadsheet to the Statistical Consultancy Services at the 
North-West University, Potchefstroom campus, for  processing. 
3.6 Data analysis 
3.6.1 Exploring data 
The following charts and table provides the profile of the respondents to the 
questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire comprised of demographics. 
 
3.6.1.1 Demographic items 
The demographic profile of the respondents to this survey, are summarised in the 
following charts: 
 
  
Figure 3.1: Gender of respondents
(Source: Own compilation) 
This figure shows that 53 per
while 47 per cent are female. 
in the organisation and it also shows that the bank is doing well with relation to 
gender equality.  
The second aspect of the demographics related to the Age distribution of the 
respondents. 
Figure 3.2: Age distribution of respondents
(Source: Own compilation) 
53.2%
0.0%
29.9%
0.0%
 
 
 cent of the respondents (branch managers) 
This shows a fair representation of gender distribution 
46.8%
Gender
Female
Male
4.5%
24.7%
40.9%
Age Category
18-20
21-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60 or older
Page | 59  
 
 
are male, 
 
Over 70 per cent of respondents are over the age of 40, with the largest percentage 
(41%) been between the ages of 40 and 49. Less than 5 
are below the age of 30, which is 
per cent of them have been with the bank for more than 
The third aspect of the demographics 
experience – years with the bank.
Figure 3.3: Years with the bank 
(Source: Own compilation). 
From figure 3.3 above, it can b
with the bank for more than 10 years, w
6 years. This is a fair representation of the population
bank or that the bank is looking after 
The next aspect of the demographics 
respondents are based. 
 
 
81%
 
per cent of the respondents 
in line with Figure 3.3, where it can be seen
10 years.  
has related to the respondent’s years
 
e seen that 81 per cent of the respondents have been 
hile 94 per cent being with the bank for over 
. It also shows loyalty to the 
its employees. 
has related to the Provinces where the 
2% 4%
13%
Years with the Bank
1-2 3-5 6-10 over 10
Page | 60  
 
 that 81 
 of 
 
Page | 61  
 
 
 
Figure 3.4: Provinces where the respondents are based
 
(Source: Own compilation) 
The largest percentage (28 per cent) of respondents in the empirical study has been 
located in Gauteng, then followed Western Cape with 25 per cent, next is KwaZulu 
Natal with 16 per cent, which is in line with the branch representation of the bank. 
Next is the summary of the following section in the questionnaire (the 5-point Likert 
scale statements). 
 
3.6.1.2 Likert scale items 
Table B1 in Annexure B summarises the perceptions of the respondents to the 72 
statements on the 5-point Likert scale. The table indicates the percentages of 
responses collected from the 153 respondents. Q15, Q29, Q58, Q63 and Q64 have 
high percentages of undecided responses. In general all questions were highly rated 
(rated Agree to Strongly Agree). 
  
12.4% 0.7%
28.1%
15.7%3.3%
6.5%
3.9%
4.6%
24.8%
Province
Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
Kwazulu Natal
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape
Page | 62  
 
 
 
3.6.1.3 Correlations between Likert scale items 
A correlation coefficient of 0.7 or more is regarded as a high correlation (i.e. there is 
a very close relationship between scores on one of the variables with the scores on 
the other). Correlation coefficients of 0.3 or less are regarded as low correlations, 
(i.e. there is some relationship between the two variables, but it is a weak one - 
knowing people’s score on one variable wouldn’t allow you to predict their score on 
the other variable very well).  
All questions in the questionnaire correlates moderately with all others as it can be 
seen from the Table B2 in Appendix B, and none of the correlation coefficients are 
particularly high, therefore there is no need to consider eliminating any questions, 
meaning factor analysis can be done.  
 
3.6.2 Factor analysis 
The 72 items were subjected to exploratory factor analysis using the principal axis 
factoring extraction method and Oblimin rotation method (which ensures 
independence and therefore no correlation) in SPSS (a statistical tool used for data 
analysis) to reduce the number of inter-correlated variables with overlapping 
characteristics by using correlation matrices (Field, 2007). 
 
3.6.2.1 Sample adequacy and sphericity tests 
The following table (Table 3.3) gives information about feasibility of performing factor 
analysis upon the Likert scale statements of the questionnaire. The overall 
significance of the correlation matrix is tested using Barlett’s test of sphericity and 
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy test. Barlett’s test shows 
the existence of non-zero correlation - tests whether the correlation matrix is an 
identity matrix, which would indicate that the factor model is inappropriate (Ηο: All 
correlation coefficients are not quite far from zero) – while the KMO tests whether the 
partial correlations among variables are small, this test reduces the set of variables 
collectively to meet the necessary sampling adequacy. Barlett's test of sphericity 
Page | 63  
 
 
 
indicates that non-zero correlation exists (is significant) with a significance of less 
than 1 per cent (p<0.001) for approx. Chi-Square = 8902.697. Therefore the 
hypothesis that the inter-correlation matrix involving these 72 variables is an identity 
matrix is rejected. From the perspective of Bartlett's test, factor analysis is 
feasible. As Bartlett's test is significant, a more discriminating index of factor 
analysability is the KMO. For this data set, it is 0.868, which is very large (> lower 
bound of 0.5), so the KMO also indicates the feasibility of conducting factor analysis.  
 
Table 3.3 KMO and Bartlett's Test 
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling 
Adequacy. 
.868 
Bartlett's Test of 
Sphericity 
Approx. Chi-Square 8902.697 
Df 2556 
Sig. 0.000 
 
3.6.2.2 Factor Extraction   
Kaiser's rule of retaining factors with eigenvalues larger than 1.00, has been used in 
this analysis as the default for factor extraction. The eigenvalues for the first 14 
principal components (no distinction is made in deciding dimensionality by SPSS in 
the principal component and common factor analysis) with eigenvalues all greater 
than 1.00 (ranges from 1.021 to 25.314) have been retained. Given the sample size 
of 153, and the convergence of the scree plot and Kaiser’s criterion on fourteen 
components, the researcher then had a relook at the combination of items and 
recommended twelve components in the final analysis. The twelve components also 
had eigenvalues over Kaiser’s criterion of 1 and in combination explained 68.5% of 
the variance (at least 60% of the variance should be explained by the underlying 
factors according to (Field, 2007)). Table B2 in the Appendices shows the factor 
loadings after rotation. The items that cluster on the same components suggest that 
component 1 represents support structure, component 2 the local market,  
component 3 competition, component 4 staff, component 5 bank's strategy, 
Page | 64  
 
 
 
component 6 sales, component 7 strategy implementation, component 8 plan, 
component 9 customer, component 10 branch location, component 11 performance 
and component 12 communication. 
 
3.6.2.3 Reliability Analysis 
Reliability analysis will be used to measure the internal consistency of the items that 
constitute the factors or constructs. Chronbach alpha (α) indicates the overall 
reliability of the constructs, which is a measure of this internal consistency, and 
values above 0.8 are good (Field, 2007). 
Table 3.4 Summary of constructs tested for reliability  
 
(Source: Compiled from SPSS output) 
All factors in Table 3.4 has Chronbach alpha (α) > 0.8, thus all are reliable. 
 
  
Factor # Factor name Chronbach Alpha
1 Support structure Q49 Q55 Q56 Q58 Q59 0.88                   
2 Local market Q22 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q26 Q31 0.89                   
3 Competition Q27 Q28 Q29 Q30 0.81                   
4 Staff Q39 Q40 Q41 Q42 0.80                   
5 Bank's strategy Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q53 Q65 Q66 Q67 0.87                   
6 Sales Q62 Q63 Q64 0.80                   
7 Strategy implementation Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 0.85                   
8 Plan Q68 Q69 Q70 Q71 Q72 Q76 0.86                   
9 Customer Q32 Q33 Q34 Q35 Q36 0.85                   
10 Branch location Q16 Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 Q21 0.91                   
11  Performance Q48 Q57 Q60 Q61 0.83                   
12 Communication Q46 Q47 Q51 Q75 0.82                   
Item number
Page | 65  
 
 
 
3.6.2.4 Creation of constructs 
Table 3.3 Constructs 
 
(Source: Compiled from SPSS output) 
These are the underlying factors that are extracted by the Exploratory Factor 
Analysis (EFA). 
 
3.6.2.5 Descriptive Statistics of Constructs 
The descriptive information given by Table 3.5 below shows the means, standard 
deviations, standard error and confidence intervals of the factors. 
 
  
Factor # Factor name Mean
1 Support structure Q49 Q55 Q56 Q58 Q59 2.27  
2 Local market Q22 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q26 Q31 1.75  
3 Competition Q27 Q28 Q29 Q30 2.22  
4 Staff Q39 Q40 Q41 Q42 2.05  
5 Bank's strategy Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q53 Q65 Q66 Q67 1.88  
6 Sales Q62 Q63 Q64 2.33  
7 Strategy implementation Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 2.20  
8 Plan Q68 Q69 Q70 Q71 Q72 Q76 1.93  
9 Customer Q32 Q33 Q34 Q35 Q36 1.80  
10 Branch location Q16 Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 Q21 1.69  
11  Performance Q48 Q57 Q60 Q61 2.23  
12 Communication Q46 Q47 Q51 Q75 2.11  
Item number
Page | 66  
 
 
 
Table 3.4 Descriptive Statistics – Factors ordered by importance 
Construct N Mean 
Std. 
Dev. 
Std. Err 
Mean 
Lower 95% 
Mean 
Upper 95% 
Mean 
Branch location 153 1.69 0.57 0.05 1.60 1.78 
Local market 153 1.75 0.57 0.05 1.66 1.84 
Customer 153 1.80 0.55 0.04 1.71 1.89 
Bank's strategy 153 1.90 0.51 0.04 1.82 1.98 
Plans 153 1.93 0.56 0.05 1.84 2.02 
Staff 153 2.05 0.63 0.05 1.95 2.15 
Communication 153 2.11 0.70 0.06 2.00 2.22 
Competition 153 2.22 0.69 0.06 2.11 2.33 
Performance 153 2.23 0.74 0.06 2.11 2.35 
Strategy Implementation 153 2.25 0.76 0.06 2.13 2.37 
Support Structure 153 2.25 0.75 0.06 2.13 2.37 
Sales 153 2.57 0.83 0.07 2.44 2.70 
(Source: Compiled from SPSS output) 
The constructs are ranked according to the respondents’ view of their relative 
importance. All the factors’ means scores are below 3 on the Likert scale. This 
indicates that the respondents regarded all the factors as highly important. The 
grand mean for the factors is 2.06. 
The table above shows that Branch location has been perceived the first construct in 
terms of importance, and then followed by the local market, then customer, then 
bank’s strategy etcetera (bear in mind that when comparing the mean scores, a 
lower mean score implies greater agreement and a higher mean score implies less 
agreement). Branch location, local market, customer, bank’s strategy and plans 
appear to be more important than competition, performance, strategy 
implementation, support structure and sales, as perceived by the branch managers. 
The latter constructs (bottom five) are ranked between agree and undecided. 
Page | 67  
 
 
 
Table 3.5 Interpretation of the results and conclusions regarding the construct 
descriptive statistics 
Description of success factors (SF) Some interpretations and 
conclusions of the results 
SF1: Branch Location 
(I know the advantages of my branch’s current 
location. 
I know the disadvantages of my branch’s current 
location. 
I know the advantages of the competitors’ location. 
I know the disadvantages of the competitors’ location. 
I can describe FNB’s physical positioning in relation to 
our targeted markets. 
I know the key drivers activities (type of major 
business sector) that are contributing towards your 
local economy). 
 
The branch location-related factor was 
ranked first and it received the lowest 
average mean with a value of 1.69 and 
a standard deviation of 0.57 and a 95% 
CI of [1.60,1.78] 
SF2: Local market 
(I know which industries create employment for the 
local population. 
I know whether my town/area is regarded as a growth 
/stagnant/declining market. 
I know the role of tourism in the local economy. 
Referring to the preceding question, I know how 
significant is the hospitality, food and entertainment 
industry in your local market. 
I know the activity within the property market in my 
local market. 
I know what my bank’s market share in my local 
market.) 
The branch location-related factor was 
ranked first as it received the second 
lowest average mean with a value of 
1.75 and a standard deviation of 0.57 
and a 95% CI of [1.66,1.84] 
SF3: Customer 
(I can describe (or rate) consumer knowledge relating 
to products (and services) offered by my bank. 
I know the make-up (segments) of my customer base. 
My customer base represent (reflect) the market 
profile and potential of your local market. 
I know what the dominant segments of the consumers 
The customer-related factor was ranked 
third as it received the third lowest 
average mean with a value of 1.80 and 
a standard deviation of 0.55  and a 95% 
CI of [1.71,1.89] 
Page | 68  
 
 
 
in my local market are and what their banking needs 
would be. 
I know who the key retailers in my local market banks 
with.) 
SF4: Bank’s Strategy 
(The branch understands the bank's strategy. 
The bank’s strategy is effectively communicated to the 
branch staff. 
Senior management provide strategic direction for the 
bank. 
The goals of the branches are aligned with the bank's 
strategy. 
The allocation of resources is aligned with the bank's 
strategy. 
There is alignment between the culture and the 
strategy of the bank.  
People are measured or rewarded for executing the 
plan. 
I am aware of the perceptions my leadership and staff 
have about the bank's culture and whether it is 
supportive in the areas of collaboration, commitment, 
and creativity. 
I am aware of the internal and external environments 
that may pose future growth opportunities or threats to 
my branch. 
I feel that my management team shares the same 
level of awareness as I do in both the areas mentioned 
above.) 
The bank’s strategy-related factor was 
ranked fourth as it received the fourth 
lowest average mean with a value of 
1.90 and a standard deviation of 0.51 
and a 95% CI of [1.82,1.98] 
SF5: Plans 
(I have a formal strategic planning process that is 
continually implemented each year. 
I have a clear vision of the future and a path to get 
there that is shared by all in my branch. 
I feel that my current vision and plan for the future 
represents the "best thinking" from all of the members 
of my management team. 
My organisation is focused on results. 
I know on a day-by-day basis how I am progressing 
The plans-related factor was ranked fifth 
as it received the fifth lowest average 
mean with a value of 1.93 and a 
standard deviation of 0.56 and a 95% CI 
of [1.84,2.02] 
Page | 69  
 
 
 
toward your future vision. 
Employees see a personal opportunity to satisfy their 
own needs by contributing to the achievement of the 
branch and the bank's goals.) 
SF6:Staff 
(My staff take responsibility (and accountability) of the 
strategic plan's implementation. 
I include staff in putting together strategic (or tactical) 
plans. 
My staff and I allocate time to discuss and revisit the 
strategic (or tactical) plan. 
Everyone in my branch has a good idea of the 
decisions and actions for which he or she is 
responsible regarding the strategy plan.) 
The staff-related factor was ranked sixth 
with the average mean value of 2.05 
and a standard deviation of 0.63 and a 
95% CI of [1.95,2.15] 
SF7:Communication 
(The individual performance-appraisal process 
differentiates among high, adequate, and low 
performers. 
The ability to deliver on performance commitments 
strongly influences career advancement and 
compensation. 
Information flows freely across the bank. 
Individuals at all levels of the bank are appropriately 
involved in the development and achievement of the 
bank's goals). 
The communication-related factor was 
ranked seventh with the average mean 
value of 2.11 and a standard deviation 
of 0.70 and a 95% CI of [2.00,2.22] 
SF8:Competition 
(I know what my competitors' unique strengths are. 
I know what my competitors' unique weaknesses are. 
I know who their key staff is and what makes them 
attractive to recruit. 
I know what activities, events and promotions the 
competitor does get involved in that my bank does 
not). 
The competition-related factor was 
ranked eighth with the average mean 
value of 2.22 and a standard deviation 
of 0.69 and a 95% CI of [2.11,2.33] 
SF9: Performance 
(The ability to deliver on performance commitments 
strongly influences career advancement and 
compensation. 
Meetings I attend are efficient, with clear agendas and 
The performance-related factor was 
ranked ninth with the average mean 
value of 2.23 and a standard deviation 
of 0.74 and a 95% CI of [2.11,2.35] 
Page | 70  
 
 
 
 
3.6.2.6 Construct Correlations 
The table below presents a matrix of the bivariate correlations of the constructs 
identified that influence implementation of strategy. 
appropriate attendees.  
Our performance measurement and review system is 
simple and effective. 
We have good communication, cooperation and 
healthy conflict across functions). 
SF10:Strategy implementation 
(Change is managed effectively in the bank. 
Senior management supports the branch managers in 
strategy implementation. 
The implementation of strategy is effectively 
controlled. 
Support Management (e.g. Regional Managers) is 
competent enough to implement strategy. 
Human capital is effectively developed to support 
strategy implementation.) 
The strategy implementation-related 
factor was ranked tenth (together with 
support structure) with the average 
mean value of 2.25 and a standard 
deviation of 0.76 and a 95% CI of 
[2.13,2.37] 
SF11:Support Structure 
(The primary role of head office staff here is to support 
the branches.  
Senior management confront difficult performance 
problems and hold people accountable. 
Senior management effectively delegate and coach.  
Senior management spend at least 30% of their time 
helping employees remove barriers to strategy 
execution.  
Senior management provides recognition for 
performance.  
My support management conducts regular results 
management meetings). 
The support structure-related factor was 
ranked the same as strategy 
implementation with the average mean 
value of 2.25 and a standard deviation 
of 0.75 and a 95% CI of [2.13,2.37] 
SF12: Sales 
(My current salespeople are effective. 
We hire and promote talented salespeople, meeting 
their targets. 
Our sales managers are professional and effective). 
The sales-related factor was ranked last 
with the average mean value of 2.57 
and a standard deviation of 0.83 and a 
95% CI of [2.44,2.70] 
Page | 71  
 
 
 
Table 3.6 Construct Correlation matrix 
 
(Source: Adapted from SPSS output) 
It can be seen from the table, as an example, that the variable Local market is highly 
correlated (positively) to Branch location (r = 0.743) and Customer (r = 0.638) 
indicating that an understanding of the local market is highly associated with an 
understanding of the location of the local branch as well as the customers in the local 
market. Similarly, it can be seen that all items are inter-correlated at a 0.01 level of 
significance. 
 
3.6.2.7 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA): The influence of the demographic 
profile of respondents upon the mean score of the constructs. 
The following Analysis of Variance tests (ANOVA) were performed to determine the 
influence of the demographic profile of respondents upon the mean score of the 
constructs. The specific software used (SAS/JMP) performs a T-test when only 2 
groups are involved and an ANOVA test where more than 2 groups are involved. 
Normally distributed data and Homogeneity of variance (equal variances) are a 
requirement for this parametric test. In the absence of normality non-parametric tests 
are performed: Mann Whitney U tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests are performed for 2 
 Correlations Support 
Structure
Local 
Market Staff
Bank 
Strategy Sales
Strategy 
Implemen
tation Customer
Branch 
Location Performance Communication Competition Plan
Support Structure 1
.436** .497** .645** .517** .677** .415** .468** .742** .765** .314** .534**
Local Market
.436** 1 .444** .566** .412** .361** .638** .743** .408** .368** .578** .519**
Staff
.497** .444** 1 .609** .492** .432** .515** .555** .539** .470** .474** .591**
BankStrategy
.645** .566** .609** 1 .590** .588** .563** .644** .720** .640** .452** .675**
Sales
.517** .412** .492** .590** 1 .545** .343** .506** .526** .493** .388** .551**
Strategy 
Implementation
.677** .361** .432** .588** .545** 1 .289** .348** .571** .659** .325** .373**
Customer
.415** .638** .515** .563** .343** .289** 1 .629** .435** .385** .560** .535**
Branch Location
.468** .743** .555** .644** .506** .348** .629** 1 .438** .418** .521** .590**
Performance
.742** .408** .539** .720** .526** .571** .435** .438** 1 .726** .374** .579**
Communication
.765** .368** .470** .640** .493** .659** .385** .418** .726** 1 .250** .545**
Competition
.314** .578** .474** .452** .388** .325** .560** .521** .374** .250** 1 .290**
Plan
.534** .519** .591** .675** .551** .373** .535** .590** .579** .545** .290** 1
Correlations
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Page | 72  
 
 
 
and more than 2 groups respectively. Where the variances are unequal, the result of 
the robust Welch test is reported. 
In all the tests conducted below the result of all 3 tests are provided to ensure that 
accurate inferences are reported. The tests were conducted at the 0.05 level of 
significance. 
 
3.6.2.7.1 Gender 
Table 3.6 The influence of gender upon the mean score of the constructs 
Factor/Construct Gender N Mean Std Dev ANOVA Welch 
Mann-
Whitney U-
test 
Support Structure 
 
Female 71 2.241 0.8173 F1,152=0.0071 
p=0.9329 
F1,152=0.0069 
p=0.9337 
χ2=0.1134 
p=0.7363 Male 82 2.252 0.6845 
Local Market Female 71 1.788 0.5612 F1,152=0.4994 p=0.4809 
F1,152=0.5012 
p=0.9337 
χ2=0.648 
p=0.4207 Male 82 1.723 0.5751 
Competition Female 71 2.235 0.6838 F1,152=0.0518 p=0.8203 
F1,152=0.0520 
p=0.8200 
χ2=0.1310 
p=0.7188 Male 82 2.210 0.6999 
Staff 
Female 71 1.992 0.6210 F1,152=1.0640 
p=0.3040 
F1,152=1.0660 
p=0.3035 
χ2=1.7181 
p=0.1899 Male 82 2.097 0.6294 
Bank's strategy 
 
Female 71 1.829 0.5470 F1,152=2.5177 
p=0.1147 
F1,152=2.4688 
p=0.1184 
χ2=3.4086 
p=0.0649 Male 82 1.960 0.4773 
Sales Female 71 2.483 0.8797 F1,152=1.4510 p=0.2303 
F1,152=1.4291 
p=0.2339 
χ2=1.2003 
p=0.2733 Male 82 2.646 0.7914 
Strategy 
Implementation 
Female 71 2.230 0.8543 F1,152=0.0595 
p=0.8077 
F1,152=0.0574 
p=0.8110 
χ2=0.5029 
p=0.4782 Male 82 2.260 0.6649 
Plans Female 71 1.798 0.5527 F1,152=7.4969 p=0.0069 
F1,152=7.4737 
p=0.0070 
χ2=6.9402 
p=0.0084 Male 82 2.040 0.5408 
Customer Female 71 1.833 0.5355 F1,152=0.5422 p=0.4627 
F1,152=0.5457 
p=0.4612 
χ2=1.2777 
p=0.2583 Male 82 1.768 0.5599 
Branch location Female 71 1.744 0.5908 F1,152=1.1824 p=0.2786 
F1,152=1.1685 
p=0.2815 
χ2=1.1081 
p=0.2925 Male 82 1.644 0.5441 
Performance Female 71 2.183 0.7676 F1,152=0.6097 p=0.4361 
F1,152=0.6048 
p=0.4380 
χ2=0.7334 
p=0.3918 Male 82 2.277 0.7254 
Communication Female 71 2.066 0.7859 F1,152=0.4901 p=0.4850 
F1,152=0.4734 
p=0.4926 
χ2=2.0499 
p=0.1522 Male 82 2.146 0.6160 
 
The probability values are highlighted in the table.  
ANOVA tests and corresponding non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U-tests) as 
well as the robust Welch test (in the absence of homogeneity of variances) were 
conducted in comparing the mean scores of Females and Males for the 12 
constructs. The only statistical difference between the mean scores of Females and 
Page | 73  
 
 
 
Males was for the construct “Plans”. Female respondents have a significantly higher 
mean score for this construct. 
Female respondents agree more strongly that the construct “Plans” have an 
influence in the implementation of strategic planning. 
 
3.6.2.7.2 Age distribution of the respondents 
Table 3.8 The influence of age distribution upon the mean score of the 
constructs 
Construct Age N Mean Std Dev ANOVA Welch 
Kruskal-
Wallis -test 
Support Structure 
 
21-29 7 2.595 0.4893 
F3,149=0.9713 
 p=0.4080 
F1,152=1.7568 
p=0.1770 
χ2=3.5045 
p=0.3202 
30-39 38 2.140 0.5404 
40-49 62 2.309 0.8808 
50-59 46 2.199 0.7231 
Local Market 
21-29 7 1.690 0.6118 
F3,149=0.5917 
p=0.6214 
F3,149=0.5867 
p=0.6404 
χ2=2.1296 
p=0.5459 
30-39 38 1.710 0.6122 
40-49 62 1.827 0.5851 
50-59 46 1.699 0.5038 
Competition 
21-29 7 1.714 0.5482 
F3,149=2.0899 
p=0.1041 
F3,149=2.6292 
p=0.0696 
χ2=6.4120 
p=0.0932 
30-39 38 2.105 0.7658 
40-49 62 2.302 0.6685 
50-59 46 2.288 0.6454 
Staff 
21-29 7 2.214 0.7420 
F3,149=0.3512 
p=0.7883 
F3,149=0.2901 
p=0.8321 
χ2=1.0356 
p=0.7926 
30-39 38 2.019 0.6534 
40-49 62 2.012 0.5751 
50-59 46 2.097 0.6634 
Bank’s Strategy 
21-29 7 1.985 0.4740 
F3,149=0.6715 
p=0.5708 
F3,149=0.8418 
p=0.4827 
χ2=1.9958 
p=0.5733 
30-39 38 1.800 0.4126 
40-49 62 1.937 0.5780 
50-59 46 1.919 0.5053 
Sales 
21-29 7 2.904 1.0490 
F3,149=0.4970 
p=0.6849 
F3,149=0.3441 
p=0.7936 
χ2=1.3540 
p=0.7164 
30-39 38 2.605 0.7138 
40-49 62 2.510 0.8844 
50-59 46 2.572 0.8393 
Strategy 
Implementation 
21-29 7 2.257 0.8059 
F3,149=0.8325 
p=0.4780 
F3,149=1.0046 
p=0.4059 
χ2=1.4528 
p=0.6932 
30-39 38 2.089 0.6110 
40-49 62 2.335 0.7899 
50-59 46 2.256 0.8128 
Plans 
21-29 7 2.214 0.4879 F3,149=1.0381 
p=0.3776 
F3,149=1.1273 
p=0.3550 
χ2=3.9333 
p=0.2688 30-39 38 1.986 0.5647 
Page | 74  
 
 
 
40-49 62 1.862 0.5956 
50-59 46 1.923 0.5051 
Customer 
21-29 7 1.685 0.7988 
F3,149=0.4858 
p=0.6927 
F3,149=0.4729 
p=0.7038 
χ2=1.5744 
p=0.6652 
30-39 38 1.731 0.5057 
40-49 62 1.806 0.5725 
50-59 46 1.860 0.5144 
Branch Location 
21-29 7 1.761 0.5762 
F3,149=0.1163 
p=0.9504 
F3,149=0.1153 
p=0.9503 
χ2=0.8037 
p=0.8486 
30-39 38 1.671 0.5753 
40-49 62 1.672 0.6035 
50-59 46 1.721 0.5212 
Performance 
21-29 7 2.285 0.3659 
F3,149=1.1401 
p=0.3349 
F3,149=1.4942 
p=0.2342 
χ2=3.3415 
p=0.3419 
30-39 38 2.052 0.6182 
40-49 62 2.254 0.8666 
50-59 46 2.347 0.6921 
Communication 
21-29 7 2.535 0.5482 
F3,149=2.0181 
p=0.1138 
F3,149=3.3761 
p=0.0321 * 
χ2=5.9760 
p=0.1128 
30-39 38 1.914 0.4586 
40-49 62 2.149 0.7403 
50-59 46 2.152 0.7931 
Note that Levene’s tests show that the variances are equal and the result of the Welch test is 
therefore rejected. 
 
 
ANOVA tests and corresponding non-parametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis tests) as well 
as the robust Welch test (in the absence of homogeneity of variances) were 
conducted in comparing the mean scores of the Age categories for the 12 
constructs. 
The results in the table above provide no statistical evidence that the age of 
respondents influences the mean score for the constructs. 
 
  
Page | 75  
 
 
 
3.6.2.7.3 Years with the bank 
Table 3.9 The influence of years with the bank upon the mean score of the 
constructs 
Construct 
Years 
with the 
bank 
N Mean Std Dev ANOVA Welch 
Kruskal-
Wallis -test 
Support 
Structure 
 
1-2 yrs 3 2.444 0.6735 
F3,149=0.4429 
 p=0.7227 
F3,149=0.6724 
 p=0.5966 
χ2=2.1921 
p=0.5335 
3-5 yrs 5 2.200 0.7207 
6-10 yrs 20 2.408 0.4820 
over 10 
yrs 125 2.218 0.7858 
Local Market 
1-2 yrs 3 1.833 0.6009 
F3,149=0.4437 
p=0.7221 
F3,149=0.1265 
p=0.9512 
χ2=0.4798 
p=0.9233 
3-5 yrs 5 2.033 1.0567 
6-10 yrs 20 1.758 0.5657 
over 10 
yrs 125 1.740 0.5484 
Competition 
1-2 yrs 3 1.666 0.6291 
F3,149=0.8269 
p=0.4810 
F3,149=0.7387 
p=0.5636 
χ2=2.0351 
p=0.5659 
3-5 yrs 5 2.400 1.0246 
6-10 yrs 20 2.162 0.8162 
over 10 
yrs 125 2.238 0.6575 
Staff 
1-2 yrs 3 2.166 0.3818 
F3,149=1.6102 
p=0.1894 
F3,149=1.1269 
p=0.4027 
χ2=2.7792 
p=0.4269 
3-5 yrs 5 1.750 0.7500 
6-10 yrs 20 2.300 0.6911 
over 10 
yrs 125 2.018 0.6092 
Bank’s Strategy 
1-2 yrs 3 2.166 0.1527 
F3,149=1.3615 
p=0.2569 
F3,149=3.5810 
p=0.0648 
χ2=6.4316 
p=0.0924 
3-5 yrs 5 1.760 0.4335 
6-10 yrs 20 2.080 0.3396 
over 10 
yrs 125 1.870 0.5388 
Sales 
1-2 yrs 3 2.222 0.6938 
F3,149=1.3859 
p=0.2494 
F3,149=1.5238 
p=0.2936 
χ2=3.6537 
p=0.3014 
3-5 yrs 5 2.200 1.0954 
6-10 yrs 20 2.866 0.6434 
over 10 
yrs 125 2.546 0.8492 
Strategy 
Implementation 
1-2 yrs 3 2.866 0.2309 
F3,149=0.6837 
p=0.5634 
F3,149=5.2807 
p=0.0264 
χ2=3.1483 
p=0.3693 
3-5 yrs 5 2.240 0.9939 
6-10 yrs 20 2.250 0.6954 
over 10 
yrs 125 2.232 0.7647 
Plans 
1-2 yrs 3 2.111 0.3469 
F3,149=0.6837 
p=0.5634 
F3,149=5.2807 
p=0.0264 
χ2=3.1483 
p=0.3693 
3-5 yrs 5 2.033 0.8198 
6-10 yrs 20 2.216 0.5725 
over 10 
yrs 125 1.873 0.5385 
  
Page | 76  
 
 
 
Customer 
1-2 yrs 3 2.066 0.4163 
F3,149=0.3122 
p=0.8166 
F3,149=0.4075 
p=0.7528 
χ2=1.5889 
p=0.6619 
3-5 yrs 5 1.840 0.5176 
6-10 yrs 20 1.840 0.5604 
over 10 
yrs 125 1.784 0.5533 
Branch Location 
1-2 yrs 3 1.833 0.6666 
F3,149=0.9904 
p=0.3991 
F3,149=0.9626 
p=0.4649 
χ2=3.7749 
p=0.2869 
3-5 yrs 5 1.700 0.7673 
6-10 yrs 20 1.883 0.5075 
over 10 
yrs 125 1.656 0.5658 
Performance 
1-2 yrs 3 2.083 0.3818 
F3,149=0.1812 
p=0.9090 
F3,149=0.3419 
p=0.7961 
χ2=0.7799 
p=0.8543 
3-5 yrs 5 2.200 0.8909 
6-10 yrs 20 2.337 0.5457 
over 10 
yrs 125 2.222 0.7765 
Communication 
1-2 yrs 3 2.500 0.6614 
F3,149=0.6215 
p=0.6022 
F3,149=0.6363 
p=0.6161 
χ2=2.9338 
p=0.4019 
3-5 yrs 5 2.150 0.7826 
6-10 yrs 20 2.237 0.5647 
Over 10 
yrs 
125 2.078 0.7180 
 
ANOVA tests and corresponding non-parametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis tests) as well 
as the robust Welch test (in the absence of homogeneity of variances) were 
conducted in comparing the mean scores of the Years with the bank categories for 
the 12 constructs. The results in the table above provide no statistical evidence that 
Years with the bank of respondents influence the mean score for the constructs. 
 
3.6.2.7.4 Province where the respondents reside 
Table 3.10 The influence of provinces upon the mean score of the constructs 
Construct Province N Mean Std Dev ANOVA Welch Kruskal-Wallis test 
Support Structure 
 
Eastern Cape 19 2.219 0.6714 
F3,149=1.5060 
 p=0.1600 
F3,149=3.6590 
 p=0.0060 
χ2=2.1921 
p=0.0385 
Free State 1 2.000 . 
Gauteng 43 2.348 0.7389 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.993 0.6147 
Limpopo 5 1.966 0.4772 
Mpumalanga 10 2.533 0.7888 
Northern Cape 6 1.638 0.3058 
North West 7 2.095 1.4071 
Western Cape 38 2.399 0.7275 
Local Market Eastern Cape 19 1.815 0.5580 F3,149=0.2287 F3,149=0.2523 χ2=1.9167 
Page | 77  
 
 
 
Free State 1 2.000 . p=0.9851 p=0.9670 p=0.9835 
Gauteng 43 1.748 0.5823 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.736 0.5558 
Limpopo 5 1.466 0.5055 
Mpumalanga 10 1.783 0.5445 
Northern Cape 6 1.805 0.8718 
North West 7 1.690 0.5646 
Western Cape 38 1.767 0.5702 
Competition 
Eastern Cape 19 2.131 0.5735 
F3,149=1.4710 
p=0.1727 
F3,149=2.0877 
p=000791 
χ2=11.594 
p=0.1702 
Free State 1 2.000 . 
Gauteng 43 2.244 0.7914 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 2.312 0.7232 
Limpopo 5 1.750 0.5000 
Mpumalanga 10 2.275 0.6395 
Northern Cape 6 2.125 0.9048 
North West 7 1.571 0.5900 
Western Cape 38 2.375 0.5657 
Staff 
Eastern Cape 19 2.078 0.6012 
F3,149=1.3878 
p=0.2065 
F3,149=1.7393 
p=0.1398 
χ2=11.389 
p=0.1806 
Free State 1 2.000 . 
Gauteng 43 2.098 0.6481 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.885 0.6254 
Limpopo 5 1.850 0.3354 
Mpumalanga 10 2.400 0.6146 
Northern Cape 6 1.541 0.5103 
North West 7 1.857 0.8762 
Western Cape 38 2.131 0.5775 
Bank’s Strategy 
Eastern Cape 19 2.100 0.3771 
F3,149=2.0978 
p=0.0396 
F3,149=2.4685 
p=0.0419 
χ2=15.433 
p=0.0512 
Free State 1 1.400 . 
Gauteng 43 1.902 0.5514 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.754 0.4717 
Limpopo 5 1.700 0.4743 
Mpumalanga 10 2.090 0.3446 
Northern Cape 6 1.533 0.5006 
North West 7 1.542 0.4720 
Western Cape 38 2.002 0.5420 
Sales 
Eastern Cape 19 3.000 0.5983 
F3,149=1.8503 
p=0.0724 
F3,149=2.0499 
p=0.0845 
χ2=14.753 
p=0.0641 
Free State 1 4.000 . 
Gauteng 43 2.581 0.8578 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 2.222 0.9044 
Limpopo 5 2.266 0.5477 
Mpumalanga 10 2.833 0.7576 
Northern Cape 6 2.555 1.0036 
North West 7 2.619 1.3392 
Western Cape 38 2.491 0.6920 
Strategy Eastern Cape 19 2.294 0.5631 F3,149=1.3187 F3,149=5.2807 χ2=3.1483 
Page | 78  
 
 
 
Implementation Free State 1 2.000 . p=0.2387 p=0.0264 p=0.3693 
Gauteng 43 2.358 0.7850 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 2.175 0.7513 
Limpopo 5 1.720 0.6099 
Mpumalanga 10 2.540 1.0585 
Northern Cape 6 1.566 0.3669 
North West 7 2.114 1.1653 
Western Cape 38 2.273 0.6582 
Plans 
Eastern Cape 19 2.000 0.3967 
F3,149=0.8331 
p=0.5749 
F3,149=0.8996 
p=0.5205 
χ2=6.2839 
p=0.6155 
Free State 1 2.000  
Gauteng 43 1.992 0.6535 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.750 0.5450 
Limpopo 5 1.833 0.3726 
Mpumalanga 10 2.033 0.4567 
Northern Cape 6 1.694 0.6701 
North West 7 1.690 0.5220 
Western Cape 38 1.995 0.5527 
Customer 
Eastern Cape 19 1.757 0.5273 
F3,149=0.9693 
p=0.4624 
F3,149=1.0967 
p=0.3924 
χ2=8.6191 
p=0.3754 
Free State 1 2.000 . 
Gauteng 43 1.804 0.5631 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.675 0.5202 
Limpopo 5 1.640 0.3577 
Mpumalanga 10 1.900 0.5354 
Northern Cape 6 1.766 0.8238 
North West 7 1.457 0.5126 
Western Cape 38 1.947 0.5376 
Branch Location 
Eastern Cape 19 1.701 0.5078 
 
 
 
F3,149=0.6672 
p=0.71971 
 
 
 
F3,149=0.7809 
p=0.6088 
 
 
 
χ2=5.4408 
p=0.7096 
Free State 1 2.000 . 
Gauteng 43 1.767 0.5877 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.479 0.4946 
Limpopo 5 1.500 0.5000 
Mpumalanga 10 1.783 0.4782 
Northern Cape 6 1.722 0.7044 
North West 7 1.666 0.6309 
Western Cape 38 1.723 0.6227 
Performance 
Eastern Cape 19 2.526 0.7678 
F3,149=2.4345 
p=0.0165 
F3,149=3.3176 
p=0.0106 
χ2=20.164 
p=0.0097 
Free State 1 2.000 . 
Gauteng 43 2.279 0.7583 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.927 0.7278 
Limpopo 5 1.900 0.4541 
Mpumalanga 10 2.675 0.7075 
Northern Cape 6 1.958 0.9926 
North West 7 1.607 0.4755 
Western Cape 38 2.322 0.6496 
Communication Eastern Cape 19 2.342 0.7737 F3,149=1.2258 F3,149=1.5286 χ2=9.4481 
Page | 79  
 
 
 
Free State 1 2.000 . p=0.2881 p=0.1996 p=0.3059 
Gauteng 43 2.209 0.6877 
KwaZulu-Natal 24 1.937 0.6352 
Limpopo 5 1.750 0.6123 
Mpumalanga 10 2.350 0.6146 
Northern Cape 6 1.666 0.5163 
North West 7 2.107 1.3833 
Western Cape 38 2.046 0.5660 
 
ANOVA, Welch and Kruskal-Wallis tests all indicate that there is a statistical 
difference in the responses for the constructs “Support Structure”, “Bank’s Strategy” 
and “Performance” between provinces. It must be noted that Free State is under-
represented in the sample with only 1 respondent. The tests were repeated without 
this province but the same results were produced. 
Inspection of the ANOVA post-hoc analysis did not reveal where the differences 
occur. A non-parametric comparison test using the Wilcoxon method however 
yielded the following significant pairs of differences: 
 
Table 3.11 The influence of provinces on Support Structure 
Province Mean Province Mean p-Value 
Western Cape 2.399 Northern Cape 1.638 0.011 
Western Cape 2.399 KwaZulu-Natal 1.993 0.019 
KwaZulu-Natal 1.993 Gauteng 2.348 0.037 
Northern Cape 1.638 Gauteng 2.348 0.014 
 
Western Cape and Gauteng have a significantly lower score than KwaZulu-Natal and 
Northern Cape. The latter 2 provinces consider “Support Structure” significantly more 
important in the implementation of strategic plan than Western Cape and Gauteng. 
 
Table 3.12 The influence of provinces on Bank’s Strategy 
Province Mean Province Mean p-Value 
Northern Cape 1.533 Mpumalanga 2.090 0.049 
North West 1.542 Mpumalanga 2.090 0.031 
Northern Cape 1.533 Eastern Cape 2.100 0.024 
North West 1.542 Eastern Cape 2.100 0.021 
KwaZulu-Natal 1.754 Eastern Cape 2.100 0.015 
 
Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape have a significantly lower score than Northern Cape, 
North West and KwaZulu-Natal. The latter 3 provinces consider “Bank’s Strategy” 
Page | 80  
 
 
 
more important in the implementation of strategic plan than Mpumalanga and 
Eastern Cape. 
 
Table 3.13 The influence of provinces on Performance 
Province Mean Province Mean p-Value 
Western Cape 2.322 North West 1.607 0.007 
Mpumalanga 2.675 KwaZulu-Natal 1.927 0.007 
Western Cape 2.322 KwaZulu-Natal 1.927 0.032 
North West 1.607 Mpumalanga 2.675 0.003 
North West 1.607 Eastern Cape 2.526 0.009 
KwaZulu-Natal 1.927 Eastern Cape 2.526 0.014 
North West 1.607 Gauteng 2.279 0.018 
 
North West has a significantly higher mean score for the construct “Performance” 
than Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Eastern Cape. KwaZulu-Natal has a 
significantly higher mean score for the construct “Performance” than Mpumalanga, 
Western Cape and Eastern Cape. 
Respondents of North West and KwaZulu-Natal consider Performance more 
important than respondents of Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape in the 
implementation of strategy. 
 
3.7 Summary 
This study was based upon 153 completed questionnaires. The 72 items/statements 
that were posed to the respondents of this survey were subjected to an exploratory 
factor analysis. This EFA, employing the principal axis factoring extraction and 
oblimin rotation techniques, yielded 12 factor or constructs. In essence these 12 
constructs (or themes) represent the factors that influence the implementation of 
strategy. A measure for each construct has been determined by calculating the 
mean score of the items that constitute the constructs. 
The relative importance of these factors that have been identified as influencing 
implementation of strategy, were investigated by inspection of the construct scores. 
Page | 81  
 
 
 
From the analysis, Branch location has been the construct that was  perceived as 
the first success factor in strategy implementation by branch managers followed by 
the local market, then customer, then bank’s strategy, plan, staff, communication, 
competition, performance, strategy implementation, support structure and lastly 
sales. 
Further investigation into the impact of the demographic profile of respondents upon 
the constructs has been undertaken. Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests 
have been employed to compare the mean scores for each demographic category: 
• Female respondents agree more strongly that the construct “Plans” have an 
influence in the implementation of strategic planning.   
• There has been no statistical evidence that the age of respondent or years of 
service with the bank influences the mean score of the constructs.  
• ANOVA, Welch and Kruskal-Wallis tests have all indicated that there is a 
statistical difference in the responses for the constructs “Support Structure” 
and “Bank’s Strategy” between provinces.  
• KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape consider “Support Structure” significantly 
more important in the implementation of strategic plans than Western Cape 
and Gauteng. 
• Northern Cape, North West and KwaZulu-Natal consider “Bank’s Strategy” 
more important in the implementation of strategic plans than Mpumalanga 
and Eastern Cape. 
• KwaZulu-Natal has a significantly higher mean score for the construct 
“Performance” than Mpumalanga, Western Cape and Eastern Cape. 
• Respondents of North West and KwaZulu-Natal consider Performance more 
important than respondents of Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Eastern 
Cape in the implementation of strategy. 
The next chapter is the final chapter of the study.  It draws conclusions from the 
empirical research, and offers some recommendations before offering some visions 
on possible future research.  
Page | 82  
 
 
 
CHAPTER 4 
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
 
4.1 Introduction 
In  this  chapter,  conclusions  and  recommendations  will  be  given  based  on  the  
analysis of identifying success factors of strategy planning as evaluated during the  
literature review of this study (in Chapter 2), together with the empirical research (in 
Chapter 3).   
The content of this study is also evaluated to determine if the objectives, as identified  
in  Chapter 1, were reached. Recommendations for future research will be made and 
the study will conclude with a summary of the study.   
 
4.2 Summary of the main research findings 
This section summarises the main findings of the study. 
o Branch Location 
The construct branch location consists of: knowing the advantages and 
disadvantages of the branch’s current location, knowing the advantages and 
disadvantages of the competitors’ location, description of the Bank’s physical 
positioning in relation to targeted markets and knowing the key driver activities (type 
of major business sector) that are contributing towards the local economy. 
The analysis highlights the importance of this construct as the number one success 
factor during the implementation of strategic plans. 
o Local Market 
The construct local market consists of knowing which industries create 
employment for the local population, knowing whether the town/area is regarded 
as a growth /stagnant/declining market, knowing the role of tourism in the local 
Page | 83  
 
 
 
economy and how significant the hospitality, food and entertainment industry is in 
the local market, knowing the activity within the property market in the local 
market and lastly the bank’s market share in the local market. 
The statements relate closely to the branch location statements above, as they 
also highlight the importance of knowing your local market. These construct (or 
items) has been found to be the next success factor as per the branch managers. 
The researcher suggests that the two constructs (branch location and local 
market) should perhaps have been combined. 
o Customer 
The construct local market consists of describing (or rating) consumer knowledge 
relating to products and services offered by the bank, knowing the make-up of the 
branch’s customer base, the reflection of customer base to market profile and 
potential of the local market, knowing what the dominant segments of the 
consumers in the local market is and what their banking needs would be and 
knowing whom the key retailers in the local market banks with. 
The findings have also highlighted knowing the customer make-up and the 
potential of market as the third success factor of strategic planning and 
implementation in order of importance. 
o Bank’s strategy 
The construct bank’s strategy consists of the branch understanding the bank's 
strategy, the bank’s strategy being effectively communicated to the branch staff, 
senior management providing strategic direction for the bank, the goals of the 
branches being aligned with the bank's strategy, the allocation of resources 
aligned with the bank's strategy, alignment between the culture and the strategy 
of the bank, people measured or rewarded for executing the plan, awareness of 
the perceptions leadership and staff have about the bank's culture and whether it 
is supportive in the areas of collaboration, commitment, and creativity, awareness 
of the internal and external environments that may pose future growth 
opportunities or threats to the branch, management team sharing the same level 
of awareness as the branch manager in both the areas mentioned above. 
Page | 84  
 
 
 
The findings have also highlighted that the construct bank strategy encompassing 
communication, leadership, culture-strategy alignment, resources-strategy 
alignment and rewards has been perceived by branch managers as the fourth 
success factor. 
When analysing the influence of demographics (province) on this particular 
construct, it has been found that Northern Cape, North West and KwaZulu-Natal 
considered “Bank’s Strategy” more important in the implementation of strategic 
plans than Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape. 
o Plan 
The construct plan consists of having a formal strategic planning process that is 
continually implemented each year, having a clear vision of the future and a path 
to get there that is shared by all in the branch, current vision and plan for the 
future representing the "best thinking" from all of the members of the branch’s 
management team, organisation focused on results, knowing on a day-by-day 
basis the progress toward the future vision, branch staff seeing a personal 
opportunity to satisfy their own needs by contributing to the achievement of the 
branch and the bank's goals. 
The findings have highlighted having a good strategic or tactical plan as the fifth 
success factor. When analysing the influence of demographics (province) on this 
particular construct, it has been found that female respondents agree more 
strongly that the construct “Plans” have an influence in the implementation of 
strategic planning. 
Analysing the influence of demographics on the other constructs has revealed 
that KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape considered “Support Structure” 
significantly more important in the implementation of strategic plans than Western 
Cape and Gauteng. Support Structure has been the eleventh success factor as 
per the branch managers. KwaZulu-Natal has a significantly higher mean score 
for the construct “Performance” than Mpumalanga, Western Cape and Eastern 
Cape. Respondents of North West and KwaZulu-Natal consider Performance 
Page | 85  
 
 
 
more important than respondents of Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Eastern 
Cape in the implementation of strategy. 
In the next section, the study is evaluated. 
 
4.3 Study evaluation 
This section discusses the contributions of successfully achieving the primary and 
secondary objectives. 
The primary objective of this study was to identify and investigate the success 
factors which influence successful implementation of strategic plans. An empirical 
investigation was performed by using the questionnaire as a measurement 
instrument.  Success factors were identified and prioritised by rating the statements 
under each factor. A total of 615 respondents were asked to complete the 
questionnaire and the response rate was 25%. The low response rate was due to the 
fact that participation was voluntary and time also pressured. 
The outcome of the study will enable the branch managers and the bank to apply 
“best practices” of strategy implementation in all the branches. 
The success factors from the branch manager’s perspective were prioritised as per 
the summary in the previous section. From the empirical study performed and the 
summary above, it is evident to conclude that the primary objectives of the study 
were met. 
The secondary objectives of the study were to investigate the influence of 
demographic profile upon the success factors. Again based on the summary above 
(section 4.2), it is evident to conclude that the secondary objectives of the study were 
met. 
In the next section recommendations for the study are discussed. 
 
  
Page | 86  
 
 
 
4.4 Recommendations 
• The implementation process needs to be organised in a logical way. A simple 
model that indicates key steps is critical for the implementation process. It is 
important to highlight what needs to be done by whom and at what time 
interval. To avoid a situation where individuals do what they would regard as 
important and leave out the critical functions that need to be done, it is 
advisable to design an implementation model that gives step-by-step 
guidelines to employees on plans that are about to be implemented. Both 
management and employees need to know what comes first, second, 
etcetera, during the implementation process. A roadmap is a critical element 
in the strategy implementation process. 
• YYY Bank should also consider having continuous managerial feedback 
loops.  
• It is also recommended that the two constructs “branch location” and “local 
market” are combined into one construct. 
• A bigger sample should be used in future as the sample was not enough, 
according to EFA, to draw conclusions about the population. 
• Perform a gap analysis by distributing the questionnaire also to senior 
management and branch staff and see if there will be any differences. 
• Better descriptive names for the constructs. 
 
4.5 Further research  
Stemming from this study, the following are probable fields for further study:  
• This study focussed on the total process for crafting and executing strategy.  
Each of the steps in the strategic management process can be researched by 
YYY Bank to provide in-depth guidance to the process.  
• It is recommended that further research should be carried out because of the 
limited scope of the study, which only focussed on a group of bank managers 
in a particular bank (YYY Bank). 
• Further investigations of the impact of provinces on the constructs. 
Page | 87  
 
 
 
 
4.6 Summary 
The research highlights the importance of understanding one’s local market, knowing 
your customer, communication, leadership, culture-strategy alignment, resources-
strategy alignment, rewards and tactical plan as the top success factors of strategy 
implementation within branches of YYY Bank. Information sharing plays a pivotal 
role during implementation as it provides an indication on progress of the plan and 
possible shortcomings that need immediate remedial action. Another element that is 
also important to note is the identification of roles and responsibilities for all that are 
involved in the implementation process. This would make the process easier as 
management would know who to hold responsible and accountable for a specific 
action. Based on the fact that there needs to be co-operation and effective 
coordination of activities, strategy implementation will be affected if lack of co-
operation and coordination exists. 
The researcher has indicated that everything begins with a strategy. By implication, 
implementation cannot happen until one has something to implement. Therefore, 
strategy defines the arena in which implementation activities are taking place.  
Based on this background, it is critical to ensure an excellent approach in strategy 
formulation to ensure a sound strategy that will in turn give momentum to an 
effective strategy implementation process. 
Culture also plays a significant role in a strategy implementation process. It is very 
important for the organisation to develop a culture that is in support of 
implementation of its strategies. Needless to say that implementation demands a 
culture of achievement, discipline and ownership. 
  
Page | 88  
 
 
 
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Page | 95  
 
 
 
ANNEXURE A: COVER LETTER 
 A1: Cover Letter 
TITLE OF THE STUDY:  
 Dear respondent  
  
You are invited to participate in this academic research study conducted by Ben V 
Maseko, an MBA student at the Potchefstroom Business School. The purpose of the 
study is to seek understanding of success factors of strategic planning and 
implementation of strategic plans. You are part of a selected group that has been 
asked to participate in this academic research study and I greatly appreciate your 
assistance.   
Please note that;  
 The responses are anonymous and confidential;  
 Approximately 20 minutes will be required to complete the 
questionnaire ; 
 Participation in the study is voluntary and important;  
 Your responses will be used for academic purposes only;  
 The findings can be availed on request only;  
Should you have any difficulties in responding, please contact me at the e-mail 
address; bmaseko@xxxx.co.za call me at 087 577 95xx. 
Thank you for your participation 
Ben Maseko - The Researcher 
Page | 96  
 
 
 
Table A2: Questionnaire 
 
SURVEY INSTRUCTIONS:
The survey should take no more than a few minutes. For each question, please select the ONE response from EACH COLUMN which BEST indicates 
your branch's PERFORMANCE thus far
For each of the following statements, please tick the response that best corresponds to your posit ion, according to the relevant scale.
Q1 What is your gender?
Female (1)
Male (2)
Q2 Which category below includes your age?
18-20
21-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60 or older
Q3 How many years have you been with FNB?
1-2
3-5
6-10
over 10
Q4 Which province is your branch in?
Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
Kwazulu Natal
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape
All questions that follows please indicate your response based on the scale below:
1 = Strongly Agree
2 = Agree
3 = Undecided
4 = Disagree
5 = Strongly Disagree
General
Q5 The branch understand the bank's strategy 1 2 3 4 5
Q6 The bank’s strategy is  effectively communicated to the branch staff 1 2 3 4 5
Q7 Senior management provide strategic direction for the bank 1 2 3 4 5
Q8 The goals of the branches are aligned with the bank's strategy 1 2 3 4 5
Q9 The allocation of resources is  aligned with the bank's strategy 1 2 3 4 5
Q10 There is alignment between the culture and the strategy of the bank 1 2 3 4 5
Q11 Change is managed effectively in the bank 1 2 3 4 5
Q12 Senior management support the branch managers in strategy implementation 1 2 3 4 5
Q13 The implementation of strategy is effectively controlled 1 2 3 4 5
Q14 Support Management (eg Regional Managers) is competent enough to implement strategy 1 2 3 4 5
Q15 Human capital is effectively developed to support strategy implementation 1 2 3 4 5
Page | 97  
 
 
 
 
 
Local Economy
Q16 I know the advantages of my branch’s current location 1 2 3 4 5
Q17 I know the disadvantages of my branch’s current location 1 2 3 4 5
Q18 I know the advantages of the competitors’ location 1 2 3 4 5
Q19 I know the disadvantages of the competitors’ location 1 2 3 4 5
Q20 I can describe FNB’s physical posit ioning in relation to our targeted markets 1 2 3 4 5
Q21 I know the key drivers activit ies (type of major business sector) that are contributing towards your local economy 1 2 3 4 5
Q22 I know which industries create employment for the local population 1 2 3 4 5
Q23 I know whether my town/ area is regarded as a growth /stagnant/declining market 1 2 3 4 5
Q24 I know the role of tourism in the local economy 1 2 3 4 5
Q25 Referring to the preceeding question,I know how significant is the hospitality, food and entertainment industry in your local market 1 2 3 4 5
Q26 I know the activity within the property market in my local market 1 2 3 4 5
Competitor
Q27 I know what my competitors' unique strengths are 1 2 3 4 5
Q28 I know what my competitors' unique weakneses are 1 2 3 4 5
Q29 I know who their key staff are and  what makes them attractive to recruit 1 2 3 4 5
Q30 I know what activities, events and  promotions does the competitor get involved in that FNB does not?  1 2 3 4 5
Q31 I know what is FNB’s market share in my local market 1 2 3 4 5
Consumers in market
Q32 I can describe (or rate) consumer knowledge relating to products (and services) offered by my bank 1 2 3 4 5
Q33 I know the make up (segments) of my customer base 1 2 3 4 5
Q34 My customer base represent (reflect) the market profile and potential of your local market 1 2 3 4 5
Q35 I know what is the dominant segments of the consumers in my local market and what would their banking needs be 1 2 3 4 5
Q36 I know who the key retailers in my local market  banks with 1 2 3 4 5
Q37 I know who the professionals in my local market are (doctors, lawyers/ accountants/ engineers/ architects) and how many bank with in my branch 1 2 3 4 5
Q38 I know how many of these customers I have lost to the competitors in recent months 1 2 3 4 5
Staff
Q39 My staff take responsibility (and accountability) of the strategic plan's implementation 1 2 3 4 5
Q40 I include staff in putting together strategic (or tactical) plan 1 2 3 4 5
Q41 My staff  and I allocate time to discuss and revisit the strategic (or tactical) plan 1 2 3 4 5
Q42 Everyone in my branch has a good idea of the decisions and actions for which he or she is responsible regarding the strategy plan 1 2 3 4 5
Q43 Important information about the competit ive environment gets to be shared among all concerned 1 2 3 4 5
Q44 My team usually have the information they need to understand the bottom-line impact of their day-to-day choices 1 2 3 4 5
Q45 I have access to the metrics I need to measure the key drivers of my business (eg. Business Intelligence  or BI portal) 1 2 3 4 5
Q46 Support management get involved in operational strategy decisions 1 2 3 4 5
Q47 The individual performance-appraisal process differentiates among high, adequate, and low performers 1 2 3 4 5
Q48 The ability to deliver on performance commitments strongly influences career advancement and compensation 1 2 3 4 5
Q49 The primary role of head office staff here is to support the branches 1 2 3 4 5
Q50 Besides salary, many other things motivate individuals to do a good job 1 2 3 4 5
Q51 Information flows freely across the bank 1 2 3 4 5
Q52 I have adequate staff to execute my plans 1 2 3 4 5
Q53 People are measured or rewarded for executing the plan 1 2 3 4 5
Page | 98  
 
 
 
 
 Branch support  structures
Q54 Senior management explains reasons behind changes in priorities 1 2 3 4 5
Q55 Senior management confront difficult performance problems and hold people accountable 1 2 3 4 5
Q56 Senior management effectively delegate and coach 1 2 3 4 5
Q57 Meetings I attend are efficient, with clear agendas and appropriate attendees 1 2 3 4 5
Q58 Senior management spend at least 30% of their t ime helping employees remove barriers to strategy execution 1 2 3 4 5
Q59 Senior management provides recognition for performance 1 2 3 4 5
Q60 Our performance measurement and review system is simple and effective 1 2 3 4 5
Q61 We have good communication, cooperation and healthy conflict across functions 1 2 3 4 5
Sales  
Q62 My current salespeople are effective 1 2 3 4 5
Q63 We hire and promote talented salespeople, meeting their targets 1 2 3 4 5
Q64 Our sales managers are professional and effective 1 2 3 4 5
Awareness issues 
Q65
I am aware of the perceptions my leadership and staff have about the bank's culture and whether it is supportive in the areas of collaboration, 
commitment, and creativity 1 2 3 4 5
Q66 I am aware of the internal and external environments that may pose future growth opportunit ies or threats to my branch 1 2 3 4 5
Q67 I feel that my  management team shares the same level of awareness as I do in both the areas mentioned above 1 2 3 4 5
Planning
Q68
I have a formal strategic planning process that is continually implemented each year? (Please do not consider formal budgeting processes when 
answering this question) 1 2 3 4 5
Q69 I have a clear vision of the future and a path to get there that is shared by all in my branch 1 2 3 4 5
Q70 I feel that my current vision and plan for the future represents the "best thinking" from all of the members of my management team 1 2 3 4 5
Results
Q71 My organisation is focused on results 1 2 3 4 5
Q72 I know on a day-by-day basis how I am progressing toward your future vision 1 2 3 4 5
Q73 My support management conducts regular results management meetings 1 2 3 4 5
Culture
Q74 The bank encourages individual growth through training and development programs 1 2 3 4 5
Q75 Individuals at all levels of the bank are appropriately involved in the development and achievement of the bank's goals 1 2 3 4 5
Q76 Employees see a personal opportunity to satisfy their own needs by contributing to the achievement of the branch and the bank's goals 1 2 3 4 5
Thank you for your time
Researcher
Page | 99  
 
 
A3. The e-mail that was sent to respondents by the senior manager. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page | 100  
 
 
 
ANNEXURE B: SUMMARY OF LIKERT SCALE ITEMS 
Table B1 Summary of Likert scale items 
Item/Statement %Strongly Agree %Agree %Undecided %Disagree 
%Strongly 
Disagree 
Q5 The branch understand the bank's strategy 50.33% 43.79% 5.88% 0.0% 0.0% 
Q6 The bank’s strategy is  effectively 
communicated to the branch staff 49.7% 43.8% 6.5% 0.0% 0.0% 
Q7 Senior management provide strategic direction 
for the bank 45.8% 46.4% 7.8% 0.0% 0.0% 
Q8 The goals of the branches are aligned with the 
bank's strategy  44.4% 47.1% 6.5% 2.0% 0.0% 
Q9 The allocation of resources is  aligned with the 
bank's strategy 22.2% 43.8% 19.0% 12.4% 2.6% 
Q10 There is alignment between the culture and the 
strategy of the bank  22.9% 59.5% 12.4% 5.2% 0.0% 
Q11 Change is managed effectively in the bank 17.0% 49.0% 15.0% 14.4% 4.6% 
Q12 Senior management support the branch 
managers in strategy implementation 19.6% 50.3% 18.3% 9.8% 2.0% 
Q13 The implementation of strategy is effectively 
controlled 19.0% 54.3% 16.3% 8.5% 2.0% 
Q14 Support Management (eg Regional Managers) 
is competent enough to implement strategy 32.7% 47.7% 13.1% 4.6% 2.0% 
Q15 Human capital is effectively developed to 
support strategy implementation 14.4% 44.4% 26.8% 12.4% 2.0% 
Q16 I know the advantages of my branch’s current 
location 50.3% 42.5% 6.5% 0.7% 0.0% 
Q17 I know the disadvantages of my branch’s 
current location 45.8% 46.4% 5.9% 1.3% 0.7% 
Q18 I know the advantages of the competitors’ 
location 41.8% 50.3% 5.9% 2.0% 0.0% 
Q19 I know the disadvantages of the competitors’ 
location 36.0% 51.6% 8.5% 3.3% 0.7% 
Q20 I can describe FNB’s physical positioning in 
relation to our targeted markets 36.6% 52.9% 8.5% 1.3% 0.7% 
Q21 I know the key drivers activities (type of major 
business sector) that are contributing towards your 
local economy 
43.8% 47.7% 7.2% 0.7% 0.7% 
Q22 I know which industries create employment for 
the local population 39.9% 49.7% 9.8% 0.7% 0.0% 
Q23 I know whether my town/ area is regarded as a 
growth /stagnant/declining market 47.7% 43.8% 7.2% 1.3% 0.0% 
Q24 I know the role of tourism in the local economy 39.2% 47.7% 10.5% 2.6% 0.0% 
Q25 Referring to the preceding question, I know 
how significant is the hospitality, food and 
entertainment industry in your local market 
36.6% 51.6% 10.5% 1.3% 0.0% 
Q26 I know the activity within the property market in 
my local market 31.4% 51.6% 13.1% 3.9% 0.0% 
Q27 I know what my competitors' unique strengths 
are 
26.1% 55.6% 14.4% 3.9% 0.0% 
Q28 I know what my competitors' unique 
weaknesses are 23.5% 54.3% 16.3% 5.9% 0.0% 
Q29 I know who their key staff are and  what makes 
them attractive to recruit 13.7% 32.7% 29.4% 22.2% 2.0% 
Page | 101  
 
 
 
Q30 I know what activities, events and  promotions 
does the competitor get involved in that FNB does 
not?   
16.3% 56.9% 15.0% 11.8% 0.0% 
Q31 I know what is FNB’s market share in my local 
market 37.3% 51.0% 9.8% 2.0% 0.0% 
Q32 I can describe (or rate) consumer knowledge 
relating to products (and services) offered by my 
bank 
24.8% 59.5% 13.7% 1.3% 0.7% 
Q33 I know the make up (segments) of my 
customer base  41.2% 51.0% 7.8% 0.0% 0.0% 
Q34 My customer base represent (reflect) the 
market profile and potential of your local market 36.0% 52.9% 9.2% 2.0% 0.0% 
Q35 I know what is the dominant segments of the 
consumers in my local market and what would their 
banking needs be 
35.3% 56.2% 7.8% 0.7% 0.0% 
Q36 I know who the key retailers in my local market  
banks with 34.6% 47.7% 13.1% 3.9% 0.7% 
Q37 I know who the professionals in my local 
market are (doctors, lawyers/ accountants/ 
engineers/ architects) and how many bank with in 
my branch  
29.4% 47.7% 15.0% 5.9% 2.0% 
Q38 I know how many of these customers I have 
lost to the competitors in recent months 25.5% 40.5% 21.6% 10.5% 2.0% 
Q39 My staff take responsibility (and accountability) 
of the strategic plan's implementation 15.0% 55.6% 18.3% 9.2% 2.0% 
Q40 I include staff in putting together strategic (or 
tactical) plan 29.4% 56.2% 11.8% 2.6% 0.0% 
Q41 My staff  and I allocate time to discuss and 
revisit the strategic (or tactical) plan 21.6% 60.8% 11.8% 3.9% 2.0% 
Q42 Everyone in my branch has a good idea of the 
decisions and actions for which he or she is 
responsible regarding the strategy plan 
20.9% 62.1% 12.4% 4.6% 0.0% 
Q43 Important information about the competitive 
environment gets to be shared among all 
concerned 
21.6% 65.4% 9.2% 3.9% 0.0% 
Q44 My team usually have the information they 
need to understand the bottom-line impact of their 
day-to-day choices 
27.5% 54.9% 14.4% 2.6% 0.7% 
Q45 I have access to the metrics I need to measure 
the key drivers of my business (eg. Business 
Intelligence  or BI portal) 
42.5% 47.1% 9.2% 1.3% 0.0% 
Q46 Support management get involved in 
operational strategy decisions 26.1% 53.6% 13.1% 6.5% 0.7% 
Q47 The individual performance-appraisal process 
differentiates among high, adequate, and low 
performers 
22.2% 59.5% 9.2% 8.5% 0.7% 
Q48 The ability to deliver on performance 
commitments strongly influences career 
advancement and compensation 
27.5% 45.8% 19.6% 4.6% 2.6% 
Q49 The primary role of head office staff here is to 
support the branches  30.7% 49.7% 12.4% 5.2% 2.0% 
Q50 Besides salary, many other things motivate 
individuals to do a good job 28.1% 47.1% 13.1% 9.2% 2.6% 
Q51 Information flows freely across the bank 17.0% 55.6% 18.3% 7.8% 1.3% 
Q52 I have adequate staff to execute my plans 11.8% 40.5% 20.9% 20.9% 5.9% 
Q53 People are measured or rewarded for 
executing the plan 15.7% 47.7% 22.9% 11.8% 2.0% 
Page | 102  
 
 
 
Q54 Senior management explains reasons behind 
changes in priorities  18.3% 52.9% 19.0% 6.5% 3.3% 
Q55 Senior management confront difficult 
performance problems and hold people 
accountable  
24.8% 52.9% 16.3% 4.6% 1.3% 
Q56 Senior management effectively delegate and 
coach  17.7% 51.6% 20.3% 7.8% 2.6% 
Q57 Meetings I attend are efficient, with clear 
agendas and appropriate attendees  22.2% 56.9% 15.7% 4.6% 0.7% 
Q58 Senior management spend at least 30% of 
their time helping employees remove barriers to 
strategy execution  
9.8% 34.6% 34.6% 16.3% 4.6% 
Q59 Senior management provides recognition for 
performance  17.7% 45.1% 22.9% 12.4% 2.0% 
Q60 Our performance measurement and review 
system is simple and effective  13.7% 43.8% 23.5% 14.4% 4.6% 
Q61 We have good communication, cooperation 
and healthy conflict across functions  14.4% 54.9% 21.6% 7.2% 2.0% 
Q62 My current salespeople are effective  11.8% 37.9% 19.6% 29.4% 1.3% 
Q63 We hire and promote talented salespeople, 
meeting their targets 11.8% 36.6% 28.1% 22.2% 1.3% 
Q64 Our sales managers are professional and 
effective  14.4% 48.4% 26.1% 9.2% 2.0% 
Q65 I am aware of the perceptions my leadership 
and staff have about the bank's culture and whether 
it is supportive in the areas of collaboration, 
commitment, and creativity  
20.9% 64.1% 13.1% 1.3% 0.7% 
Q66 I am aware of the internal and external 
environments that may pose future growth 
opportunities or threats to my branch  
26.8% 60.1% 12.4% 0.7% 0.0% 
Q67 I feel that my  management team shares the 
same level of awareness as I do in both the areas 
mentioned above 
22.2% 54.9% 15.7% 5.2% 2.0% 
Q68 I have a formal strategic planning process that 
is continually implemented each year? (Please do 
not consider formal budgeting processes when 
answering this question) 
22.9% 58.8% 16.3% 2.0% 0.0% 
Q69 I have a clear vision of the future and a path to 
get there that is shared by all in my branch 26.8% 58.8% 13.1% 1.3% 0.0% 
Q70 I feel that my current vision and plan for the 
future represents the "best thinking" from all of the 
members of my management team 
20.9% 60.8% 17.0% 1.3% 0.0% 
Q71 My organisation is focused on results 53.6% 34.0% 12.4% 0.0% 0.0% 
Q72 I know on a day-by-day basis how I am 
progressing toward your future vision 32.7% 48.4% 15.7% 3.3% 0.0% 
Q73 My support management conducts regular 
results management meetings 22.9% 52.3% 16.3% 6.5% 2.0% 
Q74 The bank encourages individual growth 
through training and development programs 38.6% 47.1% 11.8% 2.6% 0.0% 
Q75 Individuals at all levels of the bank are 
appropriately involved in the development and 
achievement of the bank's goals 
22.9% 49.7% 17.7% 9.2% 0.7% 
Q76 Employees see a personal opportunity to 
satisfy their own needs by contributing to the 
achievement of the branch and the bank's goals 
17.0% 52.3% 21.6% 8.5% 0.7% 
 
Page | 103  
 
 
 
 
Table B2 Correlation matrix – Questionnaire Items  
 
Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q70 Q71 Q72 Q73 Q74 Q75 Q76
Q5 1.000 .612 .505 .565 .200 .231 .397 .340 .389 .305 .380 .256 .304
Q6 .612 1.000 .578 .520 .357 .341 .408 .317 .289 .191 .324 .296 .331
Q7 .505 .578 1.000 .520 .285 .473 .353 .270 .362 .268 .369 .357 .326
Q8 .565 .520 .520 1.000 .465 .520 .367 .307 .411 .373 .340 .389 .370
Q9 .200 .357 .285 .465 1.000 .551 .344 .141 .268 .320 .277 .412 .427
Q10 .231 .341 .473 .520 .551 1.000 .279 .149 .337 .386 .291 .446 .378
Q11 .249 .336 .327 .330 .450 .522 .240 .083 .240 .239 .329 .406 .411
Q12 .372 .226 .399 .459 .452 .573 .290 .151 .311 .510 .333 .582 .489
Q13 .366 .332 .456 .528 .390 .517 .223 .162 .224 .375 .217 .482 .393
Q14 .203 .153 .362 .259 .360 .454 .164 .084 .236 .408 .217 .355 .302
Q15 .278 .253 .297 .265 .446 .377 .198 .071 .221 .342 .241 .423 .424
Q16 .439 .446 .411 .412 .228 .312 .358 .366 .356 .338 .406 .348 .289
Q17 .275 .326 .332 .277 .187 .160 .439 .365 .289 .262 .336 .206 .191
Q18 .470 .520 .410 .457 .183 .259 .375 .372 .336 .281 .304 .209 .222
Q19 .337 .406 .270 .334 .259 .135 .420 .314 .293 .258 .245 .248 .236
Q20 .487 .441 .372 .478 .309 .184 .483 .291 .322 .402 .285 .321 .360
Q21 .363 .506 .415 .433 .265 .263 .420 .403 .347 .295 .301 .310 .319
Q22 .383 .418 .398 .345 .124 .223 .336 .350 .309 .300 .296 .215 .189
Q23 .308 .441 .370 .369 .198 .322 .327 .415 .347 .302 .264 .169 .200
Q24 .234 .353 .344 .319 .151 .295 .330 .381 .344 .259 .239 .260 .202
Q25 .317 .319 .250 .358 .145 .217 .357 .344 .360 .227 .296 .217 .207
Q26 .308 .362 .298 .304 .130 .318 .386 .272 .354 .320 .154 .203 .117
Q27 .337 .390 .345 .380 .278 .396 .318 .218 .308 .181 .206 .213 .147
Q28 .260 .295 .271 .351 .319 .351 .314 .163 .262 .174 .170 .219 .167
Q29 .156 .192 .145 .188 .205 .229 .196 -.085 .111 .045 .049 .091 .188
Q30 .178 .220 .145 .139 .037 .193 .191 .011 .113 -.019 .064 .041 .089
Q31 .370 .432 .377 .430 .141 .261 .291 .308 .350 .283 .202 .201 .147
Q32 .255 .421 .375 .252 .244 .224 .395 .278 .395 .219 .247 .316 .222
Q33 .498 .537 .435 .396 .237 .241 .393 .455 .419 .274 .340 .315 .199
Q34 .414 .415 .359 .346 .159 .202 .339 .359 .418 .192 .385 .298 .235
Q35 .334 .423 .382 .311 .181 .224 .359 .397 .389 .232 .327 .268 .226
Q36 .250 .326 .332 .183 .087 .148 .360 .244 .267 .204 .139 .165 .132
Q37 .202 .244 .225 .233 .224 .273 .442 .192 .423 .363 .161 .175 .288
Q38 .114 .181 .200 .150 .106 .191 .351 .217 .290 .192 .152 .157 .181
Q39 .383 .359 .221 .322 .296 .205 .362 .170 .229 .290 .176 .323 .343
Q40 .376 .389 .336 .343 .320 .172 .573 .319 .392 .300 .295 .297 .286
Q41 .407 .347 .285 .269 .306 .203 .538 .154 .233 .251 .335 .295 .400
Q42 .444 .362 .340 .296 .254 .194 .499 .343 .399 .311 .330 .322 .424
Q43 .333 .298 .205 .386 .150 .231 .423 .290 .313 .222 .224 .129 .187
Q44 .413 .408 .296 .387 .256 .275 .496 .359 .421 .430 .345 .348 .424
Q45 .442 .398 .412 .442 .294 .329 .439 .483 .551 .408 .581 .434 .301
Q46 .351 .218 .323 .349 .347 .393 .354 .290 .302 .503 .400 .591 .483
Q47 .399 .353 .303 .497 .388 .373 .368 .207 .319 .472 .393 .533 .499
Q48 .279 .284 .337 .312 .351 .483 .479 .276 .318 .365 .493 .488 .495
Q49 .355 .291 .368 .294 .182 .212 .308 .287 .276 .380 .361 .414 .353
Q50 .233 .163 .213 .311 .248 .357 .231 .205 .234 .347 .320 .454 .298
Q51 .191 .134 .183 .275 .226 .324 .213 .154 .170 .370 .313 .543 .378
Q52 .114 .138 .093 .255 .369 .276 .237 -.032 .076 .347 .250 .344 .390
Q53 .273 .317 .267 .411 .419 .368 .291 .079 .274 .382 .396 .442 .483
Q54 .324 .314 .342 .318 .357 .327 .282 .278 .340 .531 .474 .487 .537
Q55 .335 .241 .305 .422 .324 .393 .355 .298 .516 .671 .502 .630 .503
Q56 .313 .256 .339 .437 .399 .442 .403 .196 .410 .648 .458 .651 .541
Q57 .442 .393 .354 .343 .412 .399 .381 .295 .382 .415 .593 .480 .451
Q58 .232 .181 .285 .276 .336 .418 .243 .101 .323 .423 .266 .528 .393
Q59 .305 .205 .363 .368 .358 .492 .283 .179 .430 .566 .455 .603 .503
Q60 .286 .210 .304 .421 .399 .460 .344 .062 .334 .417 .421 .565 .515
Q61 .321 .334 .325 .355 .380 .494 .478 .208 .325 .450 .535 .586 .594
Q62 .185 .117 .108 .232 .327 .372 .297 .093 .226 .313 .243 .309 .440
Q63 .185 .169 .111 .131 .255 .290 .294 .101 .308 .399 .275 .323 .476
Q64 .221 .197 .229 .291 .273 .318 .415 .172 .398 .522 .278 .416 .424
Q65 .513 .379 .391 .401 .232 .299 .518 .375 .458 .536 .467 .431 .413
Q66 .566 .511 .386 .423 .250 .261 .624 .571 .557 .474 .491 .390 .407
Q67 .444 .423 .333 .461 .399 .371 .552 .303 .402 .468 .364 .467 .533
Q68 .335 .346 .388 .314 .280 .280 .609 .440 .523 .417 .422 .357 .435
Q69 .400 .365 .277 .319 .298 .263 .688 .549 .562 .504 .413 .434 .532
Q70 .397 .408 .353 .367 .344 .279 1.000 .457 .523 .433 .446 .424 .588
Q71 .340 .317 .270 .307 .141 .149 .457 1.000 .582 .401 .516 .296 .217
Q72 .389 .289 .362 .411 .268 .337 .523 .582 1.000 .606 .500 .388 .402
Q73 .305 .191 .268 .373 .320 .386 .433 .401 .606 1.000 .417 .533 .513
Q74 .380 .324 .369 .340 .277 .291 .446 .516 .500 .417 1.000 .534 .468
Q75 .256 .296 .357 .389 .412 .446 .424 .296 .388 .533 .534 1.000 .704
Q76 .304 .331 .326 .370 .427 .378 .588 .217 .402 .513 .468 .704 1.000
Correlation Matrixa
Correlation
a. Determinant = 3.943E-031
Page | 104  
 
 
 
 
Table B2.  Item Statistics - Factors 
Support_Structure Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q49 1.98 .907 
0.88 
Q55 2.05 .846 
Q56 2.26 .930 
Q58 2.71 1.004 
Q59 2.36 .977 
 
Local_Market Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q22 1.71 .666 
0.89 
Q23 1.62 .679 
Q24 1.76 .741 
Q25 1.76 .686 
Q26 1.90 .771 
Q31 1.76 .705 
 
Competition Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q27 1.96 .751 
0.81 
Q28 2.05 .798 
Q29 2.66 1.033 
Q30 2.22 .860 
Page | 105  
 
 
 
 
Staff Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q39 2.27 .898 
0.80 
Q40 1.88 .710 
Q41 2.04 .818 
Q42 2.01 .721 
 
Bank_Strategy Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q5 1.56 .606 
0.87 
Q6 1.57 .615 
Q7 1.62 .628 
Q8 1.66 .690 
Q9 2.29 1.032 
Q10 2.00 .752 
Q53 2.37 .951 
Q65 1.97 .673 
Q66 1.87 .635 
Q67 2.10 .872 
Sales Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q62 2.71 1.057 
0.80 Q63 2.65 .997 
Q64 2.36 .908 
Page | 106  
 
 
 
 
Strategy_Implementation Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q11 2.41 1.073 
0.85 
Q12 2.24 .946 
Q13 2.20 .913 
Q14 1.95 .906 
Q15 2.43 .951 
 
Plan Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q68 1.97 .688 
0.86 
Q69 1.89 .664 
Q70 1.99 .659 
Q71 1.59 .703 
Q72 1.90 .779 
Q76 2.24 .857 
 
Customer Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q32 1.93 .704 
0.85 
Q33 1.67 .618 
Q34 1.77 .693 
Q35 1.74 .626 
Q36 1.88 .827 
 
Page | 107  
 
 
 
Branch_Location Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q16 1.58 .646 
0.91 
Q17 1.65 .711 
Q18 1.68 .675 
Q19 1.81 .776 
Q20 1.76 .714 
Q21 1.67 .698 
 
Performance Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q48 2.09 .941 
0.83 
Q57 2.05 .789 
Q60 2.52 1.046 
Q61 2.27 .868 
 
Communication  Statistics 
  Mean 
Std. 
Deviation 
Cronbach 
Alpha 
Q46 2.02 .847 
0.82 
Q47 2.06 .845 
Q51 2.21 .863 
Q75 2.15 .902 
 
 
 
 
Page | 108  
 
 
 
 
ANNEXURE C: FACTOR EXTRACTION 
Table C1: Factor Extraction 
 
Rotation 
Sums of 
Squared 
Loadingsa
Total
% of 
Variance
Cumulativ
e % Total
% of 
Variance
Cumulativ
e % Total
1 25.314 35.159 35.159 24.960 34.667 34.667 9.592
2 5.975 8.298 43.457 5.624 7.811 42.478 8.824
3 3.022 4.197 47.653 2.651 3.683 46.161 4.291
4 2.546 3.537 51.190 2.193 3.045 49.206 7.352
5 2.065 2.868 54.058 1.688 2.345 51.551 9.988
6 1.961 2.724 56.783 1.627 2.260 53.811 8.799
7 1.843 2.559 59.342 1.485 2.063 55.874 7.479
8 1.631 2.265 61.607 1.253 1.740 57.614 7.861
9 1.334 1.853 63.459 1.003 1.393 59.007 10.217
10 1.272 1.767 65.226 .922 1.281 60.288 7.122
11 1.234 1.714 66.940 .887 1.232 61.520 10.629
12 1.153 1.601 68.541 .800 1.111 62.631 8.288
13 1.047 1.454 69.995 .680 .945 63.576 7.877
14 1.021 1.418 71.413
15 .967 1.344 72.757
16 .952 1.322 74.079
17 .922 1.281 75.360
18 .877 1.217 76.577
19 .804 1.117 77.694
20 .756 1.051 78.745
21 .746 1.035 79.780
22 .715 .993 80.773
23 .715 .993 81.766
24 .671 .932 82.698
25 .642 .892 83.590
26 .622 .864 84.454
27 .587 .815 85.269
28 .570 .791 86.060
29 .551 .766 86.825
65 .072 .100 99.531
66 .063 .088 99.619
67 .060 .083 99.703
68 .055 .076 99.779
69 .048 .066 99.845
70 .044 .061 99.906
71 .042 .058 99.964
72 .026 .036 100.000
Total Variance Explained
Factor
Initial Eigenvalues
Extraction Sums of Squared 
Loadings
Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring.
a. When factors are correlated, sums of squared loadings cannot be added to obtain a total 
Page | 109  
 
 
 
 
ANNEXURE D: LETTER FROM LANGUAGE EDITOR