@article{Klausmann_Zatrochova_2025, title={To what extent are SME decision-makers familiar with the most common strategy methods? Results of a survey among presidents, owners, CEOs and managing directors of industrial SMEs}, volume={11}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijaems.113.10}, DOI={10.22161/ijaems.113.10}, abstractNote={<jats:p>The objective of this article is to examine whether decision makers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are familiar with the most common strategy methods. To this end, a survey was conducted among decision-makers (presidents, owners, managing directors &amp; CEOs) of SMEs to determine their knowledge of standard strategy methods which were identified for this investigation as SWOT-Match, Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM), Strategic Position &amp; Action Evolution Matrix (SPACE-Matrix), Boston Consulting Group Matrix (BCG-Matrix), Internal &amp; External Matrix (IE-Matrix), and the Grand Strategy Matrix (GSM). The results showed that approx. 50% do not know any strategy method at all and approx. 60% have never used strategy methods in their professional life. This confirms the assumption that SME decision-makers have limited knowledge of strategy methods, strategy development and planning. In addition, the standard methods were evaluated by 2 participants for their suitability, and they gave an assessment of whether formalized strategic planning is helpful for the long-term success of SMEs.</jats:p>}, number={3}, journal={International Journal of Advanced Engineering, Management and Science}, publisher={AI Publications}, author={Klausmann, Jürgen and Zatrochova, Monika}, year={2025}, pages={61–69} }