Covid-19 has upended the world of work and the need to think differently, plan differently and execute differently is paramount for today’s organisations. Added to this, African countries in general and South Africa in particular are faced with other challenges – infrastructure, corruption, service delivery and an uncertain political environment. Business is increasingly confronted with challenges from external environmental forces and the internal nuances of the southern African context. Our environment is characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, and strategy is of the utmost importance for any organisation to survive and thrive. Strategic management explains the principles and application of the strategic management process that are vital for sustaining successful organisations.

This fifth edition of Strategic management emphasises various relevant and topical strategic challenges (such as corporate governance) and appropriate southern African examples and case studies are used throughout the text to illustrate the latest trends and to support the theory. A cohesion case study of Shoprite Checkers and its strategic choices (such as the Sixty60 concept) runs throughout this book. Key terms, summary questions and answers, relevant websites and recommended reading lists are also provided.

Strategic management: Southern African concepts and cases will be invaluable not only to students of business management, but also to organisations, from corporate organisations with management training programmes to small business ventures struggling to hold their ground in a competitive environment.

The business environment can change at any given time and organisations need to be ready to respond if they want to survive. Strategic management is an important and ongoing process of formulating and implementing strategies that help an organisation position itself optimally and so maintain a competitive advantage that results in profit. It creates harmony between any organisation, big or small, and its environment. The Strategic Management Process explains strategy in such a way that every reader will understand not only how vital the strategic management process is to any organisation but also exactly what it entails.

The Strategic Management Process follows an understandable and practical approach, making use of numerous figures and "strategy in action" case studies to support the theory. The textbook is aimed at students in strategic management as well as at organisations, from corporate and public companies with management training programmes to small business ventures that are trying to gain a competitive advantage in a cut-throat environment.

Kobus Lazenby was an associate professor in the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State, specialising in strategic management and project management. He has been retired since April 2017. The other contributors lecture in strategic management at various South African universities.

In a South African business environment characterised by change, turbulence and competitiveness, strategy is even more crucial today than ever before. Many people's lives and jobs are affected by strategic decisions, and far too often top management develops a strategy that is never communicated to or fully understood by other levels of management and employees, or is not even relevant to the future survival of the company. Strategic management explains the principles and application of the strategic management process, vital to the continued success of every organisation. This is the third edition of Strategic management, the first specifically southern African handbook on this subject. It emphasises the important role of corporate governance, with specific reference to the King III Report. Appropriate South African examples and case studies are used to illustrate the latest trends, particularly the history, development and strategy of South African Breweries (SAB Limited). Theory is applied to this cohesion case after every chapter of the book. Key terms, summary questions and answers, relevant websites and recommended reading lists are also provided. Strategic management will be invaluable not only to students of business management but also to organisations, from corporate companies with management training programmes to small business ventures struggling to hold their ground in a competitive environment.