The perception of strategic management and the effect of strategic management practices on business performance among SME managers: A study in Tehran, Iran

The behavior of people and societies is shaped under the influence of various concrete and abstract factors. It is known that perception has a special place among these abstract factors. Perception, as Young (1956) defines it, means perceiving, interpreting and appreciating physical and social processes. When we look at the definitions of perception; from a psychological point of view, perceptions directly affect people's decision making and thus the outcomes of their decisions. Moreover, organizational researchers agree that many important decisions made in organizations will be affected by the individual cognitive processes of managers (Beyer et al., 1997. This thesis aims to reveal the strategic management perceptions of small and medium-sized enterprise managers and their level of knowledge and awareness of strategic practices in these enterprises. This research was conducted on a sample of 250 participants obtained through a questionnaire form by convenience sampling method in Tehran, Iran. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistic 27 and Smart-PLS 4 programs. IBM SPSS Statistic 27 program was used for demographic statistics and difference analysis, while Smart-PLS 4 program was used to test the hypotheses of the structural model after assessing the reliability and validity of the research model. Our findings show that there are significant relationships between these variables and how these relationships interact with demographic factors and other variables. One of the strongest findings of our study is the high and significant positive relationship between the level of knowledge and use of strategic management tools (β = 0.805, p < 0.001) Our study shows that managers' type of role in the organization (owner-manager, professional manager) has significant effects on their level of knowledge and use of strategic management tools, their priorities and needs in selection, and even on financial performance. This study shows that the level of knowledge and use of strategic management tools, priorities and needs in selection, level of training, and type of manager have significant and complex effects on the financial performance of enterprises. Our findings strongly emphasize that businesses should focus on increasing knowledge, choosing the right tools, using these tools effectively, investing in professional management and continuous training of employees to improve their strategic