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Strategic planning for business strengthening: case study of Ángeles Store in La Guajira

A ndrea Camila Mejia Flores ^1* Katerine Michel Cardenas Mena ¹

Sara Sofia Lagares Rodriguez ¹ Jose Gregorio Sierra Llorente ²

¹Universidad de La Guajira, Colombia

²Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín, Venezuela

*Contact for receive correspondence : andrecamilamejia@uniguajira.edu.co

Received: 04/14/2026 Accepted: 05/17/2026 Published: 05/24/2026

Abstract. This study analyzes the strategic planning of Ángeles Store as a resource to strengthen its business performance within the context of commercial MSMEs in La Guajira. Objective: to identify the level of appropriation of strategic direction, SWOT analysis, and business strategies, and to assess their contribution to organizational strengthening. Methodology: a quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional approach was adopted. Thirty employees participated by answering a five-point Likert questionnaire. The reliability of the instrument, estimated using Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.86, demonstrating high internal consistency. Results: the company shows recognizable strategic foundations, although their internalization remains partial. In strategic direction, positive responses predominate, but neutral evaluations persist, revealing incomplete appropriation of mission, vision, objectives, and policies. The SWOT analysis reflects an intermediate interpretation of the environment, with greater recognition of threats than clearly articulated strengths, opportunities, and weaknesses. In business strategies, a favorable trend is observed; however, irregular monitoring and limited evaluation reduce their impact on daily management. Conclusions: Ángeles Store has valuable strategic foundations, but it requires stronger internal communication, socialization of strategic direction, periodic SWOT review, and the establishment of control indicators. Only then will it be possible to transform planning into a systematic, coherent, measurable, and results-oriented practice. This adjustment will promote alignment between diagnosis and action, strengthen decision-making, improve organizational coherence, and enhance local competitiveness through more participatory and continuous management in the medium term.

Keywords: Strategic, planning, strengthening, business, SWOT, competitiveness

Planeación estratégica para el fortalecimiento empresarial: estudio de caso Ángeles Store en La Guajira

Resumen: El presente estudio analiza la planeación estratégica de Ángeles Store como recurso para fortalecer su desempeño empresarial en el contexto de las MIPYMES comerciales de La Guajira. Objetivo: identificar el nivel de apropiación del direccionamiento estratégico, el análisis DOFA y las estrategias empresariales, y valorar su aporte al fortalecimiento organizacional. Metodología: se adoptó un enfoque cuantitativo, descriptivo, no experimental y de corte transversal. Participaron 30 empleados, quienes respondieron un cuestionario tipo Likert de cinco alternativas. La confiabilidad del instrumento, estimada mediante alfa de Cronbach, fue de 0,86, lo que evidenció consistencia interna alta. Resultados: la empresa presenta bases estratégicas reconocibles, aunque su interiorización sigue siendo parcial. En el direccionamiento estratégico predominan respuestas positivas, pero persisten valoraciones neutrales que muestran apropiación incompleta de misión, visión, objetivos y políticas. El análisis DOFA refleja una lectura intermedia del entorno, con mayor reconocimiento de amenazas que de fortalezas, oportunidades y debilidades articuladas. En estrategias empresariales se observa una tendencia favorable, aunque con seguimiento irregular y evaluación limitada, lo que reduce su impacto en la gestión diaria. Conclusiones: Ángeles Store dispone de fundamentos estratégicos valiosos, pero requiere mayor comunicación interna, socialización del direccionamiento, revisión periódica del DOFA y establecimiento de indicadores de control. Solo así podrá transformar la planeación en una práctica sistemática, coherente, medible y orientada a resultados sostenibles. Este ajuste favorecerá la alineación entre diagnóstico y acción, fortalecerá la toma de decisiones, mejorará la coherencia organizacional y ampliará la competitividad local mediante una gestión más participativa y continua en el mediano plazo.

Palabras clave: Planeación, estratégica, fortalecimiento, empresarial, DOFA, competitividad

Planning strategic for or strengthening Business : Case study of Ángeles Store in La Guajira

Resumo: Este estudo analisa o planejamento estratégico da Ángeles Store como recurso para fortalecer seu desempenho empresarial no contexto das MPMEs comerciais de La Guajira. Objetivo: identificar o nível de apropriação do direcionamento estratégico, da análise SWOT e das estratégias empresariais, bem como avaliar sua contribuição para o fortalecimento organizacional. Metodologia: adotou-se uma abordagem quantitativa, descritiva, não experimental e transversal. Participaram 30 empregados que responderam a um questionário Likert de cinco alternativas. A confiabilidade do instrumento, estimada pelo alfa de Cronbach, foi de 0,86, evidenciando alta consistência interna. Resultados: a empresa apresenta bases estratégicas reconhecíveis, embora sua internalização ainda seja parcial. No direcionamento estratégico predominam respostas positivas, porém persistem avaliações neutras que demonstram apropriação incompleta da missão, visão, objetivos e políticas. A análise SWOT revela uma interpretação intermediária do ambiente, com maior reconhecimento de ameaças do que de forças, oportunidades e fraquezas articuladas. Nas estratégias empresariais observa-se uma tendência favorável; contudo, o acompanhamento irregular e a avaliação limitada reduzem seu impacto na gestão cotidiana. Conclusões: a Ángeles Store possui fundamentos estratégicos valiosos, mas necessita fortalecer a comunicação interna, a socialização do direcionamento estratégico, a revisão periódica da SWOT e o estabelecimento de indicadores de controle. Somente assim será possível transformar o planejamento em uma prática sistemática, coerente, mensurável e orientada para resultados sustentáveis. Esse ajuste favorecerá o alinhamento entre diagnóstico e ação, fortalecerá a tomada de decisões, melhorará a coerência organizacional e ampliará a competitividade local por meio de uma gestão mais participativa e contínua no médio prazo.

Palavras-chave: Planejamento, estratégico, fortalecimento, empresarial, SWOT, competitividade

Planification stratégique pour le renforcement des entreprises: étude de cas d’Ángeles Store à La Guajira

Résumé: Cette étude analyse la planification stratégique d’Ángeles Store comme ressource pour renforcer sa performance entrepreneuriale dans le contexte des MPME commerciales de La Guajira. Objectif: identifier le niveau d’appropriation de l’orientation stratégique, de l’analyse SWOT et des stratégies d’entreprise, ainsi qu’évaluer leur contribution au renforcement organisationnel. Méthodologie: une approche quantitative, descriptive, non expérimentale et transversale a été adoptée. Trente employés ont participé en répondant à un questionnaire Likert à cinq modalités. La fiabilité de l’instrument, estimée à l’aide de l’alpha de Cronbach, a été de 0,86, démontrant une forte cohérence interne. Résultats: l’entreprise présente des bases stratégiques reconnaissables, bien que leur internalisation demeure partielle. Dans l’orientation stratégique, les réponses positives prédominent, mais des évaluations neutres persistent, révélant une appropriation incomplète de la mission, de la vision, des objectifs et des politiques. L’analyse SWOT reflète une interprétation intermédiaire de l’environnement, avec une plus grande reconnaissance des menaces que des forces, opportunités et faiblesses clairement articulées. Concernant les stratégies d’entreprise, une tendance favorable est observée; toutefois, le suivi irrégulier et l’évaluation limitée réduisent leur impact sur la gestion quotidienne. Conclusions: Ángeles Store dispose de fondements stratégiques précieux, mais nécessite un renforcement de la communication interne, de la socialisation de l’orientation stratégique, de la révision périodique de la SWOT et de la mise en place d’indicateurs de contrôle. Ce n’est qu’ainsi qu’il sera possible de transformer la planification en une pratique systématique, cohérente, mesurable et orientée vers des résultats durables. Cet ajustement favorisera l’alignement entre diagnostic et action, renforcera la prise de décision, améliorera la cohérence organisationnelle et augmentera la compétitivité locale grâce à une gestion plus participative et continue à moyen terme.

Mots- clés : Planification, stratégique, renforcement, entrepreneurial, SWOT, compétitivité

1. Introduction

Strategic planning has become a fundamental tool for strengthening businesses, especially micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which are an essential component of Colombia's production system. These organizations account for a significant portion of economic activity and employment; however, their survival depends largely on their ability to adapt, consolidate, and respond promptly to changes in the environment.

In the commercial sector, planning takes on paramount importance, given that competition demands timely decisions, administrative consistency, and a clear market orientation. According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE, 2025), retail trade maintains a significant share of the national economic activity, increasing the need to design strategies that allow for sustained operations and strengthen business positioning.

At the regional level, La Guajira presents a business landscape characterized by the presence of microenterprises. The La Guajira Chamber of Commerce (2025) reports a business sector largely concentrated in smaller units, especially in commerce and services. This situation highlights the importance of having strategic processes that guide management, facilitate environmental assessment, and allow for the transformation of organizational diagnoses into concrete actions.

Within this framework, Ángeles Store, located in Riohacha, represents a relevant case study for examining strategic planning in a microenterprise within the retail sector. Reviewing its strategic direction, SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats), and business strategies allows us to identify its progress, gaps, and potential for improvement. Therefore, this article aims to analyze Ángeles Store's strategic planning as a resource for business strengthening, providing useful evidence to understand its impact on the competitiveness and sustainability of microenterprises in the region.

1. 1 Strategic planning

Strategic planning is defined as an essential process of contemporary management aimed at guiding the organization toward achieving its long-term goals. Chiavenato (2016) conceives of it as a continuous administrative cycle that integrates environmental analysis, strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. From this perspective, it is not an isolated activity, but rather a system that articulates intention, decision, and action.

In recent literature, Ojha et al. (2023) show that dynamic strategic planning in SMEs is strengthened when the organization articulates its adaptive capacity with mechanisms for technological integration and responsiveness to the environment. This perspective is especially useful for understanding that strategy not only defines the direction but also the flexibility with which the company can react to changing conditions.

Therefore, strategic planning can be interpreted as the foundation that organizes decisions, reduces improvisation, and guides the use of resources toward common goals. Its value lies in linking the organization's present with the desired future, provided there is coherence between the diagnosis, formulation, and execution.

1.2 Strategic Direction

Strategic direction constitutes the framework that guides the organization's actions, as it establishes the relationship between institutional identity and its future aspirations. Chiavenato (2016) points out that this process is expressed through the mission, vision, objectives, and policies, components that, together, guide decision-making.

Terán and Martínez (2023) argue that strategic direction translates organizational intention into concrete guidelines, allowing the mission and vision to move beyond mere formal statements and become management criteria. Consequently, its relevance lies not only in formulating statements but also in its capacity to align resources, processes, and organizational behavior.

From this perspective, strategic direction fulfills a function of internal cohesion, preventing the dispersion of efforts and ensuring that different areas work toward a shared purpose. Furthermore, it acts as an adaptable guide in the face of environmental changes, strengthening the company's responsiveness.

1.3 SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is considered a strategic diagnostic tool that allows for the identification and classification of internal and external factors that influence an organization's performance. Strengths and weaknesses correspond to the internal context, while opportunities and threats relate to the external environment, in order to support decision-making.

Oña Chiguano (2018) highlights that SWOT analysis gains value when its findings become inputs for strategy formulation. Similarly, Madureira et al. (2024) show that SWOT analysis remains useful for structuring business diagnoses and prioritizing actions based on the environment and organizational capabilities.

Thus, the SWOT analysis should not be understood as a descriptive list, but as a tool that organizes critical information to guide decisions. Its effectiveness depends on the interpretation of the findings and how these are integrated into the strategic planning.

1.4 Business strategies

Business strategies are understood as a set of decisions and actions that guide the organization towards achieving its long-term objectives. David (2017) conceives of them as action patterns that allow the coordination of resources, internal capabilities, and external conditions to achieve sustainable competitive advantages.

From an applied perspective, strategies emerge as a response to strategic diagnosis and must be translated into verifiable actions. Therefore, it is not enough to simply formulate them: they must be executed, evaluated, and adjusted periodically. This logic allows us to differentiate between strategic formulation and its effective implementation.

In short, business strategies bridge the gap between analysis and action. Their importance lies in their ability to link organizational diagnosis with concrete results, thereby strengthening the company's competitiveness and sustainability.

2. Methodology

The research was conducted using a quantitative approach, focused on analyzing strategic planning and its contribution to business strengthening through objective and measurable information. To this end, a five-point Likert-type questionnaire was administered to 30 employees of Ángeles Store.

The study was descriptive, as it sought to characterize the main elements of strategic planning within the company and their impact on organizational strengthening. Furthermore, a non-experimental, cross-sectional design was adopted, since the variable was observed in its natural context, without manipulation, and at a single data collection point.

The data obtained were processed using descriptive statistics, with frequency tables and percentages. The reliability of the instrument, consisting of 15 items, was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, yielding a value of 0.86, which demonstrates high internal consistency.

3. Results

3.1 Strategic Direction

Table 1 shows that the strategic direction dimension has an overall average of 3.3 and a standard deviation of 0.15, reflecting a high rating and relative homogeneity in the responses. Favorable categories predominate in mission, objectives, and values, while vision and policies are at a moderate level.

T able 1. Results of the strategic direction dimension.

Source: Own elaboration

This behavior suggests that Ángeles Store does have defined strategic benchmarks; however, their organizational internalization is not uniform. In management terms, this implies that the company possesses a valid normative and symbolic foundation, but still needs to strengthen internal socialization and the operational appropriation of its direction so that this framework more consistently guides daily decision-making.

3.2 SWOT Analysis

Table 2 shows that the SWOT analysis obtained an average score of 3.3 and a standard deviation of 0.24, with an overall moderate rating. Threats are perceived as more intense (very high), while weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths are at moderate levels, indicating a partially consolidated organizational diagnosis.

Table 2. Results of the SWOT analysis dimension.

Source: Own elaboration

Interpretively, this indicates that the company has a clearer understanding of the environmental factors that may affect it; however, the identification of strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities has not yet fully translated into an integrated strategic analysis. Consequently, the SWOT analysis functions more as a descriptive input than as a systematic tool for formulating SO, WO, ST, and WT actions.

3.3 Business Strategies

In the area of business strategies, 41.3% of responses were favorable, 44% were sometimes favorable, and 14.7% were unfavorable. Again, a middle ground prevails.

The results indicate that the company develops actions aimed at growth, internal strengthening and commercial positioning; however, the monitoring and evaluation of these actions are not carried out continuously, which limits their impact.

4. Discussion

The findings suggest that Ángeles Store has basic strategic elements, but these are not yet consolidated as a management system. The presence of neutral percentages in all three dimensions reveals that the processes exist, although they have not been fully internalized by the staff nor integrated with monitoring mechanisms.

From a theoretical perspective, this aligns with Chiavenato's (2016) assertion that strategic planning requires integration and continuity to produce sustainable results. Similarly, Ojha et al. (2023) point out that strategic adaptation in SMEs depends on the ability to link planning, technology, and environmental responsiveness, a condition that appears to be only partially developed in this case.

In the SWOT analysis, the partial identification of internal and external factors suggests that the tool is used more for specific diagnostic purposes than as a basis for strategy formulation. This behavior is consistent with the observation of Oña Chiguano (2018) and with the contribution of Madureira et al. (2024), who emphasize that the value of SWOT lies in its translation into concrete actions.

Regarding business strategies, the results show an intention to grow, but also a weakness in systematic evaluation. This limits the ability to adjust decisions and measure their impact on performance indicators. Consequently, the company needs to move from a reactive approach to a more intentional, measurable, and sustained strategic management strategy.

In summary, strategic planning at Ángeles Store has a nascent foundation that can be strengthened through improved internal communication, formalization of diagnostic tools, and the establishment of control indicators. Only in this way can the strategy become an effective organizational practice and not just a formal declaration.

5. Conclusion

The research established that Ángeles Store has clear strategic foundations, but their level of adoption and application is still partial. Although a mission, vision, objectives, and growth-oriented actions exist, these elements are not managed as an integrated system.

Strategic direction requires greater internal communication so that staff understand and apply the organizational philosophy in their daily tasks. Similarly, SWOT analysis should be institutionalized as a regular practice to guide decision-making and translate into concrete action plans.

Business strategies show an intention to strengthen the company, but their effectiveness is limited by a lack of systematic evaluation. Therefore, it is recommended to design performance indicators, establish regular controls, and promote an organizational culture focused on planning, monitoring, and continuous improvement.

In general terms, the business strengthening of Ángeles Store will depend on its ability to turn strategic planning into a permanent, coherent and participatory process, capable of improving its competitiveness and sustainability in the local market.

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Contributions of the co-authors: All co-authors have contributed to this article by mutual agreement and are responsible for all information contained therein.

Andrea Camila Mejía Flores (25%): Conceptualization, drafting of the original version.
Katerine Michel Cárdenas Mena (25%): Methodology, resources.
Sara Sofía Lagares Rodríguez (25%): Validation, visualization, content review. José Gregorio Sierra Llorente (25%): Supervision, review, and final editing.

Research funding: With own resources.

Declaration of absence of conflict of interest: The authors declare that we have no conflict of interest that may have influenced the results obtained or the interpretations proposed.

Informed consent statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and Good Publication Practices.

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