Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make-up 99.8% of all enterprises which comprises 57.4% of added value and 66.8% of employment within the European Union economy. In the age of the fourth industrial revolution, there will be an increasing competition among SMEs to operate efficiently, to hold on to their customers while capturing additional market share.

Most of the SMEs leaders have difficulties to establish an overall strategy that is consistent and optimised due to a lack of time, methodology and/or knowledge. For instance, the leader may focused on the internal performance of the company at the expense of its customers’ expectations; or launching innovative products/services but neglecting its industrial strategy; or improving its operating profit without involving its stakeholders in the business development.

This article explores how the assessment of the environment threats and opportunities may help SME leaders to formalize their strategic vision through the identification of the key strategic dimensions. It comprises three sections: (1) the notions of strategy, strategic dimensions and performance measurement system (PMS) are defined (2) the SME’s environment factors and their level of risks are evaluated, (3) the conceptual framework that identify the priority index of each strategic dimension is proposed.

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Dr. Nicolas Maranzana