Examining the effect of Strategic Planning on operational efficiency of Event Management firms in Lagos State

Abstract

The event management industry in Lagos State, Nigeria, is a dynamic and economically important service sector, yet it remains underrepresented in academic research. Many firms struggle with operational inefficiency, resource misallocation, and lack of formal strategic planning frameworks, which limit their growth and service quality. This PRISMA-guided systematic literature review investigates how strategic planning influences operational efficiency among event management firms in Lagos State. A structured search of five academic databases was conducted using carefully constructed keyword clusters. From 2,187 initial
records, 30 sources met all inclusion criteria following rigorous screening. The included sources comprise primarily peer-reviewed journal articles and selected grey literature, including government/institutional reports and credible conference proceedings. Most
reviewed works were published between 2023 and 2026, with earlier seminal theoretical contributions used for conceptual grounding. Findings reveal four key themes: the strategic value of environmental scanning and goal-setting, the role of technology adoption in translating plans into efficiency gains, the importance of human capital development within strategic frameworks, and how infrastructure and regulatory constraints limit planning implementation in Lagos. Drawing on the Resource-Based View, the Balanced Scorecard framework, and Mintzberg's emergent strategy perspective, the review develops a conceptual
model linking strategic planning components to operational efficiency outcomes. Firms adopting formalized strategic planning processes, particularly those integrating digital tools, workforce training, and adaptive environmental scanning, demonstrate measurably superior operational outcomes. The review recommends that event management entrepreneurs adopt rolling, quarterly-evaluated strategic planning cycles; that industry associations and SMEDA develop and subsidize event-specific planning toolkits and capacity-building programmes; that infrastructure agencies prioritize stable power and broadband provision in event-dense commercial districts; and that future research pursue longitudinal and comparative case study designs to establish causality between strategic planning and operational efficiency in this sector.