Strategic alignment of the South African retail sector with the national development plan

Abstract

This paper provides an evaluation of the strategy alignment of the South African retail sector with the National Development Plan (NDP) governance values and objectives. The paper considers the commercial realities which form the framework for retail decision-makers when they address the challenges in aligning their business growth strategies with the regulatory framework of a capable, developmental state. Within that context, the outcomes of a retail stakeholder alignment study of the NDP strategy themes are analysed. The method involved a policy survey of a purposive sample of retail business and governance stakeholders. The survey findings reflect retailer alignment with many NDP regulatory and ‘active citizenry’ strategies, but with strong beliefs that others are not the retail business sector’s governance responsibility.