Significance of strategic planning for results of sport organization

The article focuses on the application of strategic planning activities in a sport organization. Firstly, strategic planning activities are distinguished and their significance for organizations analyzed. The following activities are emphasized – setting of strategic goals, analysis, and prognostication, the choice of strategy and its implementation, as well as the feedback. The research deals individually with the issue of management participation in the strategic planning activities and raises the question of their documentation. The significance of strategic planning activities can be identified through the achieved strategic results, i.e. innovativeness and development. The article presents an empiric research with Kaunas city sport clubs as its participants. Though the analysis showed that strategic planning activities are itemized, the process of their analysis should include distinguishing the main activities that would cover other more detailed ones. Strategy results reflected in service innovativeness, network, client scope, and workplace development, could be signified as an individual strategic planning element showing the significance of planning activities. When researching the strategic planning and management aspects of sport organizations, it was discovered that the importance of strategic activities for the results of these organizations is statistically significant. Sport organizations are oriented towards all strategic management activities and are striving to create results directed to development. The following strategic activity aspects are appropriately evaluated – organizations give sufficient attention to the process of strategic management, its formalization and documentation and innovative results are achieved. The insufficient understanding of connection between goal setting and strategic planning and management activities carried out in an organization could be distinguished as a negative aspect