Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting

This paper underscores the challenges and significance of strategy formulation and execution, especially in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) hospitality sector. Despite decades of research and professional scrutiny, strategy implementation remains daunting in strategic management. The research is paramount to small hotels, especially in a rapidly changing and pandemic-stricken environment and the broader tourism sector. It equips managers in the hospitality and tourism sectors with insights to navigate implementation challenges and adopt innovative methods to bridge the gap between strategy formulation and its successful execution. The research findings, aimed at enhancing decision-making, productivity, and competitive edge, will benefit various stakeholders, including organizational managers, academic scholars, policymakers, regulators, and the general public. These findings will be disseminated through academic and professional channels to serve the public interest and contribute substantially to existing knowledge. Notably, while this study provides valuable insights, it does present limitations, mainly its focus on top management and its restricted observational scope due to the pandemic. Future research might consider broadening the participant pool and studying larger hotels across different regions to enhance generalizability.