little research to generate theory on the actual micro-processes and micro-activities of strategic leaders and actors in managing strategy. Specifically, Johnson et al. (2007:7) highlight a significant lacuna in strategy research on the link between the individual-level micro-activities exercised by strategic leaders and other people, and organisational level processes and practices. Since as far back as the 1980s some scholars have highlighted the limited empirical research available to explain the activities of managers and also how leaders establish and communicate to their organisations a set of shared values and beliefs on how the organisation ought to be. Johnson, et al. (2007:21) express similar sentiments, arguing that it remains a black box when it comes to how informal organisational aspects such as culture, guide strategic leaders or managers in what they literally do, namely, strategising. This too points to the need for further research on strategising and cultural leadership, focused on the perspective of micro-level activities and processes observed within SMEs. Specifically, this study has addressed the question of how the basic cultural assumptions of strategic leaders influenced their strategising as they competed in the market. Although it may be an extreme view, some scholars construe strategy as disembodied (Johnson et al., 2007:7). They uphold a rationalistic and technical view of strategy and argue that they are interested in strategy and not what people do. Not surprisingly, though, what people do or human action and interaction continue to be considered in explanations of performance of the small firm (Analoui and Karami, 2003:35). As was pointed out earlier, scholars concur that the overriding reason for failure of small firms is a lack of leadership and management skills in running ventures (Analoui and Karami, 2003:35-36; Longenecker, et al., 2003; Megginson, Byrd and Megginson, 2003; Rwigema and Venter, 2004). This is certainly true in Sub-Sahara Africa (Biggs and Ashah, 2006:3046). It is also likely that poor leadership in small firms that do survive may constrain their competitive ability to realise their full potential in the market. There is a theoretical gap of what strategic leaders actually do in the enterprise to create, resource, and deliver value to the market, and thereby ensure survival and growth. Or to put it differently, the view of strategy as practice has not produced much in terms of how leaders enact competitive strategy or the actual activities and processes that are used in effecting the competitive “game
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