Dealing with environmental uncertainty

Purpose The purpose of this commentary is to discuss environmental uncertainty and to illustrate the value of scenario planning for small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in a volatile environment. Design/methodology/approach The literature regarding strategy formulation, environmental uncertainty and scenario planning is reviewed and considered in the context of managerial decision making. Findings Given the way managers learn to “know” what is happening in their business environment, scenario planning can be adapted for use by SME owner/managers. Originality/value Although scenario planning was developed for use by large companies, this paper illustrates that it can be used by smaller firms.