Overall Performance Steering and Responsible Management in Chadian Enterprises

Abstract

The issue of performance management and responsible governance is gaining increasing prominence in contemporary management literature, reflecting the widening societal and institutional expectations placed on firms. Global performance is no longer confined to financial outcomes but is instead understood as a multidimensional construct encompassing economic, social, and environmental dimensions. In developing countries, and particularly in Chad, the study of these dynamics faces two major challenges: weak managerial and institutional infrastructures, and the persistence of entrepreneurial informality. This research adopts a qualitative and exploratory design based on semi-structured interviews conducted with fifteen SME managers and executives across diverse sectors. Thematic analysis reveals that performance management instruments remain largely dominated by financial and accounting tools, which are primarily employed for regulatory compliance and institutional communication. Although social and environmental considerations are often acknowledged discursively, they remain marginal in actual practices. Several structural barriers were identified, including a shortage of specialized expertise, limited access to financing, and institutional constraints. Nonetheless, enabling factors also emerge, such as strong leadership, the progressive formalization of organizational processes, and the cultural appropriation of management practices. The study offers recommendations to strengthen managerial capabilities, adapt performance management tools to local realities, and foster a supportive institutional ecosystem. It contributes to the ongoing debate on the contextualization of responsible management in Sub-Saharan Africa and opens avenues for future quantitative and comparative research.