The implementation of holistic risk management, enterprise risk management (ERM), is believed to contribute significantly to the successful performance of modern-day organizations that operate in an increasingly volatile and dynamic environment. In an environment of scarce resources and information uncertainty, ERM, risk culture, and strategic planning is required to face an unstable business environment to achieve organizational goals. Several conceptual and empirical studies have provided mixed evidence on the value relevance of ERM. Scholars have also demonstrated that the effects of ERM on performance are contingent upon certain contextual variables. Currently, the academic literature is silent on the joint relationship of ERM, risk culture, strategic planning, and organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to uncover this research gap by analytically reviewing pertinent conceptual and empirical literature to establish the possibility that the impact of ERM on organizational performance is transmitted through risk culture and strategic planning. This paper advances these evolving suggestions, which hinges on the conclusion that the direct effect of ERM on organizational performance is debatable and hence inconclusive due to the possible mediating influence of risk culture and strategic planning. A framework is conceptualized to examine the mediating effects of these two constructs on the relationship. The study proposes partial least squares structural equation modeling for statistical analysis using the unexplored multiple mediation analysis in the ERM academic literature. This paper’s postulations would guide empirical research in various contexts to address the knowledge gaps in the extant literature.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the integration of ERM at the strategic planning stage improves a firm's financial performance measured in terms of return on assets. Many researches in the literature have focused on the determinants of ERM implementation and its effects on firm performance. In most of these studies, the ERM concept has been measured dichotomously. A comprehensive measure of ERM is used in this study from primary data gathered based on an established ERM framework. The results show that ERM implementation is not significantly related to firm performance. However, empirical evidence is provided that if ERM is integrated with strategic planning, firm performance shall significantly improve. The comprehensive ERM measure provided contributes to the literature as it enables risk practitioners to assess the level of risk management in their organizations. ERM researchers can use this measure to do away with the dichotomous ERM measure. Furthermore, the study provides evidence of strategic planning, serving as a mediator in the ERM and firm performance relationship in a less investigated context of Africa.

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and risk culture academics and practitioners have argued that they are inherently related without empirical evidence. They continue to advocate for their implementation by firms to face the dynamic business environment with certainty. The lack of empirical evidence to underpin this relationship partly contributes to their fragmented implementation and the lack of proper attention to risk culture in ERM implementation. The challenge in measuring these two abstract concepts contributes to their dichotomous measures in the literature, with most studies concentrated in the developed economies. The study objective is to provide a comprehensive measurement of the two constructs and empirically determine their relationship in the less-researched context of Africa. The study results empirically confirm risk culture and ERM to have a significant positive relationship. A firm's size and financial leverage were found to be significant determinants for ERM implementation, whereas capital opacity, financial slack, and board composition are not. Organizational leaders are advised by the study not to treat risk culture and ERM as substitutes but as complements. A sound risk culture provides a solid base for ERM implementation. Risk culture should be managed and developed in full alignment with the risk appetite and the ERM framework to improve organizational performance. These shall enable the promotion of a risk-aware culture and ingraining risk-related measures into performance management that help drive the organization forward. The constructs measures presented in the study can be used by academics and risk practitioners to determine the level of risk culture and ERM implementation in organizations.

Enterprise risk management (ERM) research has mostly been limited to factors determining its implementation and its effects on firm performance. Despite a clear need for its establishment in sound risk culture and its integration with strategic planning, organisational leaders continue to implement these management concepts in isolation. Academic research into these conjoint relationships has also received less attention in the literature. This study investigates whether ERM's effect on firm financial performance, measured by return on assets, is mediated by risk culture and strategic planning. The study provides empirical evidence that adopting ERM solely does not enhance a firm's financial performance. The ERM, risk culture, and strategic planning constructs are empirically determined to be correlated. Strategic planning has a direct and positive relationship with firm performance. The study further provides empirical evidence that the positive effects of ERM implementation on firm financial performance are mediated by risk culture and strategic planning. The size of a firm and its financial leverage are remarkable determinants of firm performance, while firm age and growth rate are not. The pieces of evidence have been presented from an under-investigated context in Africa with other contributions to the literature, such as, providing comprehensive measures of ERM and risk culture and responding to calls to synthesise risk and strategic management. This study also advances multiple mediation analysis and the use of PLS-SEM in the ERM literature.