Authors: Jackson Matsanga
Abstract: The development and achievement of sustainable success among individuals, organisations, and institutions increasingly depends on the integration of strategic planning and sustained determination. Although these concepts have been extensively examined within strategic management, psychology, leadership, and organisational studies, existing scholarship has largely considered them independently or within discipline-specific frameworks. Consequently, limited philosophical attention has been devoted to explaining how strategic planning and determination function together to promote self-reliance and dependable achievement. This study developed the Strategic Wolverine Theory (TSWT), an original philosophical framework inspired by the documented behavioural characteristics of the wolverine (Gulo gulo). The study adopted a philosophical research design and employed conceptual analysis, literature synthesis, observational behavioural analysis, theory development procedures, and inductive reasoning to formulate the theory. The findings revealed that the wolverine consistently demonstrates strategic food caching, prudent resource management, determination, resilience, adaptability, self-reliance, and dependable survival under harsh environmental conditions. These behavioural characteristics were systematically interpreted and synthesised into a coherent philosophical framework. The study established that strategic planning and determination are the fundamental pillars of self-reliance and dependable achievement. Strategic planning provides purposeful direction through anticipation, preparation, and prudent resource utilisation, while determination sustains disciplined implementation despite adversity. Their interaction strengthens self-reliance, resulting in consistent and sustainable achievement across diverse contexts. The theory further identifies leadership effectiveness and resource availability as moderating factors that may influence these relationships. The Strategic Wolverine Theory contributes to contemporary scholarship by integrating strategic planning, determination, self-reliance, and dependable achievement into a unified philosophical framework grounded in documented behavioural evidence. The theory provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical research and offers practical guidance for leadership, education, organisational management, entrepreneurship, governance, public administration, and community development. It therefore represents an original contribution to nature-inspired philosophical theory development and the broader understanding of sustainable success.
