Search results

This paper aims to explore the delayed, then accelerated, internationalisation of an emerging multinational enterprise (EMNE), with a particular focus on the media technology sector, and how it exploited complementarities between emerging markets.

The research is qualitative in nature and focuses on the expansion of a South African media technology EMNE case study that has a footprint in over 130 countries and has one of the largest market capitalisations of any media company outside the USA and China.

EMNEs have unique capabilities in navigating uncertain institutional environments in emerging markets and are able to capitalise upon the institutional complementarities between their home and host countries. This may facilitate the recognition of market opportunities and the harnessing of new technologies to meet these opportunities in complementary markets for accelerated internationalisation.

EMNEs must capitalise upon the institutional complementarities between home and host country locations and use this to take advantage of identified market opportunities. This creates the possibility for a process of accelerated internationalisation. New technologies are creating particular market opportunities in emerging markets which can be exploited by EMNEs.

The authors provide a framework which illustrates how an EMNE can exploit complementarities between emerging markets to identify market opportunities, capitalise upon institutional similarities and harness new technologies in the process.

The economic growth performance of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) over the past few decades has confounded economists. The paper examines the nature and causes of the region's marginalisation.

Analyses areas of marginalisation including: technologically, economically, socially, politically, and even intellectually. The aim here is to document all these facets in a comparative manner and to examine prospects for their reversal.

The poverty of SSA has many dimensions and causes, both internal and external. Certainly part of its underdevelopment is attributable to bad luck, initial conditions, and an unfavourable international economic environment. However, the region has to accept much of the responsibility for its plight because its present state is also largely an outcome of poor policy choice and bad governance. Thus, whilst we cannot account for every facet of the question of “why some nations are rich and others poor” we are nonetheless left with some very real certainties.

The most important implication is that the principal therapy for poverty in SSA comes from within by addressing the internal obstacles to growth. However, the international community has an important role to play in addressing the uneven global trading system which is hampering development prospects and this needs to happen in the current trading round.

The paper provides a comprehensive account of the sources of Africa's underdevelopment in a comparative manner. It will be of interest to all social scientists and policymakers interested in development issues.

The article examines the shift in the post‐apartheid government’s economic policy from its reconstruction and development programme to its growth, employment and redistribution policy. It argues that this move towards a more neo‐liberal paradigm reflects the growing reflection of the state’s incapacity. The paper reviews the delivery on promises made by the post‐apartheid government after the April 1994 elections and analyses the reasons for its lack of capacity. Lastly, it appraises the potential for a South African developmental state.

Takes issue with the way in which economics deals with the state and assumes homogeneous capacity. Instead it argues that differences in growth rates between countries can be traced back to the capacity of the state and political system. A state that is relatively capable is able to provide a political environment conducive to growth. It highlights the role of the élite in the development process, the necessity for a competent and insulated economic bureaucracy, and the significance of “embedded autonomy” for the state. These elements shape the nature and capacity of the state.

Points out that it would be naïve to believe that democracy in itself will solve all South Africa’s problems. Also that the legacy of apartheid lives on and will continue to do so for many generations to come. Examines the socio‐economic restructuring of South Africa, looking at whether it will be possible to make amends for past injustices while not harming future economic development. Emphasizes the role of the welfare system in improving the quality of life of black South Africans and examines whether the welfare state is a feasible option.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of political and economic institutions, their persistence and interdependence and their effects on economic progress in Mozambique.

Using a unique data set, which has developed detailed long-run indices of institutional change in Mozambique from 1900 onwards, the research utilizes time-series econometrics to estimate cointegration relations and Vector Autoregressive and Vector Error Correction models, and also Granger causality, correlation and residual analysis when interpreting the estimation results.

It shows support for path dependence in political and economic institutions as well as the critical juncture theory and modernization hypothesis, and for webs of association between these institutions and economic development. It provides evidence of an equilibrium-dependent process, where history does matter (as do early conditions), and whose impact may differ depending on the nature of institutional arrangements. Various institutions created during colonial times have a bearing on the present state of institutions in Mozambique, as reflected in important continuities regarding the forms of political economy, among others.

The work contributes to existing research not only through the employment of a new set of institutional measures, which allows for a particularly long time-series investigation in a developing country setting, but also through its contribution to studies on modernization and critical junctures but in a longitudinal manner which allows for the exploration of complex dynamics embedded within a country’s particular political economy. The implications are far-reaching and carry importance beyond the academy given the pressure on policymakers to get things right because of the persistence of institutions and their consequences and the associated path dependency.

The purpose of this study is to explore how African fintech firms adapt their marketing strategies for successful market expansion into new African countries.

This exploratory study is qualitative in nature and utilizes semi-structured interviews at 14 African fintech firms.

The study reveals that, during intra-Africa expansion, firms adapt their marketing strategies by working with local people, prioritizing customer education, creating personal relationships with customers, adapting their communication strategies and pricing strategies and using social media. The strategies that have been most effective involve including the community in the marketing process, prioritizing relationships, segmenting customers geographically, educating customers about products, using local distribution partners and having a flexible approach to strategy adaptation.

It has been argued that technological innovation in Africa in areas such as financial services is a critical driver of its future development, because of the opportunity it presents to promote financial inclusion. Through an increase in venture capital investment on the continent, technological innovations in financial services have grown exponentially, and this study contributes to the understanding of the marketing strategies employed to gain market traction.

This study proposes that African fintech firms adopt a bottom-up, value proposition-driven marketing strategy to successfully navigate the environment. The proposed framework provides a lens through which to understand the components of successful strategy adaptation in Africa, against the backdrop of the unique market challenges inherent in this emerging market continent.

This paper aims to analyse how processes of institutional change in environments of institutional 'voids' affect smallholder farmer market access in Zambia and Malawi, and explores the role of different dis/enabling institutional agents and logics. The authors examine this in the context of two divergent routes of institutional change – one externally imposed and the second driven from within the ecosystem itself. The authors consider how these different institutional processes impact upon smallholder farmers and how they are able to adapt to these changes.

A qualitative research approach is used which lends itself to an analysis of multiple institutional logics that is based upon the multiple positions of market actors. It uses a comparative case study design methodology focused on two broad cases of smallholder farmers in Zambia and Malawi.

The research demonstrates the tension that multiple institutional logics can create especially amongst those most vulnerable particularly where these are not embedded in local realities and mindful of social settings.

It contributes to the understanding of poverty alleviation in rural developing regions, on overcoming institutional voids, market inclusivity and the role of social entrepreneurs and intermediaries, and builds on the perspective of markets as social spaces for economic exchange.

Sustainable development; business, government, and society.

The case is designed to be taught to students at MBA and MA level.

In February 2009, Justin Smith, manager of the good business journey at Woolworths, a leading South African department store, was a worried man. Woolworths had launched its five-year sustainability strategy just under two years before. After undertaking an impact assessment, Smith was concerned that the original targets – which covered transformation, social development, the environment and climate change – had been set without a clear understanding of exactly what it would take to achieve them. Woolworths had recently identified ten key risk areas that impacted on the achievement of its original goals. If the sustainability goals were not reached, Woolworths could lose credibility among its shareholders, staff, and consumers. What did Woolworths need to do to ensure that it achieved its sustainability goals? And had the company been too ambitious in the targets it had set initially, he wondered?

To examine the differences, if any, between sustainable development in South Africa and other developing nations and sustainable development in developed nations; to impart an understanding of sustainability in its broadest sense; to investigate the challenges in implementing sustainability strategies in business; to look at ways of measuring the success of sustainability strategies; and to explore whether and how sustainability strategies should differ across industry sectors and across companies.

Teaching notes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the interaction between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and public governance institutions in regions of limited statehood by focusing on three areas of inquiry: first, the impact of MNEs in these environments; second, the mechanisms and levels through which MNEs engage with external governance processes; and finally, the strategic motivation for the mode and level of engagement.

The authors follow an applied qualitative research approach, drawing on the principles of case study design, through interviews with executives that were involved in setting up four MNEs in Afghanistan.

The results reveal a relationship between the depth of country embeddedness and the level of engagement of MNEs with public institutions and this is related to issues around risk mitigation and time horizons. Deeper embeddedness in the local markets brings greater exposure to risk leading to more and wider engagement in governance processes and cross-sector partnerships in order to influence these concerns.

The research contributes to institutional theory and demonstrates the interplay between organizations and the institutional surroundings. MNEs in Afghanistan are deeply affected by institutional weakness which contribute toward greater uncertainty and impact their behavior, but MNEs also have a direct bearing on institutions.

In fragile and conflict-affected states, MNEs can contribute toward peace and institution building and reinforce cycles of positive development, or they can further pathological behavior and contribute to conflict.

MNEs are increasingly going to be expected to step into the gaps associated with institutional voids and this will require a different approach to doing business and their choice of approach will have a direct bearing on social outcomes in host countries.

The authors reveal two models of MNE engagement in these areas of limited statehood, namely an embedded vs autonomous model and examine their implications.