Cross‐border expansion and competitive interactions of indigenous mobile network operators in sub‐Saharan Africa

Emerging‐market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) have become major players in the global economy, with an increasing share of global foreign direct investment (FDI). Indigenous mobile network operators (MNOs) in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) are not left out in this pursuit, as they seek growth and competitiveness beyond their domestic markets. We investigate the FDI location choices and competitive interactions of the five indigenous SSA MNOs that had internationalized as of 2014 and find that, contrary to the literature, these EMNEs, operating in a key and rapidly developing industry, did not tend to commence their cross‐border expansion in geographically close markets. In addition, the MNOs are more likely to invest in countries with stronger control over corruption and do not appear to engage in heavy head‐to‐head competition with their rivals. These findings contribute to the internationalization literature in the context of the investment and competitive behaviors of the currently underexplored indigenous SSA multinationals

Birds of a feather flock together: ownership in cross-border acquisitions by emerging multinationals

Purpose: Despite prior studies on cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) have analyzed the determinants of ownership strategies; there is still a quest for evidence on how the differences between home and host market characteristics affect the ownership percentage. Prior studies have acknowledged that entering host countries with greater uncertainty makes multinationals reluctant to acquire high levels of ownership. Nevertheless, emerging multinationals (EMNEs) are usually used to operating under greater levels of uncertainty than multinationals from advanced countries (AMNEs), which can imply different ownership strategies. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ownership percentage acquired by MNEs when designing a CBA in emerging or in advanced countries, and to analyze the extent to which the ownership strategy in emerging countries differs between EMNEs and AMNEs. Design/methodology/approach: Mobile telecommunications industry is used as research setting to provide empirical evidence of the interaction effect of the advanced versus emerging nature of the host and home countries on the ownership acquired in CBAs. Findings: Results confirm that both home and host countries' characteristics are relevant in explaining the ownership strategies of MNEs. Originality/value: The authors contribute to the strategy and IB literatures by providing empirical evidence on the recent debate on whether the internationalization strategies followed by EMNEs are similar to the traditional patterns of AMNEs, and analyze how EMNEs differ from AMNEs in their ownership strategies in emerging countries. Focusing in the mobile telecommunications industry, the authors also contribute by extending the analysis to an international and cross-cultural setting that includes 48 mobile groups that come from 35 home and 81 host countries

Ownership, institutional environment and subsidiary performance: a dynamic analysis in the mobile telecommunications industry

Las empresas multinacionales se han convertido en actores fundamentales de la economía global, incrementando significativamente su presencia durante las últimas décadas. Esto ha atraído la atención de un gran número de investigadores que han intentado analizar tanto el comportamiento estratégico durante los procesos de internacionalización como el resultado obtenido por las empresas multinacionales y sus filiales. Esta tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo profundizar en algunas de las cuestiones que continúan sin resolverse en este ámbito. En concreto, el capítulo 2 profundiza en el análisis de los determinantes del nivel de propiedad durante las adquisiciones, centrándose en los determinantes a nivel de empresa objetivo. Además, incorpora una visión dinámica analizando tanto la propiedad adquirida inicialmente como las variaciones de propiedad después de la adquisición. El capítulo 3 se centra en la influencia del entorno en las decisiones sobre el nivel de propiedad, analizando la influencia que tiene para las empresas multinacionales el aprendizaje derivado del país de origen. Este aprendizaje en el país de origen, también es de relevancia para afrontar rápidos cambios institucionales, como puede observarse en el capítulo 4. Durante este capítulo se analiza la influencia que la velocidad de cambio institucional tiene sobre el resultado obtenido por las filiales y el papel que desempeñan las ventajas institucionales. <br /

Customer Service Retention – A Behavioural Perspective of the UK Mobile Market

Abstract Customer retention is essential for firms in the service sector and will subsequently receive a great deal of attention in the coming years. A large majority of firms are losing their current customers at a significant rate. UK operators lose over a third of their subscribers every year in spite of incurring large customer acquisition and retention expenditures. A study of customer retention from a variety of angles, including economic, behavioural and psychological perspectives, was rigorously carried out. It has been found that a majority of scholars explain customer retention from a behavioural perspective by using unrelated or indirect factors such as trust and commitment, price terms, and loyalty terms. It has also been noted that previous studies lack a clear theoretical background and a solid empirical proof to support their findings of customer operant retention behaviour. This study approaches the customer retention problem in the mobile phone sector from a behavioural perspective, applying the Behavioural Perspective Model as the main analytical framework. The model includes a set of pre-behaviour and post-behaviour factors to study consumer choice and explains its relevant drivers in a viable and comprehensive way, grounded in radical behaviourism. Many data collection methods were used to collect data from the study sample, including mobile contracts content analysis techniques, customer focus groups, and, principally, a customer survey supported by interviews with a number of managers. The data were analysed using different regression measurements to test the study model, and the propositions were constructed and tested quantitatively and discussed qualitatively. Analysis revealed that a customer will buy a mobile telecommunication package and engage in a long-term relationship with a supplier whom he or she believes will honour the relationship’s functional and emotional benefits; the consumer will be expecting to obtain such benefits when he/she buys, consumes, and has a positive experience of both the purchased object and the seller