Engaging Stakeholders through Corporate Political Activity: Insights from MNE nonmarket strategy in an emerging African market

As interest increases in the political engagement between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and emerging economy host governments, less is known about wider MNE stakeholder engagement and the development of nonmarket capabilities in institutionally fragile environments. This study investigates how MNEs engage stakeholders through corporate political activity (CPA) during the pro-market reform of Uganda’s electricity generation sector. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews, archival materials and fieldwork notes, and is analyzed using an NVivo-supported grounded analytic method. We find both proactive and reactive leveraging of CPA to manage diverse stakeholders. We argue that the host government remains the most important political stakeholder in the early phases of reform, but changes in institutional and political environments necessitate strategic adaptations as the reform process progresses. These adaptations include the need for local engagement and the accommodation of multi-level stakeholder pressures. Our findings contribute to an understanding of corporate political capabilities in Africa’s emerging markets, and illustrate how these capabilities can be strategically leveraged to effectively manage diverse stakeholders

Engaging informal institutions through corporate political activity: Capabilities for subnational embeddedness in emerging economies

This study examines how multinational enterprises (MNEs) organize internally to enhance subnational institutional fit in new frontier developing economies. We consider how corporate political activity (CPA) can facilitate local embeddedness by engaging informal institutions and nonmarket stakeholders at local community level. We apply an exploratory, qualitative, multi-case study approach to six MNEs in Uganda’s electricity generation sector. The findings suggest that in markets like Uganda, MNEs depend on being bridged with subnational informal institutions such as tribal, social, and religious norms and grassroots political networks. Such bridging in turn positions these MNEs to contribute to developmental processes by integrating recognizable informal institutions into grassroots projects. Drawing on institutional theory and an organizational capabilities perspective, we identify the diverse bridging capabilities that enable MNEs to successfully embed locally, thereby simultaneously pursuing business objectives and achieving societal relevance

Engaging Stakeholders Through Corporate Political Activity: Insights From MNE Nonmarket Strategy in an Emerging African Market

As interest increases in the political engagement between multinational enterprises (MNEs) andemerging economy host governments, less is known about wider MNE stakeholder engagementand the development of nonmarket capabilities in institutionally fragile environments. This studyinvestigates how MNEs engage stakeholders through corporate political activity (CPA) during thepro-market reform of Uganda's electricity generation sector. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews, archival materials and fieldwork notes, and is analyzed using an NVivo-supported grounded analytic method. We find both proactive and reactive leveraging of CPA tomanage diverse stakeholders. We argue that the host government remains the most importantpolitical stakeholder in the early phases of reform, but changes in institutional and politicalenvironments necessitate strategic adaptations as the reform process progresses. These adapta-tions include the need for local engagement and the accommodation of multi-level stakeholderpressures. Our findings contribute to an understanding of corporate political capabilities inAfrica's emerging markets, and illustrate how these capabilities can be strategically leveraged toeffectively manage diverse stakeholders