Strategic Response under Market and Institutional Uncertainty in the Tanzanian Food Processing Industry
- Publication date
- Publisher
- 2015
Abstract
Infant industry structures, weak institutions, wide spread market failures and lack
of trust permeate the Tanzanian business environment. Nevertheless, some local enterprises
succeed in overcoming these challenges. This paper seeks to understand the strategies of
these enterprises. Drawing on case studies of Tanzanian enterprises in the food processing
industry, we identify six generic coping strategies which contrast markedly with the kind of
strategies conventional strategic management thinking would prescribe: Instead of focus
strategies, Tanzanian enterprises diversify across industries and value chain functions;
Instead of competitive strategies, Tanzanian enterprises embark on network and political
strategies; And instead of internationalizing based on home-market strengths, Tanzanian
enterprises internationalize in response to home-market weaknesses. We characterize the
strategies adopted by Tanzanian enterprises and discuss implications for the strategic
management literature