Institutional factors influencing the internationalisation of emerging market telecommunication firms in Nigeria

Umoru, U ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9281-9344, 2019. Institutional factors influencing the internationalisation of emerging market telecommunication firms in Nigeria. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

Past literature on the internationalisation of telecommunication firms has documented evidence on how politics, regulations, market, corruption and cultural factors influence international telecommunication firms at entry in a host market. However, how these factors influence post-entry requires more attention. This thesis, using the institutional theory as a lens, aims to draw attention to the institutional factors that influence the post-entry expansion of emerging market telecommunication firms in Nigeria.

This thesis adopts a multiple case qualitative study involving forty-seven interviews and secondary documents, which were thoroughly examined to ensure triangulation of data. The findings demonstrate that in addition to the key formal institutions, among which are the role of politicians, the tax system and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), informal factors in the shape of community and infrastructural challenges have an influence at post-entry.

This thesis advances a more nuanced understanding of how institutional factors influence the post-entry of an international telecommunication firm. First, this thesis demonstrates that both formal institutions in the form of politicians and regulators, as well as informal institutions, namely the communities coerce the international telecommunication firms by making financial demands on them and arbitrarily disrupting the building of telecommunication base stations (TBS). Second, it contributes to the institutional theory literature from an African perspective by demonstrating that while formal and informal institutions co-exist they influence post-entry independently.

Further, institutional theory research has largely ignored Africa as a research setting, limiting our understanding of the nuances this context can contribute to management literature. This thesis identifies the range of strategies including corporate social responsibilities (CSR), bribery and engagement adopted by international telecommunication firms to manage both the formal and informal institutions. Finally, identifying these strategies shows that international telecommunication firms can legitimatise their operations even in an unstable environment. Regarding policy implication, it provides empirical evidence to show that the 2003 Nigerian telecommunication Act requires updating by the regulators to acknowledge the role the informal institutions play in the sector.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Umoru, U.
Date:	January 2019
Rights:	This work is the intellectual property of the author. (Note: if there are other owners of the IP, they must also be named here). You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights.
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	18 Oct 2019 15:35
Last Modified:	18 Oct 2019 15:35
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/38003

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