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

Mbalyohere, Charles and Lawton, Thomas C. (2018). Engaging Stakeholders Through Corporate Political Activity: Insights From MNE Nonmarket Strategy in an Emerging African Market. Journal of International Management, 24(4) pp. 369–385.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2018.04.006

Abstract

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.

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