The relationship between environmental uncertainty and business-level strategy in the telecommunications sector in Ghana

Abstract

The study of the relationship between environmental uncertainty and business-level strategy has received less attention in developing economies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this thesis is to examine perceived uncertainty in a developing country to find out how organisations strategically respond to this phenomenon. Using a purposive sample method, one of the six licensed telecommunications organisations in Ghana was selected for an in-depth case study. The qualitative research method was used for data collection and analysis. The results showed that the high level of perceived uncertainty in the telecommunications business environment in Ghana influenced the organisation to adopt informal planning, focused on short-term objectives in order to respond quickly to the turbulent and unpredictable environment. The study concluded that customer behaviour, economic instability and regulatory environment were the most influential external environmental factors that affected strategic decisions in the telecommunications sector in sub-Saharan Africa. In exploring the relationship between environmental uncertainty and business-level strategy the study found a link between environmental uncertainty and the selection of business-level strategy in an organisation in sub-Saharan Africa. The result of the study contributed to the debate in the literature that the strategic response to the perception of the environment by managers in sub-Saharan Africa operating in a different cultural backgrounds was not different from managers in the developed world.