SAFIC (Successful African Firms and Institutional Change)

1. SAFIC (Successful African Firms and Institutional Change) CAE Workshop 7th Dec 2017, RUC Søren Jeppesen, Assoc. Prof. & Project Coordinator, Centre for Business & Development Studies (CBDS), Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC), CBS Welcome

2. SAFIC Team CBDS/CBS; DSSB/RUC; IDS/UoN, Kenya; UDSM-BS, Tanzania & Geography+Development Studies, UNZA, Zambia

3. SAFIC – Presentation – CAE 7th Dec 2017 • Introduction • Aims, Objectives & Research questions • Outputs • Theoretical framework • Methodological set-up • Learnings & Challenges

4. Introduction • Grant: FFU, 9 mill. DKK • Members: 13-15 senior, 5 PhDs • Time frame: 2012-2017 • Key sectors: • Food processing – Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia • Key individual sectors: • Tourism – Tanzania • Machinery producers – Kenya • Suppliers to the Mines - Zambia

5. Aims: • To investigate how and why African firms are able to be successful in changing business and institutional environments • To contribute to enhanced understanding of economic growth and employment through new knowledge on firm development in the African private sector

6. Objectives: Overall: * To identify strategies that lead to sustained firm performance, and * To seek to explain the firm’s success by looking at the interface between firm internal factors (resources and capabilities) and firms external factors (market structures and institutions – formal and informal) Specific: * To understand the origins of local firms’ success in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia * as a means to inform firm strategies and economic development policy in these countries

7. Key research question: * How and why certain local firms in the three countries manage to grow with different degrees of success under changing conditions and often volatile market and institutional conditions?

8. Outputs (projected & realised): Academic: * 20 working & conf. papers - +30 * 20 journal articles - 11 published/ 4 in review/10-15 pipeline * 3 country background reports - 3 * 1 book/ A selection of case studies - 8 * 1 post-doc; 5 PhD theses - 1; 0 * 21 Master theses - 13 (4) * Joint + Individual country workshops (13) and Conferences (2) - 6 Joint /+20 individual/2

9. Outputs (projected & realised): Policy: * Press releases - 4+ * Policy briefs (at least 5) - 6+ * 4 Policy/stakeholder workshops – 4 (final one 14th Dec in Dar) * Interaction with stakeholders – A variety of forms

10. Theoretical framework: Eclectic Main theories and concepts: Firm Market Institutions

11. Theoretical framework Firm level: Resource based & Dynamic capabilities theories (Teece, Penrose, Grant and more) Concepts: Resources Capabilities (static, dynamic) Success (performance) Strategies

12. SAFIC Joint Workshop no 2 – Theoretical considerations (9) ‘Success’ (performance) - Which indicators? Financial and non-financial: 1) Financial 2) Market 3) Managerial 4) Human Resources 5) Technological/innovation 6) No. of & level of contacts to government 7) Involvement in business associations 8) Knowledge on regulations (local and global)?

13. SAFIC Joint Workshop no 2 – Theoretical considerations (9) ‘Success’ (performance) Selected indicators: Financial: 1) Change (Increase) in turnover (2007-2012) 2) Change in number of employees 3) Change in EBIT (2007-2012) 4) Self-assessment of performance vs. ‘industry average’ Rated & Ranked

14. KEY DEFINITIONS: • (Local) Ownership : ‘Majority owned by Citizen(s) of the country’ • Age of establishment: Min. 5 years • Number of permanent employees: 10 - Full time (permanent and casual)

15. SAFIC Joint Workshop no 2 – Theoretical considerations (11) ‘Strategies’ • Identification of strategies • Which strategies seem to be more or less successful? * Over time * In certain sectors, and/or * Under certain conditions

16. Theoretical framework Markets (market institutions): * Macro economic conditions * Trade * Industry (global, regional, local) * Competitors

17. SAFIC Joint Workshop no 2 – Theoretical considerations (12) Institutional theory: • Influence of formal and informal institutions on firm strategies (Peng, Hoskinsson, Meyer and more) • State-Business-relations (Formal: and Informal – Scott Taylor)

18. Development path and history (Successful) performance FIRM Resources and Capabilities Strategy Market structures and economic institutions Political and Social institutions Figure 1: Conceptualisation of the Firm and its Key Relationships Analytical framework:

19. Methodological set-up: Different analytical steps: • Explorative • Extensive • Intensive, and • Comparative and Retroductive

20. Methodological set-up Phases – data collection: 1. Mapping + Literature reviews 2. Surveys 3. Case studies (qualitative firm interviews) Key informants interviews

21. Methodological set-up Data collected: 1. Mapping: + 500 firms 2. Surveys: 210 FP firms/150 other 3. Case studies (2014-2016): FP (Z: 12, K: 12, T: 8) Other (Z: 12 (-2015), K: 8, T: ?) 4. Key informants interviews: +60

22. Learnings & Challenges Complex project management (5 institutions, 4 countries) Incentive structures (ensuring realisation of outputs) Data quality and access Progress of PhDs (sharing of responsibilities among DK and Southern seniors)

23. SAFIC Publications – 2 streams 11. Panum, K. and Hansen, M.W. (2017), ‘Social Enterprises …..’ Forthcoming in: International Journal of Development Studies? 10. Hansen, M. W., T. Langevang, L. Rutashobya & Urassa, G. (2017), Coping with the African Business Environment: Enterprise Strategy in Response to Institutional Uncertainty in Tanzania, Journal of African Business, 1-26. 9. Kragelund, P. (2017), The making of local content policies in Zambia's copper sector: International impediments to resource-led development. Resources Policy, Vol. 51, p. 57-668. Hansen, M. W., Buur, L., Kjær, A.-M. and Therkildsen, O. (2016), The Economics and Politics of Local Content in African Extractives : Lessons from Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. Forum for Development Studies. Vol. 43, No. 2, p. 201-2287. Charles, G., Jeppesen, S. Kamau, P. and Kragelund, P. (2016), Firm-level Perspectives on State-Business Relations in Africa: The Food-processing Sector in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. Forum for Development Studies, Vol 44, No. 1, p. 109-1316. Kragelund, P. and Carmody, P. (2016), The BRICS’ impact on local economic development in the Global South: the cases of a tourism town and two mining provinces in Zambia. Area Development and Policy, Vol 1(2): 218-237.5. Tvedten, K., Wendelboe Hansen, M. and Jeppesen, S. (2014), Understanding the Rise of African Business: In search of business perspectives on African enterprise development.African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3, p. 249-2684. Urassa, G.C. (2014), The effect if the regulatory framework on the competitiveness of the dairy sector in Tanzania. International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 27. No. 4, p. 296-3053. Charles, G., (2014), Role of Family Resources in Firm Performance: Evidence from Tanzania. Journal of African Business, Vol. 15, No. 2, p. 122-1352. Hampwaye, G. and Jeppesen, S. (2014), The role of state-business relations in the performance of Zambia's food processing sub-sector. Bulletin of Geography: Socio-economic series, Vol 26: 82-92. 1. Charles, G. and Rwehikiza, D. (2012), Owner Managers' Perception of the Impact of Regulations on the Competitiveness of Food Processors in Tanzania. Business Management Review, Vol 16: 71-101.

24. SAFIC PRESENTATION - CAE THANKS  Info: https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/cbs-research-projects/major-research-projects/successful-african-firms-and-institutional-change-safic Email: sj.msc@cbs.dk