When we look at business patterns and practices around the globe, it is standard to build theories on generalised foundations. For a long time, rules and patterns identified in the industrialised nations of Europe, North America, South-East Asia and beyond have been applied wholesale to the rest of the world, including Africa. Sowhat happens in the UK is used to anticipate what occurs in Denmark and, possibly, Nigeria; practices in Canada are equally applied to France and, potentially, South Africa; if it is good enough for Singapore, it is good enough for China and, maybe, Kenya. Even when studies are undertaken and trends are identified in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa – a vast geographical expanse stretching in parts fromCape Town to Lagos, Dakar toMogadishu – they are often based on secondary data, as it is hard to obtain primary information first-hand from the businesses and actors involved. Sub-Saharan Africa is an increasingly attractive location for export-oriented productive activities. Growth and rising incomes in emerging and developing economies have created substantial market opportunities for established multinationals from leading industrialised economies. But these economies are also nurturing homegrown global challengers, with their own competitive advantages, and our study looked at the increasing prevalence of internationalisation among homegrown firms in this region. Most of the existing understanding of this internationalisation phenomenon was built upon surmise and interpretation rather than the testimony of key actors. Much of the research on this topic is also dominated by firms fromSouth Africa – a country withmore similarities to industrialised nations than others in the region – preventing a deeper understanding of overall push and pull factor trends. This is where we came in. FIRST-HAND INVESTIGATION Inmy strategy advisory and consultancy work, I deal a lot withmultinational companies, including those fromSubSaharan Africa. This provided us with valuable access to senior stakeholders in large firms, who have provided information and data directly. Over time, we have built significant relationships and gained the trust of these key people, so that they feel confident and comfortable enough to speak with us and relate their business experiences and knowledge. Our research is therefore distinct in being one of the first to collect detailed primary data on internationalisation from five firms across three sectors and three key countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. One is a long-established South African consumer goods company, two are from the Nigerian financial services sector, and the final two are in the telecommunications sector, one from Nigeria, the other fromKenya. Many of the home-grown firms in the region have previous experience of operating in environments characterised by institutional voids – inefficiencies in governance or the absence of institutions in the home or host country –which reduces their ‘liability of foreignness’. But what factors push or pull themto expand internationally? PUSH AND PULL When we look at why firms expand into new countries, wemust consider both push and pull factors. Pull factors are determined by potential profit-making opportunities beyond a company’s national borders for those willing to take the risk. Push factors – or escape responses – result fromamisalignment between home country conditions and the needs of the firm. They are usually firm- or sector-specific. 26 | Nairobi, Kenya
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTI5NzM=