Browsing by Author "Urassa, Goodluck"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Coping with the African Business Environment
    (CBS: Copenhagen Business School, 2015-09-28) Rutashobya, Lettice; Urassa, Goodluck; Hansen, Michael W.; Langevang, Thilde
    Infant industry structures, weak institutions, wide spread market failures and lack of trust permeate the Tanzanian business environment. Nevertheless, some local enterprises succeed in overcoming these challenges. This paper seeks to understand the strategies of these enterprises. Drawing on case studies of Tanzanian enterprises in the food processing industry, we identify six generic coping strategies which contrast markedly with the kind of strategies conventional strategic management thinking would prescribe: Instead of focus strategies, Tanzanian enterprises diversify across industries and value chain functions; Instead of competitive strategies, Tanzanian enterprises embark on network and political strategies; And instead of internationalizing based on home-market strengths, Tanzanian enterprises internationalize in response to home-market weaknesses. We characterize the strategies adopted by Tanzanian enterprises and discuss implications for the strategic management literature.
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    Coping with the African Business Environment: Enterprise Strategy in Response to Institutional Uncertainty in Tanzania
    (Routledge-Taylor & Fransis, 2018-01-02) Michael, Hansen; Thilde, Langevang,; Lettice, Rutashobya; Urassa, Goodluck
    Weak institutions, endemic market failures and low trust permeate the Tanzanian business environment. Nevertheless, some local enterprises overcome these challenges. Based on case studies of Tanzanian food processing enterprises, this paper identifies a number of coping strategies that contrasts markedly with the strategies traditionally emphasized by the strategic management literature: Instead of focus strategies, Tanzanian enterprises diversify; Instead of competitive strategies, Tanzanian enterprises adopt network strategies; And instead of internationalizing based on strengths, Tanzanian enterprises internationalize to overcome weaknesses. The paper traces these strategies back to specificities of the Tanzanian institutional environment and discusses implications for the strategic management literature.
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    Sustainability of Social Enterprises Involved in Waste Collection and Recycling Activities: LESSONS from Tanzania
    (Taylor& Fransis, 2019-11-27) Urassa, Goodluck
    This article investigates how social enterprises providing waste collection and recycling services overcame start-up challenges and sustain their operations. Based on analysis of five cases in Tanzania, it is evident that waste collection and recycling enterprises start as entrepreneurial entities driven by the opportunity to fill the service delivery gap left by the state. Although the enterprises studied have had a social impact, they have experienced several challenges, including limited access to resources, negative perception of their activities, competition, unsupportive policies, unreliable supply of raw materials, dishonesty of staff and/or waste pickers and poor working conditions. However, the enterprises sustained themselves through good management, engaging the right teams, supporting waste pickers, marketing and networking, developing their skills, using appropriate technology, reinvesting their earnings, diversifying and being members of cooperatives. The article contributes to knowledge by combining the traditional entrepreneurship and socio-environmental entrepreneurship perspectives to explore the sustainability of waste collection and recycling enterprises