The key drivers of stakeholder management and their influence on strategic implementation in Africa

Abstract

The stakeholder management discipline applies to multiple professions and is critical in the strategic management process of any organisation regardless of the industry or the environment within which the company operates. Over the years, research on stakeholder management has focused on its application in institutionally stable markets like developed economies. Existing literature suggests that stakeholder management is essential in implementing strategy, which translates to value creation and competitive advantage for the organisation. However, there is a need for studies that empirically examine how stakeholder management and its drivers are integrated into the company's process to influence strategy and enable decision-making when implementing strategic objectives in highly volatile, turbulent, and contextually complex environments like Sub-Saharan Africa. This qualitative study explored strategic and senior managers' perspectives on the drivers of stakeholder management and the influence stakeholder management has on strategy implementation in Africa. The findings highlighted the importance of doing a situational and environmental analysis to identify important stakeholders, categorise them based on their salience, and build relationships with them to enable engagement. It is critically important to consider the cultural forces and unstable institutional, legal, and regulatory landscape that govern the African market before initiating strategy formulation. The findings were synthesised into a conceptual framework encompassing the key drivers of stakeholder management, the challenges faced when managing stakeholders in the strategy implementation process, and the mediating factors that shape the strategic outcome and the ability of the company to create value for its stakeholders. The research contributes to the existing stakeholder management literature by extending the knowledge on stakeholder management in the context of Africa and providing recommendations to managers, future scholars, and policymakers in Africa.