Abstract:
The recent entry of the US multinational Walmart into South Africa has proved to
be a source of controversy. Key stakeholders in South Africa objected to the
merger and attempted to block it unless certain conditions were met. The aim of
this study was to examine the controversy and the conditions surrounding the
merger. The research employed a qualitative archival analysis to examine publicly
available sources of information with regard to the merger. The findings revealed
key stakeholders’ concerns that Walmart’s entry would lead to an increase in
imports which would displace local producers, increase unemployment,
marginalise trade unions and lower labour standards unless certain conditions
were met. The results also revealed problems relating to the firm’s primary focus
on “business” while neglecting “public interest” issues, naively relying on their
“local retailer” to manage key stakeholders, and assuming that their perceived
controversial reputation regarding treatment of trade unions and their views about
unemployment as well as the controversies surrounding their history of entry into
other global markets would not have the major negative impact it did on
stakeholders in South Africa.
