IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/joibpo/v2y2019i3d10.1057_s42214-019-00030-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Business environment reforms in fragile and conflict-affected states: From a transactions towards a systems approach

Author

Listed:
  • John M. Luiz

    (University of Sussex
    University of Cape Town)

  • Brian Ganson

    (University of Stellenbosch Business School)

  • Achim Wennmann

    (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies)

Abstract

Our objective is to advance the understanding of the nexus between business environment reform (BER) and conflict, fragility, and underdevelopment. We examine the evidence and the lessons of BER in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS), based on the experience of four African countries (Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Ethiopia) that have or are transitioning from a fragile environment to greater stability and more sustained economic growth. We use a qualitative case study approach that draws on several data sources to inform its analysis, including one-on-one interviews, roundtable focus groups, and an analysis of documents, reports, and data. A total of 83 respondents participated in our research. We develop a systems approach rather than a transactional approach to recognize the complex network of interconnected and interacting business interests, agendas, and systems in FCAS. We argue that BER has the greatest potential to advance achievement of sustainable development when it is attentive to three objectives at the same time: stimulating broad-based economic growth, expanding economic opportunity in formal and informal markets, and addressing drivers of conflict and fragility. The implications for international businesses entering or operating in FCAS are substantial and may require atypical capabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • John M. Luiz & Brian Ganson & Achim Wennmann, 2019. "Business environment reforms in fragile and conflict-affected states: From a transactions towards a systems approach," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 2(3), pages 217-236, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:joibpo:v:2:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1057_s42214-019-00030-z
    DOI: 10.1057/s42214-019-00030-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s42214-019-00030-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s42214-019-00030-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caroline T Witte & Martijn J Burger & Elena I Ianchovichina & Enrico Pennings, 2017. "Dodging bullets: The heterogeneous effect of political violence on greenfield FDI," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(7), pages 862-892, September.
    2. Laura Mann & Marie Berry, 2016. "Understanding the Political Motivations That Shape Rwanda's Emergent Developmental State," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 119-144, February.
    3. Molenaers, Nadia & Dellepiane, Sebastian & Faust, Jorg, 2015. "Political Conditionality and Foreign Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 2-12.
    4. Simona Iammarino, 2018. "FDI and regional development policy," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(3), pages 157-183, December.
    5. Joshua Fisher & Kristen Rucki, 2017. "Re‐conceptualizing the Science of Sustainability: A Dynamical Systems Approach to Understanding the Nexus of Conflict, Development and the Environment," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(4), pages 267-275, July.
    6. Dirk Hanekom & John M. Luiz, 2017. "The impact of multinational enterprises on public governance institutions in areas of limited statehood," Working Papers 699, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    7. Nilima Gulrajani & Willy McCourt & David K. Leonard, 2010. "‘Pockets’ of effective agencies in weak governance states: Where are they likely and why does it matter?," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(2), pages 91-101, May.
    8. Gates, Scott & Hegre, Håvard & Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv & Strand, Håvard, 2012. "Development Consequences of Armed Conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1713-1722.
    9. World Bank, 2011. "World Development Report 2011 [Rapport sur le développement dans le monde 2011 : Conflits, sécurité et développement - Abrégé]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 4389.
    10. John Luiz & Callum Stewart, 2014. "Corruption, South African Multinational Enterprises and Institutions in Africa," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 383-398, October.
    11. Uwafiokun Idemudia, 2010. "Rethinking the role of corporate social responsibility in the Nigerian oil conflict: The limits of CSR," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(7), pages 833-845.
    12. John M Luiz, 2015. "The impact of ethno-linguistic fractionalization on cultural measures: Dynamics, endogeneity and modernization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 46(9), pages 1080-1098, December.
    13. Eli Berman & Michael Callen & Joseph H. Felter & Jacob N. Shapiro, 2011. "Do Working Men Rebel? Insurgency and Unemployment in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Philippines," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 55(4), pages 496-528, August.
    14. Isaac Otchere & Issouf Soumaré & Pierre Yourougou, 2016. "FDI and Financial Market Development in Africa," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 651-678, May.
    15. Michael Chibba & John M. Luiz, 2019. "Inequality: Concepts, Data, Perspectives and Solutions," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 20(1), pages 1-54, January.
    16. North,Douglass C. & Wallis,John Joseph & Weingast,Barry R., 2013. "Violence and Social Orders," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107646995.
    17. Ans Kolk & Miguel Rivera-Santos & Carlos Rufín, 2018. "Multinationals, international business, and poverty: A cross-disciplinary research overview and conceptual framework," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(1), pages 92-115, June.
    18. Jan Anton van Zanten & Rob van Tulder, 2018. "Multinational enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals: An institutional approach to corporate engagement," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(3), pages 208-233, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bojicic-Dzelilovic, Vesna & Kostovicova, Denisa & Causevic, Fikret, 2024. "Tested by the COVID-19 economic shock: peace-positive entrepreneurship and intergroup collaboration in post-conflict business recovery," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125561, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Carol Reade & Mark McKenna & Jennifer Oetzel, 2019. "Unmanaged migration and the role of MNEs in reducing push factors and promoting peace: A strategic HRM perspective," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 2(4), pages 377-396, December.
    3. Rekha Rao-Nicholson & Htwe Htwe Thein & Yifan Zhong, 2024. "A thematic analysis of the links between multinational enterprises’ corporate social responsibility and the Sustainable Development Goals in Myanmar," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(2), pages 203-223, June.
    4. Robert J. Moore, 2021. "Emerging from war: Public policy and patterns of foreign direct investment recovery in postwar environments," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(4), pages 455-475, December.
    5. Mwale, Martin Limbikani & Chirwa, Gowokani Chijere & Mchenga, Martina & Zabula, Tayamika Kamwanja, 2021. "Micro-finance and women’s perception of domestic violence in a fragile state," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    6. Jacobo Ramirez, 2021. "Governance in energy democracy for Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges and opportunities for partnerships at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 119-135, March.
    7. Sarah Cechvala & Brian Ganson, 2024. "Systems Perspectives on Business and Peace: The Contingent Nature of Business-Related Action with Respect to Peace Positive Impacts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(3), pages 523-544, October.
    8. Fernhaber, Stephanie A. & Zou, Huan, 2022. "Advancing societal grand challenge research at the interface of entrepreneurship and international business: A review and research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    9. Pooja Thakur-Wernz & Helena Barnard & Marianne Matthee, 2024. "Knightian uncertain violence and the challenge of FDI-assisted development: policy recommendations where civilian lives are at risk," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(3), pages 356-390, September.
    10. John M. Luiz & Takudzwa Magada & Regis Mukumbuzi, 2021. "Strategic Responses to Institutional Voids (Rationalization, Aggression, and Defensiveness): Institutional Complementarity and Why the Home Country Matters," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 61(5), pages 681-711, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ivan Montiel & Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Junghoon Park & Raquel Antolín-López & Bryan W. Husted, 2021. "Implementing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(5), pages 999-1030, July.
    2. Joshi, Devin K. & Hughes, Barry B. & Sisk, Timothy D., 2015. "Improving Governance for the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals: Scenario Forecasting the Next 50years," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 286-302.
    3. Rekha Rao-Nicholson & Htwe Htwe Thein & Yifan Zhong, 2024. "A thematic analysis of the links between multinational enterprises’ corporate social responsibility and the Sustainable Development Goals in Myanmar," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(2), pages 203-223, June.
    4. Simon Hartmann & Thomas Lindner & Jakob Müllner & Jonas Puck, 2022. "Beyond the nation-state: Anchoring supranational institutions in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1282-1306, August.
    5. Crost, Benjamin & Felter, Joseph H. & Johnston, Patrick B., 2016. "Conditional cash transfers, civil conflict and insurgent influence: Experimental evidence from the Philippines," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 171-182.
    6. Elena Poliakova & Liesl Riddle & Michael E. Cummings, 2020. "Diaspora investment promotion via public–private partnerships: Case-study insights and IB research implications from the Succeed in Ireland initiative," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(1), pages 23-37, March.
    7. Dawson, Andrew, 2013. "The Social Determinants of the Rule of Law: A Comparison of Jamaica and Barbados," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 314-324.
    8. Soliman, Salma & Papanastassiou, Marina & Saka-Helmhout, Ayse, 2023. "The role of subsidiaries in Global Value Chains (GVCs): An institutional voids perspective on LVC upgrading and integration," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    9. Patricia Justino, 2022. "Revisiting the links between economic inequality and political violence: The role of social mobilization," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-19, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Deval Desai & Michael Woolcock, 2012. "The politics of rule of law systems in developmental states: 'political settlements' as a basis for promoting effective justice institutions for marginalized groups," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-008-12, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    11. Weldeegzie, Samuel G., 2017. "Growing-up Unfortunate: War and Human Capital in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 474-489.
    12. Halvard Buhaug & Jonas Vestby, 2019. "On Growth Projections in the Shared SocioeconomicPathways," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 19(4), pages 118-132, November.
    13. Alston, Lee J. & Melo, Marcus Andre & Mueller, Bernardo & Pereira, Carlos, 2013. "Changing social contracts: Beliefs and dissipative inclusion in Brazil," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 48-65.
    14. Nicolás Corona Juárez & Henrik Urdal & Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati, 2022. "The significance of age structure, education, and youth unemployment for explaining subnational variation in violent youth crime in Mexico," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 39(1), pages 49-73, January.
    15. Travers Barclay Child & Elena Nikolova, 2017. "War and Social Attitudes: Revisiting Consensus Views," HiCN Working Papers 258, Households in Conflict Network.
    16. World Bank Group, 2015. "Toward Solutions for Youth Employment," World Bank Publications - Reports 23261, The World Bank Group.
    17. DeGhetto, Kaitlyn & Lamont, Bruce T. & Holmes, R. Michael, 2020. "Safety risk and international investment decisions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(6).
    18. Crost, Benjamin & Duquennois, Claire & Felter, Joseph H. & Rees, Daniel I., 2018. "Climate change, agricultural production and civil conflict: Evidence from the Philippines," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 379-395.
    19. Jean-Pierre Cling & Mireille Razafindrakoto & François Roubaud, 2018. "SDG 16 on Governance and its measurement: Africa in the Lead," Working Papers DT/2018/02, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    20. Håvard Mokleiv Nygård, 2017. "Achieving the sustainable development agenda: The governance – conflict nexus," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 20(1), pages 3-18, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:joibpo:v:2:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1057_s42214-019-00030-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.