Strategic Choice Under Uncertainty: Multinational Corporations and the Pressure to Disinvest from South Africa

(Paperback)

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Strategic Choice Under Uncertainty provides an inside perspective of how multinational corporations dealt with the pressure to withdraw from South Africa in the 1980s. The decision was mired in the uncertainty of weighing the economic and social costs of the disinvestment strategy against the benefits that would come with the restoration of racial equality and democracy in the country. By providing a robust conceptual scaffolding of environmental uncertainty, the book empirically demonstrates how extra-organizational environmental forces can affect strategic choices and, therefore, performance outcomes. Furthermore, the book demonstrates the vulnerability of multinational business operations to repressive host government practices, and the powerlessness of business decision-makers to implement their objectively rational plans under such conditions. It illustrates that the threat and, indeed, the actual execution of large scale corporate withdrawal can be instrumental in spurring social change in such repressive host countries.

Reviews

Original, high quality work. bring[ing] new insights on the difficult strategic choices corporate leaders had to make in a host nation governed by the oppressive system of apartheid. This is fascinating reading that scholars and executives alike will find very informative. -- Heinz Weihrich, professor of global management and behavioral sciences, University of San Francisco and author of Management: A Global Perspecti
A well-written book and a welcome addition to the literatureoffer[ing] insights into the challenges the contemporary information-intensive environment presents to corporate decision-makers. -- Robert C. Ford, professor of management, University of Florida Central, former editor, Academy of Management Executive, and author of Fun Minute
Written by a scholar who was there.This is a must read for insights on the effectiveness of international sanctions and investor activism. -- Chuck Lacy, president, The Barred Rock Fund, and former president, Ben & Jerry's
A fascinating analysis.accessibly written, incisive, and very interesting to read. The book will be an important reference source for researchers interested in strategy, uncertainty, corporate social responsibility, and South Africa. [and] for business practitioners interested in understanding strategies for coping in the global marketplace. -- A. Elliott Carlisle, professor of management emeritus, University of Massachusetts; author of MacGregor: Managers Talk about Managing People

Author Bio

Mzamo P. Mangaliso holds a Ph.D. in strategic management. His research interests are in strategy, international and comparative management, and organizational analysis. He has published several articles and a co-edited book, Prophesies and Protests: Ubuntu in Global Management. He is a fellow and past president of the Eastern Academy of Management (U.S.), and past president and CEO of National Research Foundation of South Africa.