Institutional influences on firm strategy in authoritarian emerging economies: mass media companies in the UAE

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dc.contributor.authorWilkins, Stephen
dc.contributor.authorEmik, Serap
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-09T11:46:25Z
dc.date.available2023-05-09T11:46:25Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractPurpose This is one of the first studies to investigate the influences of institutions in an authoritarian regime on the strategies of firms that operate in a potentially sensitive industry. The purpose of this paper is to examine how institutional pressures affect the strategies of multi-platform mass media companies (print, broadcast and internet) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study used a purposive sampling strategy to conduct interviews with 28 senior managers who have responsibility for strategic level decision making in a UAE media company. All of the interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. A mainly deductive process of thematic analysis was undertaken to identify key ideas, patterns and relationships in the data. Findings The survey participants reported that increased multi-platform delivery in the media industry brings rewards, challenges and new risks. Although the normative and cultural-cognitive pressures are both strong in the UAE, it is the regulative pressures that seem to have the largest constraining influence on firm decision making and business strategies. The strong institutional pressures existing in the UAE encourage tight coupling, where firm structures and processes are linked and designed in response to the institutional constraints. Evidence was found only of some minor decoupling. Originality/value In response to the authors’ findings, the authors hypothesise that in nations under authoritarian rule, political pressures will likely override all other institutional pressures and that it will be most sensible for firms to adopt tight coupling strategies. However, the success of many UAE firms both at home and internationally suggests that strong institutional constraints do not necessarily act as a barrier to superior firm performance.en_US
dc.identifier.citationWilkins, S., & Emik, S. (2021), Institutional influences on firm strategy in authoritarian emerging economies: mass media companies in the UAE. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 16(1), 7-24.en_US
dc.identifier.issn1746-8809
dc.identifier.urihttps://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/2258
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherEmerald
dc.relation.ispartofInternational Journal of Emerging Markets
dc.relation.urihttps://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-05-2018-0230
dc.subjectstrategyen_US
dc.subjectdecision makingen_US
dc.subjectmedia industryen_US
dc.subjectmulti-platformen_US
dc.subjectUnites Arab Emirates (UAE)en_US
dc.subjectinstitutional theoryen_US
dc.subjectcouplingen_US
dc.subjectdecouplingen_US
dc.titleInstitutional influences on firm strategy in authoritarian emerging economies: mass media companies in the UAEen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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