Title: Politicising the transition: a study of core and boundary relations of power and politics in strategic decision making at Sudatel

Authors: Abdallah M. Elamin, Mohamed Branine

Addresses: Faculty of Business Administration, Ajman University of Science and Technology, UAE. ' Dundee Business School, University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland, UK

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present a case study that describes and analyses the use of power and politics in the process of strategic decision making within the context of a developing country organisation. The organisation is a Sudanese telecommunications company (Sudatel) that was going through a transition from public to private ownership. Using a grounded theory approach to research and a case study method, the paper revealed that the process of strategic decision-making is the outcome of two types of relations: |Core Relations| and |Boundary Relations|. Hence, the analysis of such relations is expected to help in understanding strategic decision making processes in organisations that are subject to similar circumstances in other transition countries.

Keywords: strategic decision making; power; politics; Sudan; Sudatel; core relations; boundary relations; developing countries; telecommunications industry; privatisation; transition economies.

DOI: 10.1504/WREMSD.2008.018226

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2008 Vol.4 No.2/3, pp.218 - 232

Published online: 12 May 2008 *

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