Business model adaptation to institutional voids: The case of Jumia, the Amazon.com of Africa.

Peprah, Augustine Awuah and Giachetti, Claudio (2017) Business model adaptation to institutional voids: The case of Jumia, the Amazon.com of Africa. 59th Annual Meeting of the Academy of International Business: "The Contribution of MNEs to Building Sustainable Societies", , Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 02 - 05 Jul 2017.

Abstract

Business model adaptation to institutional voids in developing countries is critical for the survival of firmsseeking to explore the opportunities in these markets. However, extant literature has not articulated the centralissues relating to how firms adapt business model to developing countries. We tackle this issue by taking theperspective of a developing country-based firm adapting a business model designed for developed economies toits local context. Based on a longitudinal case study of Jumia - an online retailing company in Africa, we showthat a developing country-based firm attempting to exploit the success of established business models proposedby developed country-based firms in its local context, cannot simply replicate the model proposed by developedcountry-based firms, but has to adapt it with the aim of filling the various infrastructural voids, regulatory voidsand cultural voids of its home country. We find that the business model adaptation to these various types ofinstitutional voids in developing countries involves three phases consisting of legitimacy phase, localizationphase and consolidation phase

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Contributors

Author: Augustine Awuah Peprah

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