How do telecom firms build capabilities? Lessons from Africa

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an empirical study that sought to investigate how telecommunication firms in developing countries undertake technological learning and capability building and to explain why they demonstrate varying abilities. The study concludes that it is internal competencies, such as the ability to manage strategic change and develop coherent systems that enable developing country telecommunication firms to be effective. This paper presents and analyses some of the important research findings on how developing country telecommunication firms undertake organizational learning processes. It uses an original conceptual framework, the technological capability building (TCB) ) system approach, to undertake this analysis. The main conclusion of the paper is that intra-firm and endogenous factors, such as cultural change, leadership and organizational integration influence and explain variation in ability of telecom firms to build capabilities. These insights have implications for firm strategy as well as for policy and regulatory interventions, particularly in countries with weak national innovation systems.