A Theoretical Framework for Understanding the Institutional Determinants of Multinational Enterprise Behaviour in Fragile African States

This dissertation develops an original theoretical framework for understanding how institutional fragility shapes the strategic behaviour, governance adaptations, and social legitimacy strategies of multinational enterprises operating in fragile African state contexts. Existing international business theory, primarily developed from the experience of multinationals in stable emerging markets, inadequately accounts for the distinctive institutional voids, shifting authority structures, and elevated political risk characteristics of fragile states. The study employs a multiple case study methodology examining the operational and institutional management strategies of six multinational firms, drawn from the extractive, telecommunications, and financial services sectors, operating across three Nigerian states with documented institutional fragility indicators and two additional comparator fragile state contexts in the Sahel region. Data are collected through elite interviews with senior executives, field observations, and documentary analysis of regulatory correspondence and community engagement records. The theoretical framework integrates institutional theory, political ecology, and the stakeholder salience model to generate propositions about how institutional fragility modifies conventional theory predictions regarding market entry, governance structure, and operational continuity strategy. Grounded theory coding and analytical generalisation are applied. The dissertation makes an original theoretical contribution by introducing the concept of adaptive institutional engagement, which accounts for the fluid, multi-level, and non-state actor-driven institutional environments that multinationals navigate in fragile contexts. Theoretical propositions generated are testable in future quantitative studies across a larger population of fragile state multinational operations. Keywords: institutional theory, multinational enterprises, fragile states, Africa, adaptive engagement