Institutional Logics, Managerial Agency, and Strategic Change in Nigerian State-Owned Enterprises: A Grounded Theory Investigation

This study develops a grounded theory of strategic change in Nigerian state-owned enterprises (SOEs), examining the interplay between institutional logics and managerial agency as the central theoretical tension shaping change trajectories. Strategic change in Nigerian SOEs remains poorly theorised, with existing literature primarily applying Western change management frameworks that inadequately account for the multi-logic institutional environments in which Nigerian public enterprises operate. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed, involving in-depth interviews with 65 senior managers, board members, and ministry officials across eight SOEs in the North Central, South West, and South South geopolitical zones, supplemented by documentary analysis of strategy documents and audit reports. Through iterative theoretical sampling and constant comparative analysis, the study develops a substantive grounded theory of constrained strategic change, identifying the mechanisms through which competing state, market, and community institutional logics are translated, resisted, or reconciled by middle managers acting as institutional brokers. The theory reveals that strategic change outcomes in Nigerian SOEs are more determined by managerial identity conflicts at the logic intersection than by top management strategic intent, challenging principal-agent models dominant in SOE governance literature. This research makes original methodological contributions to grounded theory application in African management contexts and generates a theoretically rich explanatory model with direct implications for SOE reform policy in Nigeria. Keywords: institutional logics, managerial agency, strategic change, state-owned enterprises, Nigeria.