Organizational Environment in Africa: A Factor Analysis of Critical Incidents

Abstract

The focus of this study is on the effect of institutional envioronment on organizational decision making in an African state. Three empirical studies were conducted consecutively in Nigeria. The first one provided the instrument for the subsequent studies. The instrument, containing 26 items, was factor analyzed in the second and third studies. In the second, four interpretable factors were identified where a factor containing items concerning the exchange environment accounted for the largest variance. The other factors measured aspects of the institutional environment. In the third study, a similar configuration of item clusters was obtained, though consistency was most observed in the factor measuring the exchange environment. This was taken as evidence for the validity of the exchange environment as well as the reliability of items used to measure it. Three characteristics define this environment. The first is transactional failure or the failure to take possession of a service or good already paid for. The second is the feedback timelag; this refers to the length of time it takes to learn of the outcome of a transaction. The third is personalissimo, meaning a situation in which the actor has to know someone who knows someone who can give the desired service (Triandis, 1984).

Keywords

environment Africa incidents transactions failure feedback time lag personalissimo uncertainty hostility

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