The Impact of External and Internal Factors on Strategic Management Practices of Agribusiness Firms in Tanzania

All firms need to work out strategic plans to exploit the existing market, but they differ in their capacity to implement and manage strategies. Considering the industrial organization and resource-based views in the strategic management literature, we understand that firm attributes, resources and external environmental factors are critical links to strategic practices. With regard to African agribusiness firms, there is scant research on how these factors determine the successful application of strategic management practices. Therefore, this study uses empirical data from 229 agribusiness firms in Tanzania to obtain insights into the determinants of their choice of strategic management practices. The results show significantly that better strategic actions reside in the capabilities of firm managers, whereas many external factors, such as access to public infrastructure, did not turn out to have a significant influence. The findings have interesting implications for the management of agribusiness firms in African countries and other developing and emerging economies.