Effects of Turbulent Environments on Business Strategies: A Case of Zimbabwe’s Petroleum Industry.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to explore the business strategies that petroleum firms
in Zimbabwe are using in the face of the turbulent operating environment. The aim of
the study was to find out the competitive strategies being adopted and implemented
by oil firms for survival. Other objectives were to establish how the strategies being
executed by the oil companies were influencing sales revenues, profitability, and
survival of companies in the sector and also to determine how government policy
interventions are impacting the deployment of the strategies. And to recommend
strategies that can be adopted by the petroleum firms during unstable economic
environments. The research used an exploratory-sequential mixed methods research
design where qualitative and quantitative data were collected separately. Findings
from interviews were used to provide a basis for the collection of a second set of data
using questionnaires. The research findings reveal that petroleum businesses face
high regulation, price instability and heavy political control due to the strategic nature
of the oil sector to the Zimbabwe government. The issue of high taxation and frequent
changes to regulations in the sector are the main causes of uncertainty to operations
of these firms. The research findings indicate that most petroleum companies in
Zimbabwe are using the Cost Leadership Strategy for competitive advantage and
survival.