Management of Political Risks and Uncertainty by Indian-Zambian Entrepreneurs, 1945 – 2019

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to present and analyse the history and evolution of Indian-Zambian entrepreneurs. It makes the case that the entrepreneurs had to not only make defining business choices but also life changing ones for their survival. This is because the minority was operating in high political risk environment that was characterised by uncertainty which did not favour the group as the visible stranger. They served as the middleman minority largely focussed on retail during the colonial period and were all but pushed out during the first 20 years of independence when native empowerment became the imperative policy prescription. The analysis of the changes is done through the prism of three defining periods: the first is the white colonial rule period, followed by the one-party state period under black rule and finally the liberal period. One of the key findings is one sectorial shifting as a risk management strategy both under coercion and through mimicking what works. The paper also utilises the case approach by examining an entrepreneur and company (Bookworld Zambia) that ties the three periods. The ability to manage and subsequently influence political dynamics is a key element of this paper which is informed by the theoretical application of Institutional theory, the stranger theory and also Social Networks.