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Applying the Entrepreneurial Financial Decision Criterion: Retail Divestment Amid Structural Business Environment Constraints for Shoprite Nigeria

Humphrey Uche Amanze Ph.D, Ofondu Magnus Ph.D, John Okey Onoh PhD

Abstract

This study examines how institutional voids influenced ShopRite Nigeria’s cost structure and shaped the financial decision to exit the Nigerian market in 2021. Drawing on North’s (1990) institutional theory, Zaheer’s (1995) liability of foreignness framework, and Shane and Venkataraman’s (2000) entrepreneurial financial decision criterion, the research investigates the interplay between foreign exchange volatility, power gaps, supplier fragmentation, and divestment decisions in emerging markets. The study addresses a gap in the literature by integrating these theoretical perspectives to explain multinational retail exit in Sub-Saharan Africa, where market potential often conflicts with weak formal institutions. A post-positivist philosophy and deductive approach guide the research design. The study employs an explanatory single-case study of ShopRite Nigeria for the period 2018–2021, consistent with Yin’s (2018) framework for in-depth analysis of contemporary phenomena. Secondary data were collected through documentary analysis from Shoprite Holdings Integrated Annual Reports 2018–2021, Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletins 2018–2021, National Bureau of Statistics Retail Sector Reports 2018–2021, and the World Bank Enterprise Survey 2018. Data analysis combines descriptive statistics and process tracing, following Beach and Pedersen (2019), to test four operationalized hypotheses on the effects of institutional voids on profitability, costs, and investment decisions. Findings reveal that rising foreign exchange volatility significantly eroded profitability. The standard deviation of the naira-USD rate increased from 3.12 in 2018 to 9.87 in 2020, coinciding with a decline in sales from ₦125.4 billion to ₦111.2 billion and an increase in loss after tax from ₦2.1 billion to ₦12.8 billion. Power gaps imposed higher operating costs, as ShopRite spent 16.4% of operating expenses on diesel compared to 11.2% for domestic retailers, resulting in a 6.6 percentage point cost premium. Supplier fragmentation raised transaction costs, with 14.2 suppliers per SKU and an 18.6% stock-out rate, compared to 5.8 suppliers and 9.3% for benchmark formal retailers. Procurement and logistics costs reached 12.8% of sales, exceeding the benchmark by 4.7 percentage points. A composite institutional risk index rose from 0.62 in 2018 to 0.80 in 2020, preceding the initiation of exit review and subsequent divestment in 2021. All four hypotheses are supported. FX volatility reduced profitability, power gaps increased operating costs, supplier fragmentation elevated transaction costs, and higher institutional risk reduced the likelihood of continued investment under the financial decision criterion. The findings confirm that institutional voids created asymmetric cost burdens that foreign firms could not sustain, consistent with liability of foreignness and institutional theory. The study contributes theoretically by providing a multilevel framework linking institutional voids to entrepreneurial financial decisions. Methodologically, it demonstrates the utility of process tracing with secondary data in data- constrained settings. Practically, it highlights that reforms in foreign exchange management, power supply, and supply chain formalization are critical to retaining foreign retail investment and protecting employment and output in Nigeria’s retail sector.

Keywords

Institutional voidsliability of foreignnessentrepreneurial financial decision criterionforeign exchange volatilitypower gapssupplier fragmentationretail divestmentNigeria.

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