A cultural political economy of business strategy in a developing country context : the case of the Sri Lankan tea industry

This paper argues that managerialist approaches hold some promise but quickly move toward prescriptive managerialism. Western based strategy promotes instrumental rationality, reproduces hierarchical relations of power, and systematically privileges the interests and viewpoints of particular groups. So, thesis proposes a critical perspective - cultural political economy approach to understand such a context before rush for prescriptive strategies. The Sri Lankan tea industry, particularly tea plantations decision makers have been predominantly depending up on the Western/Northern business strategy ideology and managerialist approaches over the last two decades especially after the privatization of tea plantations. It is evident that the Sri Lankan tea industry, particularly tea plantations are underperforming on almost all conventional economic indicators. Limited applicability of the Western/Northern strategy approaches and the power relations of the strategy process were explored through the actors’ perspectives. The study found that the power relations in the industry in strate gy processes lie within ethno-politics, trade unionism, elitism, patriarchal labour and family structures andreligious value systems. This is, especially the case in the tea plantations. Therefore, it is suggested that understanding the power relations in strategy decision-making processes within a wider social and political context, will allow managers to make better decisions. To attempt implementation, managers require a sense of ‘reality’ which is based on the effects of ‘forgetting, neglecting or denying the subjectivity’ which is the condition necessary to render the strategy frameworks and strategies possible. In this study it has been found that strategy can only be studied effectively, and recommendations for improvement made, if there is a good understanding of the sociocultural dynamics of the society. The indigenous caste system, British-derived education and class systems, current labour dominance of an idiosyncratic political landscape, and land ownership issues stemming back to pre-colonial times, are some of the factors flavouring business activities in Sri Lanka in the 21st century. Finally, study suggests that true grassroots approaches to strategy such as labour empowerment, can segregate the asymmetrical power relations of the industry and tap the creative energy of workers while uprising insurgent strategies to enhance the industry performance.