Privatization and corporate entrepreneurship in telecommunication companies
| Pages | 60-71 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-05-2016-0019 |
| Published date | 10 April 2017 |
| Date | 10 April 2017 |
| Author | Behrouz Zarei,Flora Amanati,Kasra Amanati |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,Entrepreneurship,Business climate/policy |
Privatization and
corporate entrepreneurship in
telecommunication companies
Behrouz Zarei
Department of Corporate Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Flora Amanati
Telecommunication Company of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran, and
Kasra Amanati
Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of privatization on corporate
entrepreneurship in Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI). The study examines the five dimensions of
entrepreneurial orientation including innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness
and autonomy, before and after privatization.
Design/methodology/approach –Using a “descriptive-survey”method, the required data were
collected from a sample of 32 senior and middle managers with over ten years of management and
work experience, who were project team members for business transformation working in TCI before
and after privatization.
Findings –The results show that after privatization, the company acts more entrepreneurially. The most
considerable dimension is its aggressive competition through entering competitive markets and increasing
risk taking to develop new services, products and processes.
Originality/value –Although many studies have been performed on privatization and entrepreneurship in
the past, to the best of the authors’knowledge, the effect of privatization on every dimension of
entrepreneurial orientation has not been investigated in a large company.
Keywords Entrepreneurial orientation, Privatization, Telecommunication companies
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The Globalization Agreement Trade services called GATS made a revolution in the industry
of telecommunication via a new approach of controlling the global market and helping the
privatization and liberalization of telecommunication markets. Then, the International
Telecommunication Union led the telecommunication companies in different countries
toward privatization, liberalization the markets and attracting foreign investment.
In Iran, Article 44 concerning privatization was enforced so that it could limit the scope
of government, create a competitive environment, decrease costs and increase the
productivity and the quality of services. To reach these goals, Telecommunication Company
of Iran (TCI), comprising its 32 provincial sub-branches, was privatized in 2009. Various
studies have been done about the effects of privatization in telecommunication companies
(Ros, 1999; Wallsten, 2001; Scalera, 2012; Karamanis et al., 2015). According to a report by
TCI on the effects of privatization, several countries have been benefited in recent years.
Malaysia created 18 regulation-modifying companies to regulate the ties between customers
and its private sector. It has been known as a successful example in privatization. England
has gained several million dollars by privatizing all its telecommunication companies.
Brazil profited several million dollars by changing the structure of its telecommunication
companies in a gradual trend. In a report by International Telecommunication Union (2014),
the overall examination of TCI performance and its ranking among Asian countries
indicates the improvement of its performance after privatization.
Journal of Entrepreneurship and
Public Policy
Vol. 6 No. 1, 2017
pp. 60-71
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2045-2101
DOI 10.1108/JEPP-05-2016-0019
Received 18 May 2016
Revised 21 August 2016
Accepted 22 August 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2045-2101.htm
60
JEPP
6,1
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