Pieter Buys

The global economic competitiveness has forced many organizations to consider the emerging and developing markets for future growth opportunities. The Southern African country Mozambique was identified as such an opportunity. However, although the country has experienced more sustained historic economic growth than its neighboring countries, it is also riddled with corruption and bureaucracy. Due to the complex and challenging Mozambique business environment, this research project utilized SWOT and PESTLE analytical techniques to develop a decision support framework to support the organizational growth strategies in Mozambique. The approach allowed for both internally and externally focused data collection and evaluation. The qualitative data were collected during structured interviews with selected captains-of-industry in the Mozambican context. In the development of the decision support framework, key factors were identified, evaluated, and ranked in order of severity. Key internal factors found centered on human resources, including management style, skilled labor availability and retention, while external factors centered potential growth in the mining and gas industry, government interventions and stability, and lack of skilled labor availabity. Taking cognizance of these factors enables a systematic framework to guide the strategy development in the Mozambican marketplace. It is recommended that this framework should be a living framework, continuously evolving as new strategic information becomes available.