Telecommunications Policy 44 (2020) 101906 Available online 9 December 2019 0308-5961/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Coevolution of policy and strategy in the development of the mobile telecommunications industry in Africa Mohammad Jahanbakht a, * , Romel Mostafa b a Salam Sate University, Bertolon School of Business, Salem, MA, 01970, USA b Western University, Ivey Business School, London, ON N6G 0N1, Canada A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Africa Industrial evolution Mobile telecommunications Policy Strategy ABSTRACT This paper explores how regulatory policy and frm strategy have shaped the development of the mobile telecommunications industry across Africa to date. Our historical analysis shows that during the industry’s formative years, frms had different strategies for developing African markets in a relatively lax regulatory environment, with some local frms leading the way in generating innovations for adapting to inherent market and institutional challenges as well as in expanding their operations to multiple countries across Africa. While many frms exited over time, some, including a few multinationals, reoriented their strategy from targeting high-income consumers to serving the masses, and the industry benefted from the widespread diffusion of innovations, the establishment of allied industries, and low prices of handsets. However, as the industry matured, competition became mostly price-based, leading to consolidation. Authorities responded by increasing monitoring activities, taking a more “hands-on” regulatory approach. This study demonstrates that both policy and strategy coevolved in a path-dependent way as the industry gradually transitioned from the introductory phase into the growth and maturity phases. It also provides new insight into the development of the African mobile telecommunications industry, and extends and bridges the literatures on telecommunications policy and strategy, which evolved in insolation. 1. Introduction We study the coevolution of policy and strategy in the development of the mobile telecommunications industry in Africa. During the formative years of the industry, many observers noted that signifcant market and institutional challenges inherent in most African countries were substantial impediments to this modern industry’s development (African Development Bank, 1998; International Telecommunications Union, 1998; Noam, 1999). Yet, during the 2000s, mobile subscriptions increased considerably in almost all African countries, including those that had not made any major improvements in other socioeconomic indicators. Africa, with its limited initial industry knowledge base and policy framework, provides a compelling case for studying how frms’ capabilities and countries’ regulatory policy may surmount serious market and institutional challenges. While extant research has typically focused on examining either the role of regulatory policy (e.g. Buys, Dasgupta, Thomas, & Wheeler, 2009; Moshi & Mwakatumbula, 2017; Wallsten, 2001) or frm-level strategy in shaping mobile telecommunications in- dustries (e.g. London & Hart, 2004; Osabutey, Williams, & Debrah, 2014; Seelos & Mair, 2007), in this study we consider their * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: mjahanbakht@salemstate.edu (M. Jahanbakht), rmostafa@ivey.uwo.ca (R. Mostafa). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Telecommunications Policy journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/telpol https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2019.101906 Received 4 May 2019; Received in revised form 25 November 2019; Accepted 28 November 2019